Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-02-11

he was alive enough-but before my
birth he deserted mother. Uncle
turned us out of the house. Did we
starve, that deserted mother and her
little baby? I don't look starved, do
7? Pshaw! II "a woman without a
cent, to her name. and ten pounds In
her arms can make good. what about a
big strong boy like you with a mother
to smile every time he hits the mark?
And you'd better believe we got more
than living out Of life. Mother
taught me geography and history and
the Revolutionary war-you know his
tory's one thing and the Revolutionary
war is another-and every lesson she
gave me was soaked with love till it
was nearly as sweet as her own brave
eyes. Maybe I wouldn't have liked It,
If I'd had to study on a hard bench in
stuffy room with tn world shut out,
and lid put on my voice--but any
things good that's got mother in it.
And tell these gentlemen you're sorry
for punching that boy"
"Sorr'," muttered Jakey shame.
facedly.
81 am glad to hear it," Abobtt ex-
claimed heartily You can take your
cap to go, Jakey."
"Lemme stay" Jakey pleaded, not
budging an inch.
Fran lifted her face above the tous-
led head to look at Abbott; she sucked
in her cheeks and made a triumphant
oval of her mouth. Then she seemed
to forget the young mans presence.
But when mother died, real trouble
NO. oyuyovc hard W0rk
while she lived. but hard work isn't
trouble, la, no, troubles just an empty
heart! Well, sir. when read about
how good Mr.. Hamilton Gragory is,
and how much he gives away-to folks
he never sees-here / came. But |
don't seem to belong to anybody, Jakey
I'm outside OF everything. People
wouldn't care IL I blew away with the
dead leaves. and maybe I. will, some
fine morning-maybe they'll go up to
my room and call, Fran! Fran!'-and
there'll be no Fran. Oh, oh, how
happy they'll be then! But you have
home and a mother, Jakey. and a
place in the world SO l say 'Hurrah!'
because you belong to somebody. and,
best of all, you're not girl. but boy
to strike out straight from the
shoulder"
Jakey was dissolved tears burst
their confines.
One may shout oneself hoarse at the
delivery of a speech which, If served
upon printed page. would never prompt
the reader to cast his hat to the cell
ing. No mere print under mold head
lines did Abbott read. but rather the
~ oh ", not
black eyes. 1t was marvellous how Fran
could project past experiences upon the
screen CT the listeners perception. At
her. When mother died" Abbott saw
the girl weeping beside the death-bed.
When she sighed. Il don't belong to
anybody" the Standardization felt like
crying. Then belong to me-" But 1t
was when she spoke Of blowing away
with the dead leaves-looking so pa
thetic and so full Of elfish witchery-
that the impression was deepest. 1t
almost seemed possible that she might
fade and fade to an autumn leaf, and
float out the window, and be lost-Clin.
ton had an odd impulse to hold her,
lest she vanish.
Fran now completed her work. She
rose from the immovable Jakey and
came over to Abbott Ashton, with
meeklv folded hands.
He found the magic Of the moonlight
hour returning. She had mellowed--
d-AbhOtt
could not find the word for it. She
quivered with an exuuisiteness not to
be defined-a something IN hair. or
flesh. or glory Of eve. or softness OF
lips. altogether lacking in his physical
being. but eagerly desired.
professor Ashton" she spoke seri-
ously. II have been horrid might
have known that school is merely a
place where young people crawl into
books to worm themselves from lid to
lid, swallowing all that comes in the
way. Bit I'd never been to school. and
I imagined 1t place where child was
he,red to develop itself. thought
teachers were trying to show the pu-
pills the best way to be what they were
going to be. I've been disappointed,
but that's not your fault; you are just
system. II a boy is to be black
smith after he's grown, and II a girl In
the same class is to be music-teacher,
or milliner, both must learn about
abe or def. SO I'm going away for
good. because. OF course, couldn't af-
ford to waste my time in this house. |
know the names of the bones and the
di .tances Of the planets are awfully
nice, but I'm more interested in Fran"
"But. Fran Abbott exclaimed i'm
pulsively. don't you see that you are
holding up ignorance as virtue? Can
Won afford to dispise knowledge in this
civilized age? You should want to
know facts Just because-well, just be-
cause they are facts"
"Bnt don't seem to, at ALL" Fran
responded mildly "No, I'm not max
ing fun of education when find fault
with your school, any more than show
to my mothers God when
7 nrestion what some people call re-
ligion'. want to find the connection
looks like it's lost-the connection be-
tween life and--everything else. It's
the connection to life that makes facts
of any value to me; and it's only in its
connection to life that I'd give pin
for all the religion on earth
II don't understand Abbott faltered.
She unfo'ded her hands, and held
them up in quaint little gesture Of
c aspiration. mo. because 1t isn't In a