Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1911-05-04

feel Q~uarrelSOuo any muEet duu L
thought my big brothers hand would
feel-well-grateful and comforting.
you know"
She was curious as to why he want
ed the explanation, but she give 1t to
him unhesitatingly, without the faint
est touch of coquetry Oh embarrass-
ment
81 can't remember back to the
time" she continued, when l didn't do
things like that to you. just as you
did to me, and neither of us ever
wanted an explanation before. Are
you trying to make up your mind to
disown me, or something's"
He leaned back modify into his
chair without answering her.
After a little perplexed silence, she
spoke again. Il didn't know things
were going wrong with you. didn't
even suspect it until this morning,
when Uncle Jerry said"
What" Tom interrupted. What
does the governor know about it?
What did he say?"
why, nothing. but that you were
playing in rather hard luck, he
thought, and that l was to be nice to
you. Is the world going badly real
ly badly-really badly?"
Eyes" That curt m~onosyllable was
evidently all the answer he meant to
make. At that she gave up all at
@o~,o& 81 ooueolo him droppod haplx
in her chair and cuddled a little deep
err down under her bear skin, her face,
three-quarters away from him, turned
toward that part of the sky that was
already becoming glorious with the
tints of sunset.
You've never had any doubt at all,
have you, that l really deserved the
job of being your big brother; that
l was that quite as genuinely as If l
had been born that way?"
NO." she said; "of course not, Tom,
dear. What put such an idea into
your head?"
He paled a little, and it was a min
ute or two before he could command
the words he wanted, to his lips. BE
cause of my hopes, l suppose" he
said unsteadily; because l had hoped,
absurdly enough, for the other an
swer. You asked as q joke a while
back If / meant to disown you. Well,
I do, from that ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I'm not fit for the job; because-be'
cause-Tve come to love you in the
other way"
She looked at him in perfectly blank
establishment. He would not meet hel
eyes, his own, their pupils almost
parallel, gazed out, unseeing, beyond
her.
Slowly her color mounted until sh'
felt her whole face burning. Il didn'
know" she said. you shouldn't hav'
: let me go on thinking
l II didn't know myself until today,
) he interrupted her stormily; II didn'
know / knew, that is. But when | saw
: you put your hands on that villa1r
Cayley, l wanted to kill him, and II
I to-"
Turning suddenly to look at her, he
} saw that she had buried her face II
: her hands and was crying ~forlornly
"Oh, / am a BRUTE" he concluded, 1T
have told you about it in this way"
What does the way matter? That
, not what makes 1t hard. It's loving
you SO much, the way I do, and having
: to hurt you. It's having to lose m.
brother-the only brother I ever had.
t There was a long, miserable silence
! after that. Finally he said: Jeanne
If you do love me as much as that
: the way you do, not the way l lov,
you, but love me any way-could yol
: -could you-marry me just the same
t I'd never have any thought in tn
world but of making you happy. An,
< I'd always be there; you could coun
8 on me, you know
"Don't!" she interrupted curly
0 Don't talk like that, Tom" She SHY
9 cred, and drew away from him wit
a little movement somewhere nea
? akin to disgust
Q He WINGED at 1t, and reddenet
d Then, in a voice that sounded curious
/ ly thick to her, curiously unlike hi
l. own, he asked a question: IF I ha
told you all this a month ago-tol
you how I felt toward you, and aske
o you, loving me the way you do, t
q marry me just the same, would your
Q oh, / suppose you would have n
g fused. But would you have shuddere
9 and shrunk away from me-like that?
2 did I shudder and shrink away?
. she asked. Il didn't know 1t.
wasn't angry; I'm not now. But
: but that was q terrible thing 20
: asked Of me-"
Would 1t have struck you as no
! rible," he persisted, If l had asked
q month ago?
I" Perhaps not" she answere
q thoughtfully. I've changed a goo
= deal in the last month-since W
sailed away from San Francisco an
q left the world behind us-our worl
! and came out into this great whit
4 empty one. ! don't know why that is
Il know" He was speaking with
It sort Of brutal intensity that startle
her. II know. It's not in the la
/. month you've changed; it's within Il
q last "a hours; it's since you saw ar
fell in love with that murderous lyir
brute Of a Cayley.s
e. II don't know" she said very quie
iy, whether you're trying to kill Il