Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1901-05-01
would hold US up until you could es-
tablish paying practice. Now. don't

be silly"
Nelly" he said solemnly, II cannot
AFFORD to marry now. People would
say that married you for,your money,
and don't intend to put myself In a
position where such motive could be
imputed to me. 1t would be unjust to
me and YOU" ~.
..Well, JIM" and there were tears in
4 her voice, "lsdon't think you are acting
fairly toward me. Here am an or
phan, with nobody on earth to love ex-
cept you so that life without you will
be worse than no life mt all. and now
you say you cannot marry ME until you
make what It took my father a life
time to accumulate. Why. by that
time. I'll have wrinkles and maybe
false teeth and glasses, and be hor-
rid. snuffy, fussy old woman"
No. Nell, I don't want to make $780,
!; coo. If had 500. 600 1t would be all
right. And it will not take long. Out
West will make 1t quickly. just you
stand fast and wait for me.'
"Oh, I'll wait. butt think you are
hateful and pigheaded just the same.
Would you marry me If hadn't any
money at all?"
Eyes, gladly. and we would be happy,
too. You would manage somehow.
But now my self-respect will not allow
me-"
So 1t was that he went to make his
fortune and at the same time peace
with his unduly-active conscience. To
his utter disgust, he found. after a
years prospecting, that gold mines
were not at all plentiful, and that every
foot of the mountains had been pros
pected over time and again. A year
In Mexico assured him that tile business
of finding silver mines lying around
loose had also played out long ago, and
that 1t took lots of capital to start
ranching on paying basis. Funds
were getting low. SO he secured place
as one Of the herdsmen of the xxx
outfit, and on account of his grave de-
meanor was promptly named by the
other cowpunchers Sorrowful Jim.
And the name stuck to him.
During all Ills wanderings he had
written to Nell as regularly as posi-
Bile, and had begun to regret in a
measure his puritanical conscience.
AT $40 month and grub he did not
see that fortune was in immediate
prospect. Absence had indeed made
1 his heart grow fonder, and he longed
for sight of Nell's laughing eyes and
dimpled face.
Yet he would not acknowledge him
\ self beaten or that he would give in.
Much against his inclination he re-
manned consumed with a desire to see
her, yet impelled to remain in stiff
necked pride, acting as avant courier
and escort for a lot Of wild-eyed, long
horned steers. all the while cursing
himself for fool. So he and the rest
Of the outfit did not have much In COM
mon together, and he grew more and
more unsociable and lonely.
Small wonder was 1t, then, that when
he received letter from her he felt
that his voluntary exile was broken.
His penance was done, and he was
free to return to civilization and Nelly.
"You come on, Jim, dear" the letter
said -"that Is, of course, If you care to
take an almost doweriess bride.
have now only enough left to bring me
In $500 year-exactly what you had.
/ do not own another thing on earth.
had concluded that the money with
out you was not worth having, and as
long as you are SO stubborn about 1t
saw that must give in, SO have done
80 gladly. have got to be "a, as you
know, and have absolute control over
my property. So, in order to get you,
] have given away my fortune.
aYou have cost me nearly 500. 600,
20 I'm Of the opinion that you had bet.
ter come on and deliver yourself up az
. victim. don't propose e tsl zen