--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Merrill, H. R. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 19 number: 11 published: 1916-09 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'H. R. Merrill, "The Seer," *Improvement Era* 19, no. 11 (September 1916): 994–998.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera19011unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera19011unse start_page: 994 end_page: 998 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1916-09) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera19011unse publication_year: 1916 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1916, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Seer The Seer : BY H. R. MERRILL The lad looked like a mournful specimen of the owl family, as he sat perched upon the top of the old brush fence which led along the road from the dugway to the bottom of the lane, and then dipped suddenly into the willows of the creek bottom, just below the place where he sat. His head was covered with an old and much-worn felt hat that rose like a parrot's top-knot above the brown curls which, refusing to be imprisoned by the ragged brim, stuck out upon both sides of his head, like the ears of the feathered Solomon. His shirt was torn in many places, giving to his back and arms the appearance of a ragged, half molted bird. His "overhalls," as he called them, were held in place, approximately, by an old string of a suspender that was run through a hole in their top and fastened by a wood toggle. His feet were bare, their tanned surfaces mutely testifying that days had passed since a shoe of any kind had incased them. As the boy sat there in the early morning sunshine, sorrow spoke in his sparsely freckled face. His elbows rested on his knees, his chin in his hands, as he gazed morosely down the street to where a faint film of dust arose from the shade of the large cottonwoods, at the bend of the road, and floated slowly into the sunlight, showing that some vehicle had recently passed that way. A large tear rolled down the boy's cheek and dropped from his set jaw on to his stubbed toe, unnoticed. It was a glorious morning, but Aurora had spread wHe her purple vestures in vain, and her pearl and amber ships had sailed out of the gates of the dawn unheeded. Even fiery Helios, as he rose above the blue, shadowy mountains, had failed to elicit one appreciative glance or sigh. The boy was absolutely unconscious of everything save yonder gradually vanishing film of dust and the rattle of a distant wagon. At last the faint chuckle of the wheels faded from his consciousness as fades a wisp of smoke from the sight of a hunter, in the clear atmosphere of the mountains. The boy was alone with his thoughts. Even the faint sheen of dust had passed into the orchard north of the road and was gone, leaving the tiny balls of fiving cotton to play alone in the shade of the loftv cottonwoods. The silence accentuated the roar of the river, which This story won first place in the Era story contest for June. — THE SEER 995 came to him in great throbs like the heart beat of some powerful animal the feline purr of the little stream at his feet added a ; lonesome note to his colossal loneliness. Suddenly the boy felt, rather than heard, a new sound creeping into the noisy silence which followed the receding- chuckle a chugging, wheezing sound which he did not recognize immediately, but which made his eyes open wide and his bare foot move from its perch on a dry willow that protruded from the side of the fence when, just as he was about to flap on the groi^id, a ; great, animated, glistening monster glided around the cottonwoods, moved on across the bridge, and stopped with a cough in front of him. "Hello," the driver called to the boy, as he set his levers, ''could you direct me to the Morehead ranch?" "Yes, sir," the boy managed to say, as he leaped from his perch on the fence, and walked timidly and hesitatingly over to the shining car. A smile of amusement flickered over the driver's face as he note 1 the roving, ouestionine, blue eyes as they glanced from point to point of the magnificent machine. "How far is it to Morehead's ranch?" "'Bout a mile ;" but the lad's eyes never left the palpitating, all but breathing, wonder. "Could you spare time enough to come and show me just where the ranch is?" the man asked, for the interest and intelligence manifest in the boy's face touched a responsive chord in this man's heart. "I am afraid I mieht miss the road." "You can't miss it," the lad replied. Then he glanced up into the man's sympathetic face. "Why, anybodv could find the Morehead ranch. It's just on the other side of Sheep Creek." "But I don't know where Sheep Creek is. Wouldn't vou like to come, anyway? I'll be back in a very short time. Will your folks care? I'll tell you, run and ask them!" The wonder left the lad's eyes for a moment, as he dug his uninjured toe into the dust of the road. "Folks ain't home," he answered sullenly. "Would thev care?" "Naw, they've gone to the circus, and won't he back till after dark. Thev ain't a carin', what becomes of me." "Jump in, then," the man invited, "I'll give you a ride." With throbbing heart and glistening eyes the bov stepped on to the trembling footboard and entered the open door of the car. Few automobiles had he ever seen that he would one day ; have the opportunity to ride in one had never occurred to him. He seated himself gingerly upon the expensive leather cushion, looking more than ever like a half frightened owl on the point of taking flight. The man increased the supply of gasoline and let the clutch into place. The machine smarted off with an 996 IMPROVEMENT ERA ever increasing speed, the boy grimly holding to the dilapidated hat with one hand and to the arm of the seat with the other. The car took the grade of the dugway with ease and rounded the curve on to the bench above at a good rate of speed. As th • fuller view of the canyon burst upon the driver's vision, an involuntary ejaculation of delight escaped his lips. "love, what a view! Sonny, have you always lived up here?" ^Yes, sir." The boy could scarcely speak, so great was his awe of the marvelous creation of man that was carrying him so swiftly and easily along. "It would be great to live here! Just think of rising with th • sun in an atmosphere like this where everv breath would be worth more to the system than a gallon of cod liver oil. Were you sorry "Yes, sir," came the trembling reply. "Do you know, sonny, that every member of the circus would give a great deal to spend