The Kinsley graphic. [volume] (Kinsley, Kan.) 1890-1940, 1902-10-10
THE
DEPUTY CLAlMANT
BY ISABEL Z. MACKAY.
WHY did he not come to Eng
wv land himself?" asked the girl,

effectively.
The deputy claimant began to chew
blade of grass. "Well, to tell the
ruth, think he was little bit-ahem
nervous"
"You mean that he was afraid. am
rot surprised. All thieves are cow
.rds."
'Thieves!' exclaimed the deputy
claimant, eproachfully.
Eyes, thieves" SAID she. "What do
-gou call a man who, just because he
happens to be my uncle's son, and my
incie happened to be two years older
han my father and happened to have
got married without telling any of his
,elations-just because of a little
shing like that-here he comes and
takes my home away from me and
makes me go and live with Aunt Maria |!
hate Aunt Maria!" she finished, vim
hctively.
The deputy claimant depressed a
smile.
"Don't you call man like that a
hief?'' repeated the girl angrily.
"1-er-that is-the law"
"Oh, if you're going to talk law"
aid the girl, disdainfully.
The deputy claimant Immediately re-
pressed his legal knowledge. Instead
he looked up at her and thought how
very pretty she was, and how the back
ground of green trees and velvet lawn
suited her. He had been thinking these
tame things ever since he first visited
there, four weeks before.
at is deuc-very hard on you. You
seem to be in place here. You were
made for parks, you know, and big
rooms and servants and pretty dresses,
and-er-that sort of thing"
The girl threw out her hands with a
little pathtic gesture. at is my
home!" In her eyes there was home
sick look already. Her glance wan
dered over the broad terrace, through
the branching green of the trees to the
flowers in the distance, and the quaint
old house basking peacefully in the
sun. She went on, dreamily:
at is not so much giving up TIE serv-
ants, or the pretty dresses, or ceasing
to be called the lady of the manor,
or any of the hundred-and-one things
that go with it; it is the thought of
having no right here-here, where
have lived all my life and thought
should live always. To go away and be
n stranger, and all this belonging to
some one else-some one whom I have
never seen-an outsider-an alien
at is hard luck" said the young
man, sympathetically. Then, remem-
bering his duty as proxy for the b.
sent one, he continued: "But, you see,
you ought to be just. You can't help
seeing that he could not help his ia
Their being two years older than yours,
and he could not help the law"
The girl gave weary little sigh.
no." she said, 81 suppose not. But he
need not have insulted me-"
"What?" said the deputy claimant,
sitting up straight and nearly choking
himself with the grass blade he had
been chewing.
''He could have helped that" said the
young lady. with emphasis.
81 do not understand" he protested.
ibid you say that he has insulted
you?"
"Oh,' she said, 81 thought you did
not know. will tell you if you prom
Use never, never to breathe word. He
wrote to Aunt Maria"
.Yes," he said, "but-"
'He wrote to Aunt Maria" she con-
tinued, triumphantly, land he told her
that l might have the property back
If I would take him with it,"
"Oh," said the young man, reproach-
fully, che did not put it like that"
How do you know?" she asked,
quickly. "But of course he did n OF put
it in just that way. He said that he
was. very sorry to dispossess the pres
ent claimant, that-he understood that
the person in question was very young
lie said he did not know much about
girls, but that didn't she think it would
settle things naturally if-if-"
at see," he said. 'He made ter.
rible bungle of it, poor fellow!"
"Was it an insult or was it not y
asked the girl, ineXorably.
The deputy claimant looked very
miserable. He was certainly in tight
place.
Looking at it from your point Of
view" he said, finally, considering
your character, your training, your
views of life and things like that, il
was certainly an insult. understand
that now. But when he-ahem-reaG
me the letter.
"Oh, he did read you the letter."
-''I did not look at it in just that
way and neither did he. You see, we
had both lived all our lives out on ;
prairie farm. We did not know mucl
about girls, as he says. He did no.
understand-well.h he did not under
stand anything" he finished. desper
ately.
And you think?"
s.T think he did not mean it as an in
suit. / know he did not"
He glanced at her imploringly, bu
eHa lacked AWAY There WAS a sliCh