The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1901-08-22
THE PRINCETON UNION: THURsDA AZ, Uo,1Jsr. % 100,

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Imay be- e the sort that he can't ex-
plain, bnt there's one thing that is dead
certain, and that is that every son and
every daughter in the world has got
credit as we'll as a debit account in
the names of the old folks, and any,
body who won't study both sides Of the
ledger before making out the balance
sheet amt fit to be mentioned in polite
society, and, Lisle, the only really DO
lite society in the world is the one
that's made up of honest people,
Lisle reached out one hand and rest
ed 1t upon the arm Of her friend.
'You are right, Craig,'' she said.
'"There is no need for me to think it
over. You have done that for me in the
few words that you have uttered. Be-
fore you leave me, however, there is
enc question which must ask you.''
"What is it, kid?' .-....+. -
do you despise me because | am q
woman? Tell me truly-do you despise
me?''
honestly despised women as a class.
Here and there one man may have
despised and hated one woman or two
or dozen-but all of 'em? Not much!
faint natural, and God Almighty new
er made one of us that way
''My father did,
"Not on your life, Isle. The best
un1 t.
that he hid himself away from 'em all
the way he did. He did that because
he loved 'em SO that he didn't dare to
go where they were for fear that his
pride would give In to human nature.
It's more than likely that one woman
has deceived him somehow, and he got
on his ear, just as you have done at
him. There wasn't any old critter like
Craig Thompson around to tell him the
difference tween tweedledum and
tweedledee. You just make out that
balance sheet and look it over, and if
you don't find more to your dads credit
than you've; got ag'in him I'll eat it,
But you have not replied to my
question, Craig -. >.
g. "Ain't I? Well, III answer it now.
It don't make no difference to me or to
any other man whether a human crit
ter's man or woman. It's the crit
ter, not the sex, that we look at. No.
body will ever be despised by any
body if he or she is honest and true.
Those are the biggest words in the die
tionary of human conduct, cause they
mean the most. AS for my despising
you because you're woman, the idea
is Internal rot. When l despise a per-
son, that persons pretty apt to know
it 'thout asking questions on the SUBJ
ject. Look here, Lisle: wasn't in
tending to talk any more to you till
after l had chance to turn things
over in my mind, but III say this:
You're facing a situation that looks
heap sight bigger to you than it does
or ever will to anybody else. You have
found out that you are a woman with
out knowing what woman is, and
you sorter feel as if you was walking
round arm in arm with your own ghost.
You've met a stranger that you can't
git away from for the rest Of your life
You've got to get acquainted, and the
sooner you get on familiar terms with
yourself the better for all concerned.
If you had been picked up and carried
away and suddenly put down again on
another planet, you couldn't have been
in much worse fix than you are now,
but reckon you'd find the inhabitants
Of the other place sort of decent. and
you'll find 'em so here. think that
between Tom Thomas, Erna and me
we can set you on the right road all
right, but you've got to remember that
you can't jump on to your boss and
ride from here to my ranch in half an
hour. If you do it in three, you're rid
ing mighty fast, and you know it, So
you see you can't expect to know every
thing that concerns this transformation
of yours in holy minute. 1t amt the
future that's puzzling me; it's the pres
ent. I'll have talk with Tom and his
daughter, and bimeby Veil look over
Dicks papers and things. The domi-
NELL be here about shutdown, and We'll
have the funeral and plant your guv'-
nor in the morning, and tomorrow night
after the rest have gone to bed you and
me and maybe Tom will sit down in
the library and talk it. over. In the
meantime I'll be doing some think
ing, and you can tote Erna around the
place and show her things and talk.
Tom and l will manage, everything.
You jest leave that to us. You keep
q q
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