Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1908-11-11

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5. Barring GOULD

eiiou6AIS III sOuI ucdu Ou are uuu-
ing fault with me. am not doing use
full work l am wasting valuable
hours over empty pursuits. l am eat
ing what disagrees with me, too much
or too little. Understand this, once
1 for all | hate to be watched. !
came out here to cut this grass, and
at once you are after me. You have
spied my proceedings. | must not
do this. If l sharpen the scythe
am all in the wrong bunting the
! blade
The tears filled Barbara's eyes.
Il am told nothing continued Mr..
Jordan. Everything l ought to know
is kept concealed from me, and you
whisper about me behind my back to
Jasper and Mr.. Coyshe.'
Indeed, indeed, dear papa
1t is true l have seen you talk
ing to Jasper, and l know it was about
me. What were you trying to worm
out of him about me? And so with
the doctor. You rode with him all
the way from Tavistock to the Down
the other day; my left ear was burn
ing that afternoon. What did II
burn for? Because | was being dis
cussed. / object to being made the
topic of discussion Then, when you
parted with the doctor, Jasper Babb
ran out to meet you, that you might
learn from him how | had behaved
what l had done, whilst you were
away. | have no rest in my own
house because of your prying eyes
Will you go now and leave me-
L will go now, certainly, said Bar
bara, with a gulp in her throat, and
swimming eyes.
'Stayi' he said, as she turned. He
stood leaning his elbow on the head OF
the scythe, balancing it awkwardly
L was told nothing of your visit to
Buckfastleigh You told Eve, and
you told Jasper-but | who am most
concerned only heard about it by a
side-wind. You brought Jasper his
| fiddle, and when | asked how he had
lit, Eve told me. You visited his
| father Well! am | nobody that
am to be kept in the dark?'
1 have nothing of Importance tc
tell said Barbara 1t is true l saw Mr.
Babb, but he would not let me inside
his house.
Tell me, what did that man say
about the money!
1 do not think there is any chance
of his paying unless he be compelled
He has satisfied his conscience. He
put the money away for you, and as
! it did not reach you the loss is yours
and you must bear it.
But good heavens. That is no eX-
cuse at ALL The base hypocrite! He
/ is a worse thief than the man who
stole the money. He should sell the
fields he bought with my loan
They were fields useful to him for
the stretching of the cloth he wove
in his factory
Are you trying to justify him for
Withholding payment? asked Mr.
Jordan. He is a hypocrite. What
was he to cry out against the strange
blood, and to curse it?-he, Ezekiel
Babb in whose veins ran fraud and
guile9
Barbara looked wonderingly at him
through the veil of tears that OBJ
scured her sight. What did he mean
He is an old man, papa, but hard
as iron. He has white hair, but none
of the reverence which clings to age
attaches to him
White hair. Mr.. Jordan turned
the scythe, and with the point aimed
at missed, aimed at again, and cut
down a white seeded dandelion in the
grass. That is white, but the neck
is soft, even if the head be hard,
said Mr. Jordan. pointing to the dan
delion. L wish that were his head
and | had cut through his neck. But
then he seemed to fall into a be-
| wildered state the blood should run
red-run. run, dribble over the edge,
red. This is milky, but acrid.' He
recovered himself / have only cut
down head of dandelion.' He re-
yersed the scythe again, and stood
leaning his arm on the back of the
blade. and staying the handle against
his knee.
My dear father, had you not better
put the scythe away?'
why should / do that, have
done no harm with it. No one can
set on me for what | have cut with it
only a white old head of dandelion
with a soft neck. Think-if it had
been Ezekiel Babbs head sticking out
of the grass, with the white hair
about it. and the sloe-black wicked
ewes. and with one cut of the scythe-
swish, it had tumbled over, with the
stalk upwards, bleeding, bleeding, and
the eyes we're in the grass, and wink
Ling because the daisies leased them
/; and made then water.
Barbara was distressed. She must
change the current Of his thoughts
To do this she caught at the first
thing that came into her head.
| Papa, I will tell you what Mr.
Coyshe was talking to me about. II
is quite right as you say. that you