The Marshall republican., 1911-03-03

patteu hef mother on the knee. Poor
old mammy!' she said. 'I'm going TO
help you"
Lie was touched by this action of
her proud daughter and smiled sndly.
"This Is no place for you. It's nothing
but q measly little COW town gone 10
scotland I'm gone to seed with II. ]
know Il. But what Is n Teller to do?
I'm stuck here, and I've got 20 make a
living or quit. I can't quit, so I stag
ger along"
i've come back to help you. mother.
You must let me relieve you Of some
Of the burden"
"What can you do. childf" Lie
asked gently.
II can teach"
"Not In this town you can't"
"why not?"
swell. there's a terrible prejudice
against-well, against me. And, be-
sides. the places are all filled for next
year. The wetherfords amt among
the first circles any more"
Lee Virginia remembered Gregg's
charge against her mother. What do
you mean by the prejudice against
your" she asked.
Lie was evasive. "Since | took to
running this restaurant my old friends
kind OF fell or. but never mind that
tonight"
The girls thought was now turned
into other half forgotten channels. II
wish you would tell me more about
father. l don't remember where he
wns buried"
"Neither do /, child. I mean ] don't
know exactly. You see. after that cat
tie wal he went away TO Texas. He
never came back and never wrote, and
by and by word came that he had died
and was buried, but I never could 20
down to sec where his grave was at"
didn't you know the name OF the
town.
"Yes, but II was n new place away
down In the Panhandle and nobody
I know lived there. And I never knew
anything more. Well. I must 10 back
Into the restaurant. ! bain't got n girl
I can trust TO count the cash"
Left alone, Lee Virginia wept no
more. but her face settled into an ex.
preston OF stern sadness. IL seemed
az II her girlhood had died out Of her
and that she was about to begin the
same struggle with work and worry
which had marked the lives Of all the
women she had known In her child
hood.
CHAPTER II.
II oREsT LANCER.
ZEE VIRGINIA was awakened next
morning by the passing OF some
one down the hall calling at each
4. door. six o'clock She had not
slept ut all TIL after I. She was lame,
heart weary aud ~dismnyed, but she
rose and dressed herself as neatly as
before. She had decided TO return 10
Sulphur. II cannot endure this" she
had repeated TO herself n hundred
times. II nU mott"
Hearing the clattcr OF dishes, she
ventured with desperate courage Into
the dining room, which was again
filed with cowboys. coal miners,
rnnchers and their tousled families
and certain nondcscript town loafers
Of tramp-like appearance.
Slipping into n seat nj the end OF the
table which offered the cleanest cloth,
Lee Virginia glanced round upon her
nelghbors with shrinking eyes. All
were shovcling their food with knife
blades and guzzlIng their coffee with
bent heads. Their faces scared her,
aud she dropped her eyes.
At her left. however. sat two men
whose greetings Were frank and man
iy and whose table manner betrayed
a higher form OF life. One Of them
was a tall man with a lean red face,
against which his blond mustache lay
like a chalk mark. lie wore a cordu-
roy Jacket cut In Norfolk style, and In
the collar Of his yellow shirt a green
tie was loosely knotted. His hands
were long and freckled, but were man
ifestiy trained to polite usages.
The other man was younger and
browner and of a compact. athletic fig-
ure. On the breast of his olive green
coat hung n silver badge which bore q
pine tree In the center. His shirt was
tan colored and rough. but his head
was handsome. He looked like a
young officer in the undress uniform
OF the regular army. His hands were
strong. but rather small. and the lines
Of his shoulders graceful. Most at
tractive of all were his eyes, 80 brown,
SO quietly humorous and so keen.
In the rumble Of cheap and vulgar
talk the voices Of these men appealed
to the troubled girl with great charm.
She felt more akin to them than to
any one else In the room, aud from
time to time she raised her eyes to
their faces.
They were aware Of her also, and
their gaze was frankly admiring as
well as wondering. and In passing the
ham and eggs or the sugar they con-
trived to show her that they consid-
cred her a lady In a rough place and
that thew would like to know more