The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1901-09-06

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ognizing It. When | first came TO this
God forsaken country, ! used to pros
pect for gold over there in the Sierras.
and I've picked up pay dirt and chuck
ed IL away again a good many times
without knowing what II was. That's
Just how IL was this time. Well. kid,
before we go any deeper into this sub
ject, I've got just one thing 10 say
I'm going 10 be father and mother and
brother and sister and the hull billing lot
of relatives TO you from this on, with
out regard TO cOnventionalities, and for
the present. while turn this thing
over in my mind two or three times,
I'm going 10 think, and while I'm
thinking I'm going TO treat you as al
ways have-just as if you were boy
and lastly, before | speak very decid-
edly on the subject. I'm going 10 have
a talk with Miss Erna Thomas. She's
a whole team with n boss behind and a
dog under the wagon. Let's ride on"
There was silence between them aft
er that, neither speaking until the
ranch was before them; then IL was
Craig Thompson who spoke.
81 brought Hank Smith along with
me-" he said. Hes handy with tools
and can make a coffin in jiffy. Where
shall we break groundP'
ut makes no difference 10 me-"
81 mean where do you want the old
man buriedT'
II understood you. do not care.
Bury him where you please. 1t is ali
the same TO me-"
"Humph. Look here. Isle. under
stand how you feel, but you don't want
to do anything now that you'll be sorry
for later on. and il amt fair 10 try and
convict a man without hearing him in
his own defense. Dick Maxwells 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,
II you don't like it 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 1t over. A man may have lots
of reasons for doing things, and they
r.ay 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 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 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 1t
over. 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 l must ask you"
"What is it, kidE"
do you despise me because | am q
woman? Tell me truly-do you despise
meY
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, Isle. 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
60 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 agin him I'll eat t."
"But you have not replied to my
question, Craig"
"Ain't /? Well, I'll answer 1t now.
1t don't make no difference to me or to
any other man whether a human crit
ter's a man or n 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 | despise a per-
son, that persons pretty apt to know
1t 'thout asking questions on the sub
ject. Look here, Lisle: / wasn't in
tending to talk any more to you till
after / had chance to turn things
over in my mind, but I'll say this:
You're facing a situation that looks q
heap sight bigger to you than it does
or ever will to anybody else. You have
| found out that you are woman with
i n