San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-12-12
SUPPLEAIEN

forehead down to the tips of her toes,
which we can't see in the picture"
Eben was still studying the fair, I'M
familiar face of his only daughter. The
sweet, serious eyes looked at him un-
smilingly. They did not know each
other-that burly man and dainty girl.
81 hope she won't be too fine for the
home that's been good enough for her
mother all these years." Eben said
gently.
"Her and me are cut out by different
patterns, Eben. She amt goin to fit in
here. It'll be shock to her, old man, a
positive shock. We've done wrong
more than oncet by our own daughter,
Martin, and I'm just in tremble all
oyer since I've seen what she's growed
up to be.
"Done wrong? How do you make that
out?''
He placed the photograph conspicu-
ously ON the dining room mantelpiece,
lodging it ON top the wooden turrets in
which the eight day clock eliminated
"Thar. Leave it thar till the boys
| COiilc IL dllu AudhO CAAk 6uCSo VIM ~ 40.
I'm bound to eat and cut"
"Where are the boys, father"
"Down in the new cut. Seth said
he'd rather finish that bit O. fencin
while he was down thar than t. halter
go back t'morrer, and Charities turned
in t. help him. 1t amt likely they'll
get through before shutdown.
He dragged chair to the table 1t
grated harshly across the bare floor.
Mrs. Martin disappeared with the coffee
pot. She went to put it ON the kitchen
stove The boys liked their strong black
fluid hot Eben was cutting liberal
wedge out of the circular pone of egg
bread when she got back. He accosted
her with full mouth.
"You amt never explained yet what
you meant by us doin Liza wrong. l
thought we was givin her the bes' chance
in the world. Mrs Strong said we didn t
have no right to deny her the blessin's
of good education.
MRS Srongl That's just it. Mrs
Ssrongl She's been runnin the big
house and the governor and the boys
and the yard hands SO long that she
can't keep her finger out of anybody s
pie"
"You sound sorter snappishs Becky.
You know they SGT heap of store by
book leaInin up at the gov'nor's, and
our girl was uncommon bright and
purity. 1t was sorter freak of nature
our havin such a child given to us,
with her yellow curls and her great big
eyes and little hands and feet"
"Strong is just as good lookin in his
way"
"And l don't think it's for us to com.
plain when the governors KEEP Strong
at Shingleton college these years at his
own cost. /"
, "That is because Strong is named for
him, and he wants the responsibility OF
the name KEEP up. But Strong and Eliza
, is two different people, Eben, and I'm
not sayin college is goin to harm ouI
boy. He's got his way to make in the
world, and all three of the boys cant
oversee for Adrien when the governors
gone. Strong don't expect to come home
? and spend the rest of his days starin out
at them niggers' cabins, istenin to thai
everlastin slambang in the blacksmith n
shop, and at lot of mules switchin thu
flies off close to our very bedroom win
dows. Sometimes it sorter CRATES even OF
me, old man, specially if I've just COM
back from the big house, where it's al
SO different, but I've got used to it, ant
she's been out of it now for eight blessed
years. And there, Eben, 1 done wronl
in lettin Mrs Strong send her all poo
Gabriella's fine clothes and things.
, Gabrielle was dead. She didn t wan
the frippery no longer.
Eyes, reckon l knowed that as wei
as you do. But it has helped to spoi
r our Liza. She's got on silk dress RICH
s there in that picture now, Eben. Sh
g used to say when she was little CIR
that she loved to hear Mrs. Strong's sill
dresses go swish swish along the hall
the big house. / remember that yer
dress It's little blue and white chez
silk with lace-real lace, old mani
the throat and sleeves. don't thin
she'll care to hear it go swish swis
over these rough plank floors, Martin
do your
She caught her breath and went OF
more anxiously: "And then, Eben, tn
worst wrong of all I've done her wa
lettin Mrs Strong do all the letter writ
in, and when she comes home her moth
er-her own mother'l be the wors
shock of all to her, old man.. Tn
words eliminated in hard, dry sob.
"But somehow when her first lette
came home, lookin so sweet and cleal
and prim, l just couldn't bear to sem
her back one of my awful scrawls, an
! when Mrs Strong said it sorter comfort
ed her by maxim her feel as if she wa
? writin to her own Gabrielle, just lie
Q things go ON, never lookin far enoug
9 ahead to see the time when the chill
: would get through school and hattie
Y come home And now, Eben, she'll I'm
: out what q cheat am. l almost wis
: she did not halter come back at all.
d Don't say that, Becky. She oughte
ha n real comfort to Won when me an