People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1893-06-30


the ailantus and as quickly subsidized. A
few heavy perpendicular raindrops
crashed and spattered through the
foliage like molten lead.
you've just escaped the shower,
said CORTLAND. pleasantly. He had not
seen Champney since they parted in the
cemetery, six weeks before.
Eyes I-I-thought I'd like to have
a little talk with you, CORTLAND, said
Champney. He hesitated a moment be-
fore the proffered chair, and then added,
with a cautious glance towards the
street: Hadn't we better go insidel"
"As you like. But you'll find it woe
fully hot. We're quite alone here;
there's nobody in the house and this
shower will drive any loungers from
the street" He was quite frank, al
though their relations to each other in
regard to Miss Sally were still so unde-
fined as to scarcely invite bis conf
dence
Howbeit Champney took the prof
ferred chair and the glass of julep
which CORTLAND brought him.
"You remember my speaking to you
of Dumont?" he said, hesitatingly.
"Miss BOWS French cousin, you know?
Well-he's coming here; he's got prop
erty here-those three houses opposite
the courthouse. From what | hear
he's come over with lot of new-fangled
French ideas on the niger question
rot about equality and fraternity, don't
you knOw-and the highest education
and highest offices for them. You know
what the feeling is here already; you
know what happened at the last cleo
ton at Coolidgeville; how the whites
wouldn't let the niggers go to the polls
and the jolly row that was kicked up
over it. Well it looks as if that sort of
thing might happen here, don't you
know, if Miss Bows takes up these
ideas"
But I've reason to suppose mean"
said CORTLAND, correcting himself with
some deGberation, that anyone who
knows Miss BOWS opinions knows
these are not Ter views. Why should
she take them up?"
Because she takes him up" r. .urned
Champney, hurriedly, "and even if she
didn't believe in them herself, she'd
have to share the responsibility with
him in the eyes Of every unreconstruct-
ed rowdy like Tom Higbee and the rest
of them. They'd make short work of
her niggers all the same"
But don't see why she should be
made responsible for the opinions of
her cousin, nor do l exactly know what
taking him up means, returned Court
land, quietly.
Champney moistened his dry lips with
the julep and uttered a nervous laugh.
Suppose we say her husband, for that's
what his coming back here means.
Everybody knows that-yOu would too,
ifyou ever talked with her about any
thing but business"
A bright flash of lightning that lit up
the faces of the two men would have
revealed Champney's flushed features
and Courtland's lack of color, had they
been looking at each other. But they
were not, and the long reverberating
crash of thunder which followed pre-
vented any audible reply from Court
land, and covered his agitation.
For without fully accepting Champ
ney's conclusion he was cEelly shocked
at the young mans utterance of them.
He had scrupulously respected the
wishes Of Miss Sally and had faithfully
although never hopelessly-held back
any expression of his own love since
their conversation in the cemetery.
But while his native truthfulness and
sense of honor had overlooked the
seeming insincerity of her attitude to-
wards Champney, he had never justi-
fed his own tacit participation in it,
and the concealment of his own pre-
tensions before his possible rival. 1t
was true that she had forbidden him to
openly enter the lists with her admir-
ers, but Champney's innocent assump-
ton of his indifference to her and his
consequent half condolences added
poignancy to his story. There seemed