The Mena weekly star., 1913-05-29


 you aumlt that l am of your flesh and Dlood' am going to force you to rec oenlZe that in such a capacity have some rights. l did not ask to come lhto thls world; but insomuch as I am nere' propose to become an indi- V1dual, not thing to be given bread ana butter upon sufferance. I have been talking with Horace. I met him Tn the bazaars this morning. He said some things which you must answer "
 Horace? And what has he said pray tell?" Her expression was fin. pant but a certain inquietude pene- trated her heart and accelerated its beating. What had the love-lorn fool said to the child?
 He said that he was not a eood man, and that you tolerated him he cause he ran errands for you. What kind of errands?"
 Mrs. Chedsoye did not know wheth- CT to laugh or take the child by the shoulders and shake her soundly. He was laughing when he said that. Err rands? One would scarcely call it that"
 Why did you renew the acuuaint. ance with MT. Jones, when you knew that you never intended paying back that loan7"
 Here was a question, Mrs. Chedsoye realized, from the look of the child that would not bear evasion.
 NWhat makes you think I never in tended to repay him?"
 Fortune laughed. It did not sound grateful in the mothers ears.
 Mother, this is a crisis; it can not be met by counter-questions nor by fiippancy. You know that you did not intend to pay him. What I de- mand to know is, why you spoke to him again, so affably, why you seemed so eager to enter into his good graces once more. Answer that"
 Hey mother pondered. For once she was really at loss. The unexpected ness of this phase caught her off her balance. She saw one thing wildly. regretfully' she had missed a valuable point in the game by not adjusting her play to the growth of the child, who had, with the phenomenal sud. denness which still bailies the psy- chologists, stepped out of si ,..Jol into wOmanhood, all in a day. ,'M a fool she had been not to aayC .-!. the child at Mentorei
 'fI uroitipr -~fr' ara are more questions; but l want this one answered first"
 This is pure insolencel"
 "Insolence of a kind, yes"
 And l refuse to answer. l have some authority still"
 Not so much mother, as you had yesterday. You refuse to explain?'
 Absolutely"
 Then l shall judge you without mercy" Fortune rose. her eyes blaz- ing passiontely She caught her moth CT by the wrist, and she was the stronger of the two. Cant you un- derstand? l am no longer a child, I am a woman. do not ask, demand" She drew the older woman toward her, eye to eye, You palter, you always palter; palter and evade. You do not know what frankness and truth are. Is the continual evasion calculated to still my distrust? Yes, distrust you, you. my mother You have made the mistake of leaving me alone too much. I have always distrusted you, but I never knew why"
 Mrs. Chedsoye tugged, but ineffectn- ally. Let go!"
 Not till have done. Out of the patchwork. squares have been formed. What of the men who used to come to the villa and play cards with Uncle George, the men who went away and never came back? What of your long disappearances of which l knew noth- ing except that one day you vanished and upon another you came back? Did you think that I was fool that l had no time to wonder over these things? You have never tried to make a friend of me: you have al ways done your best to antagonize me. Did you hate my father so much that, when his death put him out of range, you had to concentrate it upon me? My fatherl" Fortune roughly flung aside the arm Who knows about him. who he was, what he was, what he looked like? As a child, l used to ask you, but never would you speak. ahn This much has always burned my mind: you married him for wealth that he did not have. What do you mean by this simple young man across the corridor?"
 Mrs. Chedsoye was pale, and the ar tistic touch of rouge upon her cheeks did not disguise the pallor. The true evidence lay in the whiteness Of her nose. Never in her varied life had she felt more helpless, more impotent' To be wild with rage, and yet to De powerless! That alertness Of mlnd' that mental buoyancy, which had al- ways given her the power to return A yolley in kind, had deserted her Moreover, she was distinctly alarmed. This little fool, with a turn or her hand. might send totterlng into ruins the skillful planning of months.
 Are you in love with him? aiming to gain time to regather her scattered thoughts.
 'Iove?" bitterly. "1 am in fine mood to love any one. My question: my question:" vehemently; my ques- tion!"
 "I refuse absolutely to answer you! Anger was first to reorganize its forces. and Mrs. Chedsoye felt the