Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1912-06-13
"Humph! First time I ever knew
you to be stumped by $40, Elnora."

"Humph! First time I ever knew
you to be stumped by $40, Elnora,,"
said Sinton, patting her hand.
"It's the first time you eve knew me
to want money" answered Elnora.
''This is different from anything that
ever happened to me. Oh. how can 1
get it, Uncle Wesley?"
"Drive to town with me in the morn
ing and III draw it from the bank for
you. l w you every cent Of it,"
"You know you don't w me a pen
ny, and l wouldn't touch one from you
unless l really could earn it. For any
thing that's past 1 owe you and Aunt
Margaret for all the home life and love
I've ever known. l know how you
work. and I'll not take your money"
Just a loan, Elnora; just a loan for
a little while until you can earn it.
You can be proud with all the rest of
the world. but there's no secrets be-
tween us. Is there. Elnora?"
"No." said Elnora. there are none.
You and Aunt Margaret have given me
all the love there has been in my life.
That is the one reason above all others
why you shall not give me charity. I
won't touch your money, but I'll win
some way. First I'm going home and
try mother. It's just possible l could
find secondhand books, and perhaps
all the tuition need not be paid at once.
Maybe they would accept it quarterly.
But. oh, Uncle Wesley, you and Aunt
Margaret keep on loving me. I'm so
lonely, and no n else cares"
Wesley Sinton's jaws met with a
click. He swallowed hard on bitter
words and changed the thing he would
have said three times before it became
articulate.
"Elnora," he said at last, IF it hadn't
been for one thing I'd have tried to
Jake legal steps to make you ours when
you were three years old. Maggie said
then it wasn't any use, but I've always
held on. You see, 1 was the first man
there, honey, and there are things, you
see, that you can't ever make anybody
else understand. She loved him, Ell
nora. She just made an idol Of him.
There was that oozy green hole, with
the thick scum broke and two or three
big bubbles slowly rising that were the
breath of his body. There she was in
spasms Of agony and beside her the
great heavy log she'd tried to throw
him. l can't ever forgive her for turn
ing against you and spelling your child
hood as she has, but I couldn't forgive
anybody else for abusing her. Maggie
has got no mercy on her, but Maggie
didn't see what I did, and I've never
tried to make it very clear to her. You
be a patient girl and wait a little long
er. After all. she's your mother, and
you're all she's got but a memory, and
it might do her good to let her know
that she was fooled in that"
1T would kill her" cried the girl
swiftly. Uncle Wesley, it would kill
her! What do you mean?"
Nothing" said Wesley Sinton sooth-
ingly. Nothing, honey. That was
just one of them fool things a man
says when he is trying his best to be
wise. You see she loved him nightly,
and they'd been married only a year,
and what she was loving was what she
thought he was. She hadn't really got
acquainted with the man yet. If it
had been even one more year she could
have borne it and you'd have got JUS
t1ce. Having been a teacher, she was
better educated and smarter than the
rest Of us, and so she was more sensi-
tive like. She can't understand she
was loving a dream. So 1 say it might
do her good if somebody that knew
could tell her, but 1 swear to gracious
I never could. I've heard her out at
the edge Of that quagmire calling in
them wild spells of hers off and on for
the last sixteen years and imploring
the swamp to give him back to her,
and I've got out Of bed when I was
pretty tired and come down to see she
didn't go in herself or harm you. What
she feels is too deep for me. I've got
to respectin' her grief, and I can't get
over it. Go home and tell your ma,
honey. and ask her nice and kind to
help you. If she WON'T. then you got