Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1915-03-04
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far removed ron the warm. lazy owe
OF those gentle Midthornes. From
1loWer-covered, ruin-racked mansion
under a blue sky. to bare. grim, solidly
prosperous walls under a sky thai was
always white.
Corlnth paused aghast. Horace had
uohe the one thing that no one believed
hlfli capable of doing. He had taken
into his own home. to his own pri,n
New England hearth, the offspring of
the despiSed Magdalen and her red
handed husband. The children of an
adulteress, The children of a murder
er.
Horace Blagden kept his own coun-
sci. He offered no explanation. no ex-
cuse for his surprising act. He was lie
sally appointed guardian of the little
ones, he set them down, with a grim
sense OF his wv power, among the un-
plemlshed children of Corinth, and I'll
Corlnth was quiescent. No mother lift
eu up her voice against the affront. no
rather protested. They accepted the
little Mldthornes, and We're amazed in
themselves.
"A word IN explanation of Horace'S
act Ii was discovered. ON the reading
OF old Mr.. Blagden's will. that he had
not quite forgotten his lovely. though
erring daughter. There was a clause
bequeathing S100. 900 to each of her
NA'C iaiSiiN.N ~ ~ ~ ~
they had attained the age of u. the
bequest. in the interim, to be under
the control OF a guardian appointed by
the court. 1t was upon the discovery
or this unexpected clause that Horace
Blagden set about, with some haste,
70 nave himself appointed guardian.
II also occurred to him that it would
be the part of wisdom for him to at
tend to the bringing up of his wards.
under his own eye and guidance.
AND so 1T was that the two little Mid
thornes came to the grey house on the
hill, where the hearts were cold and
bitter. and where the ways were hard.
When they came, blinking n wide
eyed, they found their cousin, Chef
Wynd, there. He was four years older
than Eric. Age was not his only asset
IN superiority, o may be sure. From
the beginning, Chetwynd looked upon
ms unlucky cousins as i~nterlopers. as
dependents. far beneath him in every
respect 1t was necessary for him to
pummel Eric roundly on the second
day after his arrival. Eric. small as.
ne was. openly had resented the larger
boys airs, being a manly little chap
with fire in his blood. For this. he was
kept locked in a dark closet for three
hours. l. mean Eric. of course. When
ChetWNnd told his mother that he had
tnfashed his cousin. that excellent dis
clplnarlan promptly proceeded to pun
ish Eric, SO that it would not happen
again.
The LATHE warm-hearted M%idthornes
made friends quickly among the chill
dren In the set affected by the Blag-
dens. They We're not permitted to go
outside this circle. After the first few
weeks of uncertainty in their new sur
foundlngs they rose to their own level
OF Joyousness. Not even the overbear-
ing attitude of Chetwynd could chi1I
this natural warmth of manner; nor
the stern. lean face of their Uncle Hor-
ace; nor the amplified pugnanc Of
their Aunt Rena. They We're happy be-
cause they knew not how to be other
wise.
This was when they were 6 and 3.
They had no ideals. They had nothing
black to remember, for they only knew
that their father and mother had gone
away for a long time. They knew moth
ing of Cain and Magdalen.
But they We're to know before they
were many years older.