Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1908-12-16
s. Barring GOULD

daughter, and when for the second
time she played me false, | wiped
off the dust of my feet as a testimony
against her.
She left her child?'
Yes. she deserted her child as well
as her husband-that Is to say, MT
Ignatius Jordan. She deserted the
house that had sheltered her, to run
after a homeless, bespangled, be-
painted play actor. / know all about
it. The life at Morwell was too dull
for her, it was duller there than at
Buckfastleigh. Here she could see
something of the world she could
watch the factory hands coming TO
their work and leaving it; but there
she was much out of the world as IL
she were in Lundy Isle. She mad d
hankering after the glitter and paint
of this empty world
L cannot believe this. / cannot De
lieye that she would desert the man
man who befriended her, and forsaKe
her child
You say that because you did not
know her. You know Martin; "ouiu
he not do it? You know Watt; mas
he any scruples and strong domestic
affections? She was like them; had
in her veins the same boiling. giddy,
wanton blood
Jasper knew but too well that Mar
tin and Watt were INSCRIPTIONS, ana
followed pleasure regardless OF the
calls of duty. He had been too young
when his sister left home to know
anything of her character. 1t was
possible that she had the same ngnt
and careless temperament as Martin'
"A horse that SHES once will shy
again. said the old man. Eve ran
away from home once, and she ran
away from the second home. II sne
did not run away from home third
time it probably was that she had
none to desert
And Mr. Jordan knows nothing Oh
herr
"He lives too far from the stream
of life to see the broken dead things
that drift down It.
Jasper considered. The flush of an
ger had faded from his brow; an ex-
preston of great sadness had sue
ceeded. His hand was over his brow
but he was no longer intent on MS
fathers face; his eyes rested on the
table.
must find out something about
nv sister. 1t is too horrible to think
of our sister, our only sister, as
lost, sunk, degraded thing
He thought of Mr.. Jordan, of his
strange manner, his distracted look,
his capricious temper He did not be-
lieve that the master of Morwel' was
in his sound senses. He seemed to be
a man whose mind preyed Oh come
great sorrow till all nerve had gone
out of it. What was that sorrow
Once Barbara had said to him, in ex-
cuse for some violence and rudeness
in her fathers conduct, that he had
never got over the loss of Ewes
mother.
Mr.. Jordan was not easy about his
treatment of my daughter, said old
Babb. From what little | saw of him
seventeen years ago 1 take him to be
a weak-spirited man. He was in a
sad take-on then at the loss of Eve,
and having a baby thrown on his
hands unweaned He offered me the
money l wanted to buy those fields
for stretching the cloth. You may be
sure when a man presses money on
you, and is Indifferent to interest,
that he wants you to forgive him
something. He desired me to look over
his conduct to my daughter, and drop
all inquiries. dare say they had had
words, and then she was ready in her
passion to run away with the first
vagabond who offered
Then Jasper removed his hand
from his face, and laid one on the
other upon the table His face was
now pale, and the muscles set His
eyes looked steadily and sternly at
the mean old man. who averted his
eyes from those of his son.
What is this? You took bride
father, to let the affair remain un
sifted! For the sake OF few acres OF
meadow you sacrificed your child
'Fiddlesticks-ends,' said the manu-
facturer. I sacrificed nothing. What
could I do? If I ran after Eve and
found her in some harlequin and col
umbine booth, could / force her to re
turn? She made her bed, and must
lie on it. What could | gain by stir
ring in the matter? Let sleeping dogs
lie.'
! Father, said Jasper, very gravely
the fact remains that you tool
money that looks to me very mucf
| like bribe to shut your eyes,
'Pshaw! pshaw! 1 had made up my
mind. l was full of anger agains
4 L. %~l-