The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-04-18

Copyright, 1902 by Daily Story Pub. Co.
If Phil had thrown a bomb into the
middle of the rag-carpeted floor he could
not have surprised his mother more But
he stuck to it.
Yes, mother, that is the only girl I
will ever marry" he repeated, throwing
his head back and looking down at the
WorkWorn little woman with eyes from
which cleaned all the determination of
" sons OF tie land 81 dikes an1 Ren4-
brandts. "And-I am goin' to marry her
some day. There amt no two ways about
that
Phil boy, you are foolish" replied the
woman, who had recovered her com
posture somewhat, but still visibly startled
and shocked. She amt one of our kind
Her people live in a fine house in the city
ana wear nne clothes and eat meat three
times day. They are quality folks
When she grows up to be young lady
she won't look at a barefooted farmer
BOY like you, with rough hands and no
schoolin'.'
Il don't care for all them things" re-
Piled the lad, defiantly. Il will marry her
some day. 1 will not be a barefooted
FARMER BOY L will git into their class
somehow
The mother smiled softly and shook her
mead She knew enough Of the world and
ITS ways to appreciate the position of aer
plg' shock-headed, barefooted, unlettered
boy. -
Ihere had been little of 10y or hone in
the boyhood of Phil Doran. but nIentv oe
seH-denlal and toll. 1t had been a hard
struggle for the widowed mother to keen
me lannlly together and fill the mouths
with the plaineSt food. When the father
rad died just as he had begun to gat a
start In the land of his adoption. he had
IeIt only the little farm whose scant acres
were not the most fertile-and the worst
OF IL was not entirely paid for. The wife
recently transplanted from the old conn
try, was ill-equipped to cope with the
sltuauon-an but for her STURDY industry.
her rigid economy and her single-tearte1
purpose But she had grappled with the
problem with all the patient perseverance
OF her race and had kept the wolf from
the door and met the payments on the
farm. IT had been a hard struggle-al-
most forlorn-and to keep head above
water it had been necessary to use all the
strength of Pills young limbs from the
time he could barely toddle.
MOST OF their income was derived from
raising garden truck and peddline II in
the city, and the days were all too short
10 care for the growing things and market
them Seldom indeed was young Phil in
bed after o'clock in the morning and
seldom were the evening chores cone 50
that he could seek his cot before q
| O'Clock.
He had been faithful and sturdy and
with the help of the younger children she
had been able to get along and paw off
the mortgage.
The first bit of sunshine which had
come into Phil's life had been this dav
when brown-eyed and brown-haired little
Susan Hunter had come out into the
country to spend the day. The Hunters
were good customers of the widow Doran
and while delivering her wares one dav
she had seen little Susan and remarked
her pale face and told her mother that a
DAY IN the country would put new color
INTO her cheeks. The result was that if
was arranged that Mrs Hunter should
bring the girl to the Doran farm for a
Gay oulng IN the country air. And Phil
had been detailed to show her all the
mysteries Of field and farm and barn and
sty. 1t had been the first real holiday the
boy had ever known and it had cost the
widow deal of planning to arrange it.
But the Hunters were profitable Gus
toners and the widow counted the Incl
dent of great advantage
Her surprise at Pills calm announce
meht tnat the evening that he proposed
to marry the dainty little patrician can
be imagined. And the boy never way
cred in his resolution. 1t became the
dominant motive of his young life. His
whole scheme of existence changed. He
began to pick I'D IN some mysterious wav
little learning. He could barely smell
out few words in print, but on the
rides to and from the city he now always
carried a newspaper generally an old