Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1912-05-30
.Lt
.FRECKLES
BY
Gene SGr@GG@m=
Porter
COPYRIGHT. 1904. BY DOUBLEDAY. PAGE
& co.
q

anu WHO WOulQ CQere ever be to lind
to whom their little children belonged?
It's all so plain to me. Oh. If I could
only make you see."
She buried her face in the pillow and
presently lifted it. TRANSPORTED.
Nov | have it," she cried. "Oh, dear
heart! l can make it so plain! Freck-
les. can you imagine you see the old
Limberlost trail? Well. when we fol-
l lowed it. you know. there were places
where ugly pricklv thistles evergreen
the path, and you went ahead with
your club and bent them back to keep
them from stinging through my cloth
ing. Other places there were great
shining pools where lovely: n white
lilies grew. n you waded in and
gathered them for me. Oh. deal heart.
don't you see? It's this! Everywhere
the wind carried that thistledown, 9TH
er thisties sprang up and grew prick
les and wherever those lily seeds sank
to the mire the pure white OF other
lilies bloomed. But. Freckles. there
was never a place anywhere about the
Limberlost, or in the whole world,
where the thistledown foated' and
sprang up and blossomed into white
lilies: Thistles grow from thistles and
lilies grow other lilies. Dear Freckles.
think hard! You must see it! You are
lily, straight through: You never. new
er could have drifted from the thistle
patch.
"Where did you get the courage to
70 into the Limberlost and face it's ter
rors! You inherited it from the blood
OF a brave father. dear heart. Where
did you get the pluck to hold for over
a year a job that few men would have
taken at all: You got it from a plucky
mother. you bravest OF boys. You wad-
ed single handed INTO q mar almost
twice your size Il fought like a
demon. just at the suggestion that you
could be deceptive Inc dishonest.
Could your mother or your father have
been u%ntruthtul: Here you are, so
hungry and starved out that you are
dying for love. Where did you get all
that capacity for loving! You didn't
inherit it from hardened, heartIess
people who would disfgure you and
purposely leave you to die. that's one
sure thing. Yet you will spend miser-
able years torturing yourself with the
idea that your w mother might have
cut off that hand. Shame on you,
Freckles! Your mother would have
done this
The angel deliberately turned back
the cover, slipped up the sleeve and
laid her lips on the scars.
"Freckles." she cried. come to your
senses! Be a thinking. reasoning
man. You just must see it! Like
breeds like in this world. You must
be some sort OF reproduction OF your
parents. n | am not afraid to vouch
for them. not for a minute.
And then. too. 1t more proof is
needed here II is: Mr.. Mclean says
that YOU are the most perfect gen.
tleman he ever Knew. and ne has
Travelled the world over. Then
there's your singing. | don't believe
there ever was a mortal with a sweet
er voice than yours. ana while that
doesn't prove anything there IS Il
point that does. Just the little train.
ing you had from thai cholrmaster
won't % for the wonderful ac-
cent and ease with winch you sing.
Somewhere IN your close blood Is Il
marvelously trained vocalist: we
every one OF us pei1eve that. rreckies.
why does my father refer to you
constantly as beng OF fine perceptions
and honor:: Because you are.
Freckles. Why does the BIRD Woman
leave her precious work and stay
here to help look after you: never
heard OF her losing any time over
my n else. It's because she loves
you. And why does Mr.. Mclean turn
all of his valuable business over to
hired men and watch over you per-
sonally? And why is he hunting ex-
cuses every day to spend money on
you! My father says Mclean is full
Scotch close with a dollar. ae is a
hard headed business F'reckles.
and he is doing 1t because he finds
you worthy of 1t. Worthy OF all we
can all do mi more than we know
how to do, dear heart! Freckles, are
you listening to me? Oh, won't you
see it? Won't you believe it,"
"Oh, angel" chartered the Devil.
dered FreckIes. are you truly mean
ing it? Could 1t be-"
"Of course it could" flashed the an
gel, because 1t just Isl"
But you can't prove it." walled
FreckIes. 1T amt giving me a name
or me honor"
"Freckles." said the angel sternly,
you are unreasonable" Why. | did
prove every word | said! Everything
proves it! You look here: If you knew
for sure that l could give you your
name and your honor. and prove to you
that your mother did love you. why,
then would you just go to breathing
like perpetual motion and hang on for
dear life and get well?"
A great light leaped into Freckles'
eyes.
III l knew that, angel" he said sol.