The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1919-11-28

dltST dl-liOt dl lily uSC. IL cHOuSh
to know that-that people think Of
you-and to see them. thought we
were all-oh, pretty happy the way
thugs were, and don't think it would
mean giving up great deal for him
or me, either, If we just went on as
we have been. IL see him almost
| every day, and"
"Motherw Georges voice was loud
and stern. "Do you think you. could
go one seeing him after this!"
She had been talking helplessly
enough before; her tone was little
more broken now. "Not-not even
see him?
"How could your" George cried.
Mother, it seems to me that If he
ever set foot in this house again
oh! I can't speak of it! Could you
see him, knowing what talk it makes
every time he turns into this street,
snd knowing what that means to me
Oh, don't understand all this-I
don't! If you told me, a year ago,
that such things were going to hap
PSAi, iioNC you "SAS AZ
sane-and now I believe ami"
Then, after preliminary gesture of
despair, as though he meant harm to
the ceiling, he flung himself heavily,
face downward, upon the bed. His
anguish was none the less real for
its vehemence; and the stricken lady
came to him instantly and bent over
him, once more Unfolding him in her
arms. She said nothing, but suddenly
her tears fell upon his head; she saw
them, and seemed to be startled.
"Oh, this won't dol" she said. "Pve
never let you see me cry before, ex-
cept = when your father died. I
mustn't" n..
And she ran from the room.
A little while after she had
gone, George rose and began solemnly
to dress for dinner.
He sat gauntly at the dinner table
with Fanny to partake of a meal
throughout which neither spoke. Is
abel had sent word mot to wait" for
her, an injunction it was as we'll they
obeyed, for she did not come at all.
But with the renewal of sustenance
furnished to his system, some relax
alton must have occurred within the
high-strung George. Dinner was not
quite finished when, without warning,
sleep hit him hard. His burning eyes
could no longer restrain the lids above
them; his head sagged beyond con-
troll; and he got his feet, and went
lurching upstairs, yawning with ex-
haustion. From the door of his room,
which he closed mechanically, with his
eyes shut, he went blindly to his bed,
fell upon it soddenly, and slept-with
his face full upturned to the light.
1t was after midnight
when he woke, and the room was dark.
He had not dreamed, but he woke with
the sense that somebody or something
had been with him while he slept
somebody or something infinitely COM
passionate; somebody or something in
finitely protective, that would let him
come to no harm and to no grief.
He got up, and pressed the light on.
Pinned to the cover of his dressing ia
BILE was a square envelope, with the
words, "For you, DEAR" written in
pencil upon it. But the message in
side was in ink, little smudged here
! and there.
81 have been out to the mail box,
darling, with letter I've written to
Eugene, and he'll have it in the morn
ing. 1t would be unfair not to let
him know at once, and my decision
could not change If I waited. Il would
always be the same. I think it is
a little better for me to write to you,
like this, instead of waiting till you
wake up and then telling you, because
I'm foolish and might cry again, and
I took VOW once, long ago, that you
should never see me cry. I think
what makes me most ready to cry
now is the thought of the terrible suf-
fering in your poor face, and the I'M
happy knowledge that it is I, your
mother, who put it there. 1t shall
never come again! I love you better
! than anything and everything else on
earth. God gave you to me-and oh !
how thankful I have been every day
of my life for that sacred gift-and
nothing can ever come between me
and Gods gift. And Eugene was
right know you couldn't change
about this. Your suffering shows how
deep-seated the feeling is within you.
So I've written him just about what
think you would like me to-though
told him would always be fond of
him and always his best friend, and I
hoped his dearest friend. He'll under
stand about not seeing him. He'll I'M
derstand that, though I didn't say it
in so MANY words. You mustn't trou-
II