The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1915-07-22
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I'LL I'LL iii

o ut looking to right or left, stalked
from the chapel, followed by his wife.
whose Whitened head was bent and
whose limbs tottered.
The next day. bright and early,
Horace Blagden sent out a command to
the officers and chief men Of the First
church. They obeyed, and 3 o'clock
found all of them gathered in the prt-
waite offices Of the banker. They came
away from that meeting with grave
faces and troubled hearts, but just the
same, they affected no sign Of hes
itancy in asking Mr.. Presbrey for his
resignation.
The minister was d~umbfounded. He
had known all along h a he was kick
ing against h pricks but, to quote
there was a mule watin' to kick back
when he was a-lookin' t'other way"
Mr.. Presbrey refused to resign. A
great hullabaloo ensued. Corinth had
known the like Of it. Todville
chuckled, and, to a man came out for
Mr.. Presbrey. The same spirit inflated
the narrow by-ways along the water
front until they were ready to burst
with acclaim. Notwithstanding Mr..
Presbrey's rigorous efforts to reform
that section Of town, or to obliterate
it entirely, the saloon keepers, the
brothel house owners, and the human
dregs of Corinth joyfully took sides
with him in the fight against Horace
GldSQeu q rather anomalous COUul-
ton, you may say, but perfectly natur-
al If you pause to consider the rela-
tive influence of the two contenders.
Lower Corinth had no fear of God, but
1t skunk away from Horace Blagden.
Therefore, If it could destroy Horace,
there would be nothing to fear.
A subsequent letter from Mary in
formed Eric hat Mr.. Presbrey was TO
open a school for boys on the old Dex-
ter farm, just above Corinth. A
youngish man from Boston was likely
to be called to the First church. He
had preached for two Sundays on trial
and Uncle Horace was quite enthusiasts
tic over him.
Few and far between were the let
tiers the young man received from his
nature. absolutely undertaking in that
respect. Drafts from dividends, re-
ports on properties, and matters Of that
sort. There never was a letter from
Aunt Rena. She made no effort to be
friendly.
But one day, a month before he was
to sail for home, Eric received from his
uncle a letter that sorely disturbed his
peace of mind. It revived the old dread
that grew up with him from childhood
and which had lain dormant for the
past few years-the dread of the pro-
phecy concerning himself and Mary. He
had killed his man. That much of it
was fulfilled. Now. what of Mary?
w as Sne TO Iul11ll nGr part OF the ugly
prophecy?
His uncle, after apologising for call
ing his attention to the unpleasant mat
ter to follow, wrote:
4 am very glad to hear that you are
coming home. It is not, as I have stat
ed before in this letter, my custom te
Interfere in the affairs Of others. Since
you and Mary reached an age that war.
ranted the belief that you would be
capable of thinking soundly for our
selves, I have not undertaken to OBJ,
trude my opinions, much less to offel
You, Eric, I knew to be level headed
and steady. I have had no fears FOL
you. Regarding Mary, I cannot speal
SO confidently. h is wayward ans
she is extremely pretty. The combina.
) ton is not as desirable as it may seem
as viewed from the vantage point of al
) older head. We have tried to keep tn,
path she traverses clean and free from
communicating influences. But she see.
fit to resent our thoughtful considera,
ton. I am not pretending to you, evel
{ delusivelv, that she has oversteppet
the pounds Of propriety in any sense o
the term. I believe Mary to be a gooc
{ girl and pure minded.
"You recall young Payson. He is now
as you doubtless know, living in New
!. York., where he has a position with
I large bond house-a responsible posi-,
ton, I hear. He belongs to severa
clubs and is what Is termed a mar
: arnout town. The influences Of Corintl
: seem to hav deserted him. I am no
questioning his integrity. That privileg,
was denied me long ago. I was mistaken
about him once. l shall not fall int
error again. I did him a %grievoui
l wrong. Had it not been for the arrogan
, demands Of Adam Carr, I should hay,
been inclined to restore him to his DO
sition in h bank. But that was not t,
be considered. W nothing to thu
l generosity Of Adam Carr. He is m,
enemy.
| Now to come to the point. Mary, VIII,
, will soon be p, has taken a great fame,
to this young man. He visits his mothe
. here regularly and. while 1 cannot asl
: him to come to my home, Mary see
l manner. Your aunt and I have remon
strated, but to no avail. She goes abou
with him when the occasion present
itself. She rides in his automobile witt
strange men n women from New
l York-flashy women who drink an
smoke. I am sorry to say that sh
l seems to be estranged from her frient
4 and old time companion, Joan Bright
The inference is plain. Joan does no
, approve of John Payson and his friends
f We see but little of her in these days
0 A few nights ago Mary came HON
/ from an all day trip-on a Sabbath =
: and your aunt distinctly smelt tn
n odor of wine on her breath.
Last week l met Payson in Corintf
Realizing that it was better for every
one concerned, 1 politely asked him t
come to my house to see Mary. w
: would be glad to welcome him there
He calmly informed me that he woul
: not put foot inside my gates, not il
1000, 900 years. or something to that eff
e feet. Whereupon I notified him tina h
h could not continue his attentions to m
e niece unless he were manly enough t
visit her in the home Of her protector.
n I will not repeat what he said in re
Spouse to this. Suffice to say, he in
t suited me. He did not hesitate to sa
that he would see Mary when h
pleased and as he pleased.
Il do not like this young man. He
: not all hat he should be. Judg
Bright. once his friend. now says tha
|. he belongs to a fast set in New Yorl
and has been spoiled by prosperity an
= adulatiou. am uuite sure that b