New-York tribune., 1903-07-06
CHAPTER II.
BRApFoRD READS HIS Letter


He sat some time with the letter in his hand
hesitating. The superscription told him that
now the time To open it. ITO my SON To
be opened on the day before he begins the prac-
tice of his profession" That was the curious
way in which the address ran-curiously rerni-
niscent in its quaint particularly of the mother
who had died five years before. He was at col
lege then They sent for him to come home, and
on the journey he counted the minutes one BY
one-so many. so many, so very many the long
night, the endless dayt-and, at last in the long
afternoon. he had reached the little prairie city
in which she lived. The minister met him at the
door That Of all men it must be that minister,
with his subdued. come t-us- be-cheerful-at-
all-hazards air. and the dull snufle in his voice!
Bradford took his offered hand mechanically.
conscious in his preoccupation that the sleeve
had a speck of egg on the end OF 1t. My
mother" he asked. breathlessly, taken out of
himself at the moment. My boy" the minister
had said, this is a vain world, a world Of
shadows My mother?' Bradford had in
terrupted intensely Sorrow comes to US ALL"
went on the minister monotonously and we
must bear il with what fortitude we''- Curse
you and your fortituder' broke in Bradford
His voice was wavering, thrilling; the suspense
was tearing the heart out of him, yet he knew 1t
was not suspense, either. but certainty that lay
ton. Bradford had not eaten since the after
noon before. Is my mother dead?" The
shocked minister nodded feebly; Bradford s
hands dropped at his side
He recalled his thoughts with a start and
smiled cynically. It had not really happened SO.
His entrance to the house had borne no such
touch Of fervor The minister had told him
simply and at once. Yet Bradford had loved his
mother and so to find her dead, cut off from
| him forever. to speak TO him more, to kiss
him more. TO love him more-such a
Homecoming he could not forget. 1t had been
dull in the event, but the latent possibility Of
drama was there. Bradford had merely mag
ined what might have been.
TO be opened on the day before he begins the
practice Of his profession" They had always
known that he was to be a lawyer. After she
went away he had continued in the Idea; finished
his college course finished his law course. taken
his year abroad. and now was come back, TO en-
ter upon the practice OF his profession He did
not contemplate the future with that sinking
Of the heart which besets so many young law
yers. Bradford professed disbelief in his own
cleverness but the chorus OF voices about him
which chanted II and called his attention TO 1t
had ended by fastening belief upon him IN
aware, and even against his judgment He ad-
mitted TO himself that he would probably Sue
ceed. He would not achieve the raw, huge. un-
worked success Of such crude fellows Muir
doch. but he would get along. He intended to
make his life q smaller, finer thing, cut and set
as jewel should be. and in proportion far more
valuable than the big ugly masses OF clay and
carbon which the world was always finding on
hillsides and tr1umphantly holding up for dia-
monds. Such a man as Murdoch was remarka-
Bile. doubt but how unfortunately rough!
AS Bradford remembered Murdoch's phrase
about the consciousness Of being an educated
man. he laughed quietly the laugh which he