The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1915-07-15
CHAPTER XIII.
WRITES A LETTER

q A LETTER
At the end OF four years, Eric Mid
thorne came out of Harvard. He pre-
pared at once for the examinations Of
the Beaux Arts n Paris and passed
them successfully, standing high
among the Americans who went
through. "
During the summer of his 21st year,
and while he was still an u~ndergradu-
ate at Cambridge. his uncle, after d.
vulging the nature of the legacy which
was to fall to him, spent hours OIL OF
each day in counselling the young la
rs to the wisest and best way to make
the most OF his grandfather's bequest.
There would be more than 100000
coming to him. A solid nest egg, Mr..
Blagden vas wont to remark. notwith-
standing the fact that the funds were
30 diversely invested that Eric was
once inclined to observe, with Ill timed
Righteousness. that 1t might be better to
a. IL a scrambled egg. His Uncle
Horace repaid the effort with a panied,
yet tolerant frown, as IL to say: 'Har-
ward is rot what he vas In my day"
He always spoke OF his alma mater In
the masculine sense. because, he ar
gued, the college was named for and
after a man, not a m Merely a
little stitch In the character OF Horace
Blagden.
on his 21st birthday. Eric found
himself not only a man. but a free
agent insofar as his inheritance was
concerned. There were bonds and
mortgages, bank stocks and building
lots, to say nothing of holdings In
nearly every public utility oncer in
the city OF Corinth.
you Will have an income of nearly
$40 zoe" announced Horace, after filing
his final report as guardian. In other
words, the best New England rates.
Thai Ia what III rama IN .
Uncle Horace" said Eric, as they
left the our house together, II feel
that I owe you a great deal that cannot
be repaid In thanks. You have spent
. great deal Of money in caring for
Mary and me
Horace checked him with a gesture.
pray do not labor under the delusion,
Eric. that you and Mary have been
or. demonstrating on charity. You
did not pay strict attention to the read
ing OF my final report, / fear. 1t Is a
very bad habit to get into. Always pay
attention to such things. My report. as
usual, sets forth all the expenditures
for the year. You will find. II you ex-
anime II ever casually, that you I'VE
nothing to me-er-ahem!-I lei In
q substantial way. I shall be fully re-
paid by an expression OF gratitude"
He was unconsciousiy ironic. Not for
the world would he have had II appear
" - III "oJ u - AAAAAAS
that he had charged up his board
keep" through all those years, to run
ming expenses.
you mean" said Eric, a trifle dazed,
that Mary and I have paid for-for
what we've had from you?"
Precisely"
I'll wish I had known that long
ago" muttered the young man, staring
st4aight before him, his jaws set.
ct want to set you straight as to one
thing, Eric" said.his uncle steadily. He
took the young mans arm In his hand,
an unprecedented hit of i~nformaiity on
his part. II fear that you may con-
ceive the idea that I am niggardly In
this matter. Believe me, l am the one
who pays. / am the one who filed the
reports. mind PROVISIONING that !
children the cost of their food, their
clothes, their bringing up. The whole
OF Corinth knows that l have done this
thing. So, you see, I get my pay In
the sneers that pass behind my back
yes, sometimes in these later days, be-
fore my eyes. But I had an under
standing with myself when I took you
into my home years ago, in face OF the
opposition OF your shiftless relatives
In the south. I did not intend you TO
come as charity wards, 80 to speak. l
did not love you sufficiently well 70
bestow charity upon you. To be frank.
I resented you both bitterly, But 1 am
a fair man. Your southern relatives
were proud. They would not have had
yer ~eccme objects Of charity. \ told