Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-01-12

i with ner 10 I'VE tlSeWtltEt tili ii0e
| know what it meant Mt the time. but
J as / grew older I learned that my
parents had had a misunderstanding
! and had separated. When ! was six
! teen my mother drew me down beside
her and. with her arms about me and
her cheek against mine. said to me:
Frank, dear, 1 am going TO make a
| great sacrifice for you. Your father,
| who is very rich, has made me prop
osition that If I will give you up to
| him he will make you his heir. But
| our family instantaneous separation
! has made him very bitter against
women. / shall not enter into the
! cause of our living apart. since don't
wish TO prejudice you against him.
/ would rather have you think that
| the fault was all mine.
However this may be, your fathers
repugnance for my sex has taken a
! singular form. / sometimes think that
| in this respect his brain has been af-
| fected IL you go TO him and he
| makes will in your favor your in
heritance will depend upon your liv-
ing a single life"
| MY dear mother" / replied, cling
ing to her. Il prefer to remain with
you and let father leave his money to
some one else. As for marrying,
only ask to be with you as long as
you live. After that l care not wheth-
er marry or remain single"
But my mother. who knew better
, than I the value of money. persuaded
me to go, though / consented only on
condition that l be permitted to visit
her whenever 1 chose.
Ny father said to me never a word
about our family trouble or the condi-
lions under which L came to him, but
he sent me to n lawyer. who showed
me a copy of the will he had just
made In this 1 was made his sole
heir on condition of my not being mar
ried at the time of his death, but in
the event of my being afterward mar
ried 1 was required to turn over the
property to charitable institution
which he had already endowed and
which bore his name.
My father did not mention my moth
err except when it became necessary to
refer to her in the ordinary course OF
conversation and then not in the least
disrespectfully. Indeed. he said to me
one day. Your mother is one of the
best of her SEX
So long as 1 lived with my mother 1
associated with girls as other boys did.
but while with my father I was not
thrown in with them. and, knowing
his prejudice against them. 1 naturally
chose my associates from my own sex
But while during my stay with mJ
mother 1 cared very little about girls
l had not been long deprived of their
I fn lnn1
the forbidden fruit as sweet.
We lived in n city. and my room,
which was in the rear of the house.
looked out upon the rear of the dwell
ings facing on another street Fate,
who is always interfering in our az
fairs. must needs place at window of
the house directly back of ours very
pretty girl, just budding. When first
went to live with my father she sat
there with her doll. But that was only
for a brief period. and it was not long
before one day when she caught sight
of me looking at her she appeared
thoroughly conscious of my admira-
ton.
1t did not occur to me that my look
ing at girl through back window
was fraught with danger. The fact
that 1 expected never to marry was no
reason why / should not look at girl.
ard this girl was especially fair to see.
Besides. | sometimes saw her with
others on rear porch or in the little
yard below. and all her motions were
singularly graceful. AS she chased her
friends about or was chased by them.
playing tag or some other game, she
seemed to me veritahe fairy, and 1
spent much time looking at her
through the Stats of the shutters of my
window.
But one day there came O break in |
the situation. While my charmer was
playing with another little girl in the /
back yard. was concealed behind the
blinds. looking at them. The friend |
made Il motion or gave look or /
something toward my window that |
called forth reproof from her play |
mate Alas. the fatal knowledge that !
my little lady had something TO con-
fide and that something pertained TO /
me had been impaired TO me. That /
which my father doubtless considered |
an infection had'entered nay system.
Then followed boyish way OF
scraping an acquaintance. really OF
making love. though | had no idea
that | was doing anything of the kind.
1 procured bow aud one day. when
/ saw my charmer in the back yard,
sent an arrow thrust through a scrap /
OF paper oy- which I had expressed
y desire TO make her acquaintance. !
She saw the arrow fall. glanced up nj
my window and. seeing whence the
missive had come. without touching 1t.
tr,N.. l. hi IN. I
evening. Just before dark. Early In
the morning ] looked for my missive. !
and there MIS- no sign OF it | felt as
sured that she had taken it when 1t
WAS too DARK for me to see her.
WHIST use 10 tell what every boy ana
Every girl has been through? way
laid her on the street when she was
going to school. but was then too old