Morgan County democrat. (Versailles, Mo.) 1900-1906, 1903-10-16

HnEAR Brother jim: This is Il very
- nice place. and ! am cnjOyin'
1t accordingly. We are about a mile
from the village and the road is good
and Miss Laura and | drive over twice
\ day. Miss Laura lets me drive sum
times, but she's aiiade lie get the horse
his name is The DOok-Out of the
stile of driving that women prefur.
And when | titcn up on the lines and
The Dock strikes a lively clipp, she
says 'Stcddy, Tommy and then | have
to pull him ". But she Is a nice girl
notwithstanding She has the prettiesi
brown hair, and such dope darke eyes,
and such q sweet way of speekin'.
And they rave a butiiul home. It's on
"A hill and you can see miles around 1t.
From my window | can catch site of
the lake thru a gap in the hills. It's
"A very nice lake tho not dcpe enuff to
drown me and Laira's father owns ii.
They say he Is pritty rich. Mr.. Rum
~midgc-he sells books in the village
and lets you borrow them for too sents
u day-says I.aura's father Is a vii
age Crcescs. II tells about Creesej
.SOmew here in a book and he IA the
richest man in the state. but | think
he is dead now. | CESS you must have
heard about him. He was a HISTORY.
kal carackter. ! wish you was here
Brother Jim. We'd have CRATE times.
Laura's most as good as "A boy for hav-
in fun. Thare | hecr her calm. The
Dock Is a-champin Oh his bit and
waitin' impashent AT the cassel gait.
That's the way Laura talks. She's
most u good as "A play actor. Aunt
Emmyline says Laura's %romantick.
so ! must close. Write just as soon
as you hear from papa and mamma
From your loving brother. Tom"
James Thornton, rising young at
tOrney, smiled over this epistle and
laid 1t away carefully in a pige0nholc
OF his desk. whence 1t would be taken
and inclosed with his next letter to the
absent parents across the sea.
There was IA long gap bat ween
brother jim, aged u. and brother
Tom. aged II. and this gap had seem
ingly drawn them closer together. To
brother jim, brother Tom had never
seemed the aggravated nuisance that
little brothers usually appear In the
eyes of older brothers. Jim had
looked with amused tolerance On Toms
widest pranks, and as for TOm-well,
there were few heroes Of childish rO-
nance that did not suggest his clever
big brother. And Tom had been left
In Jim's care while the father and no
lyar.t rnnD mnfhGr wont abroad TOR
the latter's health. II was d hot sum-
mer, and Tom was cOnvalescing from
a severe case OF measles, and so Jim
thought It wise to pack him of to a
little village that nestled In the woods
of the upper Hudson. where he was
sure to receive the best Of care at the
home Of a su~perannuatcd %bOOkkeepcr Of
the firm OF which James Thornton was
the newly admitted junior member.
And II was from BOOkkecper Barclays
home that Miss Laura Garman had
fairly kidnapped him. True, she
wrote a model letter to Jim. In which
she requested the loan of his young
kinsman, but before his answer could
he received she had him installed az
,7reycrag, and In a position to add his
petition to hers.
He was such a delightful boy. she
wrote, and he would make the hours
nj Greycrag seem 8 much less lone
some. Saving for the presence OF a
maiden aunt she wa quite alone
there, her father and mother having
gone to California to take an invalid
sister Of the latter. Besides she vas