The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1919-12-26

90 his courtesy. IL was a very genuine
and manly Difference he paid her. She
was quite sure that he would at any
moment give his life. II needed, to- de-
fend her from intUry-and accept the
transaction as a matter Of course. His
physical endurance was ustible
and his knowledge Of prairie and foot
hill seemed to her almost uncanny. He
read every sign Of footprint Leaf. ~
ter and sky with unfaIling insight He
had no knowledge Of books, and she
had at first thought him ignorant. but
as the days vent by she found In Him
a mine of wisdom which shamed her
ready-made education
After such a ride they one day dis
nnouated In a grassy opening among The
trees that bordered a mountain canyon.
In a crevice they found a fiat stone tLat
gave comfortable seating and here
they rested while the horses brows>d
their afternoon meal on the grass
above. Both were conscious OF a grad
1ally Increasing tension in the at.
mosphere. For days the boy had been
moody. 1t was evident he was harbor-
ing something that was calling through
his nature for expression, and Irene
knew that this afternoon he would talk
OF more than trees and rocks and foot.
prints of the Wild things OF the forest
Your father Is getting along we'll"
be said, at length.
"Yes." she answered. sic has had q
good holiday. even with his broken
leg"
You will be goir' away before long"
he continued
YES" she answered, and waited.
Things about here amt goin' to be
the same after you're gone" he welt
on. He wore no coat, and the neck OF
his shirt was open, for the day vas
warm Had he caught her sidelong
glances, even his slow, self-deprecatins
mind must have read their admiration.
But he kept his eyes fixed on the green
water.
You See" he said, before you came
it was different. / didn't know what I
was missin', an SO it didn't matter.
Not but what I was dog-sick OF 1t at
times, but stu I thought ! was Twin
thought this was life. and, OF COURSE
o I know 1t amt. At least. 1t won't
be after you're gone"
That's strange" she said. not u
direct answer to his remark, but as .
soliloquy on it as she turned 1t over 10
her mind "This life, now, seems
empty to you. All my life seems
empty 70 me. This seems to me the
real life, ont here in the foothills, with
the trees and the mountains, and-and
our horses. you know"
She might have ended the sentence
in a way that would have come much
closer to him. and been much truer.
but conventionality had been bred in
TO her for generations and she did not
find it possible yet freely to speak the
truth
Its such a wonderful life," she rom
tinued. "One gets 50 strong and hap
py in it."
You'd soon get sick of It." he said.
I'VE don't e nothin'. We don't learn
nothin'. Reenie. I'm eighteen, an ]
bet you could read an write bettern
me when you was six"
did you never go to school1" she
asked. In genuine surprise. She knew
his speech was ungrammatical. but
thought that due to careless training
rather than to no training at all.
"Where'd I 60 to schoolY he do
manded, bitterly. There amt a school
within forty miles. Guess / wouldn't
have went il I could.' he added, rs m
afterthought, wishing to be quite hon
est in the matter. school didn't seem
to cut no fgure-until JUS lately"
but you have learned-somey she
continued.
"Some. When / was q little kid my
father used to work with me at times
He learned me to read q little. an
to write my name, an a little more
But things didn't go right between him
an mother, an he got to drinkin'
more an more. an jus making b
Of II. We used to have q mighty fine
herd Of steers here, but it's all shot
to pieces. When we sell q bunch the
old man II stay In town for a month
or more. BLOWN the coin and leavin'
the debts 60. l sneak q couple Of
steers away now nm then. an with thu
money I keep . grocery bills paid
up an, have q little to rattle In ms
jeans. Ny credits good at any store
In town." and Irene thrilled to the note
OF pride In his voice IS he said this
The boy had real quality In him. but
I'm sick Of It all." he continued. "Slci
ut II, an ! wanna get out"
You think you are not educated
she answered, trying to meet his out
burst As tactfully as possible. Per
haps you are not. the way We think a
Il ii the city. But ] guess you eoull
show the city boys . good many thing
they don't know, and never will know
lren6 makes q nr0miSe