The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1917-10-05

lected grave. She tore out the spray
OF apple blossom which she had thrust
into the bosom Of her gown, and placed
1t reverently at the head OF the little
mound. For q moment her eyes
dropped and her lips moved-she her
| self scarcely knew whether it was In
prayer. Then she turned and came
slowly back to her companion.
Something had gone, too, from his
charm. She saw in him now nothing
| but the coming dourness of his broth
er. Her heart was still heavy. She
shivered little. 1t was he at last
| who spoke.
"Will you tell me, please, what is the
matter with you, and why you placed
that sprig of apple blossom where you
did,"
His tone woke her from her lethargy.
She was a little surprised at its
poignant, almost challenging note.
Certainly" she replied. 81 placed
| 1t there as woman's protest against
the injustice of that isolation"
II deny that it Is unjust"
She turned around and waved her
hand toward the little gray building.
''The Savior to whom your church Is
dedicated thought otherwise" she re-
minded him. "Do you play at being
lords paramount here over the souls
and bodies of your serfs?"
"You judge without knowledge Of the
facts" he assured her calmly.
Louise's footsteps slackened.
"You men," she sighed, "are all
alikel You Judge only by what hap
pens. You never look inside. That is
why your justice is so different from
woman's. I do not wish to argue
with you; but what I so passionately
object to Is the sweeping judgment you
make-the sheep on one side and the
goats on the other. That Is how man
judges; God looks further. Every case
is different. The law by which one
should be judged may be poor justice
for another"
She glanced at him almost appeal
ingly, but there was no sign of yield
ing in his face.
"Laws," he reminded her, ''are made
for the benefit of the whole human
race. Sometimes an individual may
suffer for the benefit Of others. That
is inevitable"
sand so let the subject pass" she
concluded; "but it saddens me to think
that one Of the great sorrows of the
world should be there like monument
to spoil the wonder Of this morning.
Now I am going to ask you a question.
Are you the John Strangewey who has
recently had a fortune left to him."
He nodded.
"You read about It In the newspa-
pers, suppose" he said. "Part of the
story isn't true. It was stated that I
had never seen my Australian uncle,
but as a matter of fact, he has been
over here three or four times. 1t was
he who paid for my education at Har-
row and Oxford"
"What did your brother say to that?"
"He opposed it." John confessed,
''and he hated my uncle. He detestS
the thought of any one Of US going out
of sight Of our own hills My uncle
had the wander fever"
"And yOu?" she asked suddenly.
81 have none Of it." he asserted.
A very faint smile played about her
lips.
perhaps not before" she MUIR
INJURED; shut nOww
"DO you mean because have in
herited the money? Why should I go
out like Don Quixote and search for
vague adventures"
Because you are a mani" she an
swered swiftly. "You have a brain and
soul too big for your life here. You
eat and drink. and physically you flour
ish, but part Of you sleeps because it
is shut away from the world Of real
things. Don't you sometimes feel it
in your very heart that life, as we were
meant to live it, can only be lived
among your fellow men?'
He looked over his shoulder, at the
little cluster Of farm buildings and cot
tages, and the gray stone church.
SIT seems to me-" he declared simply,
''that the man who tries to live more
than one life fails In both. There is
little cycle Of life here, among our
thirty or forty souls, which revolves
around my brother and myself. A
passer-by may glance upward from the
road at our little hamlet, and wonder
what can ever happen in such an out
of-the-way corner. I think the answer
is just what I have told you. Love and
marriage. birth and death happen.
These things make life"
Her curiosity now had become
merged in an immense interest. She
laid her fingers lightly upon his arm.
"YOu speak for your people," she
said 'That is well. But you your
selfW
II am one Of them," he answered.
"a necessary part Of them"
"How you deceive yourself! The
time will come, before very long, when
you will come out into the world; and
the sooner the better, think, Mr.. John
Strangewey, or you will grow like your
brother here among your granite hills"
He moved a little uneasily. All the
time she was watching him. 1t seemed
to her that she could read the thoughts
which were stirring in his brain.
"You would like to say, wouldn't
yOu," she went on, shat this is use
full and an upright life? So it may be,
but it is not wide enough or great
enough. Some day you will feel the
desire to climb. Promise me, will you,
that when you feel the impulse you
won't use all that obstinate will power
Of yours to crush It? You will destroy