Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1912-06-27
Me wAN IN the..
BROWN DERBY
~,
Wells HASTINGS
e@o Author Of GEO
The Professors Mystery
(oydshtlsllby Bobb,l1erra co.

(oYrshtl9llby BobbF1erra co.
CHAPTER vi Continued.
"You see," she went on, father
was not himself He had lost interest
in the world, and his courage. the big,
fighting courage know he once had,
was broken. As he had drawn away
from the world and business he paid
less and less attention to his own at
fairs, and though am sure he did not
love his brother and that even his
presence in the house made him un.
comfortable, yet. once having taken
him in because he was sorry for him,
he found it more and more easy to cast
his responsibilities on him. First, they
used to have long talks together of an
evening, talks from which my father
came out looking worn and tired, and
which gradually absorbed the time we
had been accustomed to spending so
happily together. They were business
talks, he told me, and he used to sigh
YEARLY, and complain because the
money which he no longer cared for.
so demanded his attention. At last, l
know. he revolted, and gave all his
necessary business into Uncle
Ephraim's charge. It Is queer how
gradually such things come about.
remember how used to pity my father
for the work he had to do, until
almost felt grateful to Uncle Ephraim,
whom I hated for relieving him of it.
But enither of us realized, until the
time was sent away to school, what
a power he had become in the house.
at was the last great test, and 1t
showed how complete his influence
over my father had become. was
the only thing on earth my father cared
for, and my uncle was able to make
him part with me. He told him,
remember, that he had been selfish,
that no matter how well he was educat-
ing me, he had no right to withdraw
me from the companionship OF other
girls; and although my father wept
piteously and openly when he told me
OF 1t, he was too much under my
uncle's sway to be unconvinced, and
I was sent to school which my uncle
chose for me in pretty surburb OF
Paris. had been at school scarcely
two months when I was recalled by
q cablegram from my uncle. My
father. he cabled, had received some
sort of stroke. was hurried home by
the first steamer, but I never saw my
father again.
AT first Uncle Ephraim said that my
father was too sick to see me. NO one
saw him but his doctor and his man
trained nurse, and sometimes, l sup
pose. my uncle. lived for months IN
terrible anxiety, to be told finally that
although my father was growing
stronger, his long fever had SO preyed
upon his mind as to leave him actual
|ly unbalanced, and that the only hope
Of a cure lay in keeping him in the
quiet Of absolute seclusion. They all
told me 80, the doctor, my uncle and
the nurse. was sure 1t would have
done him good to see me, to have had
ma TO take care Of him and to amuse
him. but they were all very certain 1t
would not, and I was only fifteen and
now had not even my governess to
advise me. So for Ave years my father
lived in closed ROOM.
Nancy paused, her face turned away
from me. knew that she was strug'
Cling with her tears
give years." she repeated softly, at
last. "but now he is free again. she
turned wet eyes to me and smiled. HE
died six days ago." she said.
tried, suppose, to offer some poor
consolation, for Nancy interrupted me
mo" she said, II am not sorry for
that: l am glad. 1t was not then ne
died for me. but long ago. am only
glad now, glad that he is free, for he
was more a prisoner than ]"
Than your"
"For all those years." Nancy an
swered, II have been kept close;
have never in all that time gone even
for little walk without my uncle OF
his man. Jones'"
"Do you mean to say" l cried, "that
YOU yourself were not free to 60
where you liked? Why, the thing
sounds impossible!"
ut would have been impossible II
had had any one in the world to turn
to: but you must remember that was
ali alone. that Uncle Ephraim really
was nv guardian could not believe
at first that he would dare actually
to make a prisoner of me. But 1t was
very hard to be independent with
Uncle Ephraim. He had way Of
treating me like a small girl; as II
he could never bring himself to realize
that had grown up. He punished me
dreadfully for what he called indis'
cretions such as speaking to the wom
+, an who sat next to me IN the trolly
or stopping to chat with little news
~, IN The street. He would lock me
in my room for days for such offenses
once or twice he even made me hold
ont nv hand while he struck 1T with a
ruler. and once, when called to a
girl OF my own age from my window
after he had locked me in my room, he
threatened to punish not only me, but
my poor broken father also, and I had
to give up my room for one in the
back of the house"
"p,+ vhv did YOU stay?" asked