a day here in the hills away from the heat and the dust? See how the shadows lie along the mountain side in a vain endeavor to avoid the rays of the all conquering sun. They are like some people, they cannot live in the light."' The man turned and looked at the lad whose tangled hair was streaming in the wind which was created by the speed of the car. His old hat was clutched in a brown hand, his eves were glistening, his cheeks were aglow, his lips were slightly parted — every feature was alive with delight. "How do you like it, sonny?" "Oh, it's fine!" the lad breathed, emphatically. "Better than riding a horse?" "Yes, sir." "Better than coasting?" "Yep, better'n anything!" "Are we not about to the ranch ?" The lad glanced hurriedly aside at the fleeing landscape. "Stop her! Stop her!" He shouted, excitedly. "We've !" passed it I plumb forgot ; The man brought the car to a stop. His eyes were glistening, too. He knew they had passed the ranch, for the speedometer had registered two and a half miles since he took his little guide into the car. but his delight at the bov's unalloyed pleasure had led him to forget, for the time being, his destination. "Gosh, we're clean tip past Frank Taylor's. My, we must a come some ! I'm sorry, but I plumb forgot." The boy looke 1 humiliated. "We'll get back, all right," the man replied as he reversed his engine in order to make the turn. THE SEER 997 "Gee whiz, can she go backwards, too!" the boy exclaimed. "Yon bet. Now we're all right. Where is the place?" As the car swung into the road, the boy pointed to a grove of quaking aspens and willows which crossed the street some distance away. "That's Sheep Creek; that house back in the field there is Morehead's house." The car soon drew up beside the long, half log, half frame house, and while the driver talked to the man who answered his knock, the boy examined the car's wonderful parts. He was in a new world. All previous experiences had become a mere blur in the distant past. The motorist soon got the information he sought from lb ranchman, and after a casual hand shake, returned to the waiting car. "Sonny, we'll be back to your place in a jiffy," he said as he sprang into the seat beneath the steering wheel. "We'll scorch the road on our way back." Levers were pulled, brakes were loosened, and soon they were on their way, the wind sounding like a hurricane in their ears. The boy had recovered from his first timidity and was enjoying the ride with every fiber of his alert being. "How's this for a circus?" the man asked as they sped along. "It can't be beat !" the lad answered, joyously. They went down the dug way at a great pace an coasted1 along the lane to the bridge over the little creek. The driver stopped the car and the boy jumped out. The man held out a shining half dollar. 1 "Thank you for showing me the wav." he said. "T am sure I should have missed the place had you not gone with me." "'Twasn't nothin'," the boy replied. "I don't want no pav for that." — The man pressed the matter no further he was a wise man. a man from whose life the "morning glow" had not entirely died away. "Thank you, mv boy, for the aid you have given me. Goodbye." He withdrew his black, gauntlet glove and held his slim. white band out for a parting shake. "I hope we'll meet again some dav." The bov grasped the outstretched hand timidly. "Some day vou'll own an automobile." the man continued as he looked into the tanned and freckled face, "won't von?" "Yes sir," the boy replied heartily, without a moment's hesitation. "That's right, sonny, in this life we may have almost anything in the world we want if we start after it soon enough and go the : 998 IMPROVEMENT ERA right way. Sometimes it takes one generation sometimes ten but sometimes a man can do a lot in a life time. Our childhood dreams can grow into realities but they must grow and we must ; — grow growth is the most wonderful thing in the world. Do von see that little sprout right there? That is a babv tree. It desires to become a big tree like its parent with cotton clusters hanging to its branches. It can't become great today, but. it will keep plugging away. Today it will send its roots a little farther into the soil ;tomorrow it will add a little to its height trrm some morn- : ing when it has grown and grown it will find itself with the cotton buds bursting on its branches. Remember it crows to r1 a^ and will grow tomorrow and the next day and the next for years. You may have the auto if you want it badly enough to keep plugging away like that little tree is going to do. Good-bye, my boy. Keep vour eye on that little tree." He gave his self-starter a jerk, opened the gasoline feed, let the clutch into place. The splendid machine answered to its master's touch and moved away with an ever accelerating motion. As he was rounding the curve bv the cottonwoods the man looked back and waved his hand to the lad who was still standing in the road, following with his great, hungry eves the glistening machine. After the auto had vanished the bov climbed uoon the ol ' brush fence where he sat perched like a frowsy specimen of th° feathered kingdom. His elbows were on his knees, his chin wa^ in his hands, his eyes were fixed upon an ethereal film nf ductthat shimmered in the sunshine after it passed from the sha^V r>f the big cottonwoods bv the bend. But now there was no tear to drop from the more firmly set jaw. In the blue eves was the dreamv light of prophecy. Thev looked not at the dust but through it at the wonderful mirage that apoea^ed before his thirsty soul. In that vision the lad saw a ""own the vears to the time when he should be a man full grown a man with gauntlet ; gloves steering a magnificent, deep-red car. A smile lit up his freckled face as he glanced up at the summer skv. Suddenly a mantle, a veil as it were, was removed from his eyes and he saw his wonderful world as he had never seen it before, — the cool blue mountains with the pines crowding along their summits, the trees, the crystal water, and from the orchard close by came the robins' riping song of summer, sprinkled with the fragrance of ripening fruit. The lad leaped to the ground in an ecstasy of delight in his ; eyes was the light of conquest. A great purpose, a new ideal had come into his life. He would be master of something some day. The thirst for power had entered his soul. He ran in through the gate to the back yard where he seized the ax and began the work his father had suggested that he do. As the blows fell his merry whistle rivaled the robins' tone. He was recreated; born again. PRESTON, IDAHO.