News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1901-08-21

= v
for later on. and 1t amt fair to try and
convict a man without hearing him in
his own defense. Dick MaxwelPs gone
where he can't be heard and don't be-
| lieve that you are made of the sort of
stuff that's going to hit a man when
he's down-leastwise that amt exactly
the way that sized you up"
"What do you want me to do?"
"Your duty, not to him particularly,
IL you don't like 1t that way, but to
| yourself and to others-to me, to the
| cowboys on your ranch and to the
world. It's the worst kind of a cow
ard that turns tail at a time like this.
You go to your room and wait for me.
| Think it over. A man may have lots
of reasons for doing things, and they
may be of the sort that he can't ex-
plain, but there's one thing that is dead
certain, and that is that every son and
every daughter in the world has got
a credit as well 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 po-
lite society in the world is the one
that's made up of honest people,"
Isle reached out one hand and rest
ed it upon the arm of her friend.
"You are right, Craig" she said.
"There is no need for me to think it
sver. You have done that for me in the
few words that you have uttered. Be
fore you leave me, however, there is
one question which 1 must ask you"
"What is it, kid"
"Do you despise me because am a
woman? Tell me truly-do you despise
meT
elsie, the man never lived who
honestly despised women as a class.
Here and there one man may have
despised and hated one woman or two
or a dozen-but all of 'em? Not much!
'Tain't natural, and God Almighty new
er made one of us that way"
"My father did"
"Not on your life, Lisle. The best
| proof that you are wrong is the fact
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
| Tro tor 70 fol ind
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"
"Ain't /? Well, I'll answer it now.
1t don't make no difference to me OF to
any other man whether q 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 a woman, the idea
lis internal rot When l despise a per-
son, that persons pretty apt to know
it 'thout asking questions on the sub
ject Look here, Lisle; | wasn't in
tending to talk any more to you till
after | had a chance to turn things
over in my mind, but I'll 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 woman with
| out knowing what a woman is, and
you sorter feel as if you was walking
round arm in arm with your own ghost.
You've met 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 l reckon you'd find the inhabitants
of the other place sort of decent, and
| you ii uuu EN- 81 ueIS. lLlllh ludl
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 puzzlng me; it's the pres
ent. I'll have talk with Tom and his
daughter and bimeby We'll 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
IL g