The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1919-12-12

do, and he said that he'd suggested 1t to
Eugene, and Eugene had agreed. They
thought"
'Yes!" George said bitterly. Il
should like to hear what they thought"
'They thought it would be the most
straightforward thing"
George drew a long breath. swell,
what do you think, mother?"
II thought it would be the simplest
and most straightforward thing; I
thought they were right"
every well! Well agree it was SIM
pie and Straightforward. Now, what
do you think Of that letter itself?"
She hesitated, looking away. sT-of
course / don't agree with him in the
way he speaks Of you, dear-except
about the angeli I don't agree with
some of the things he implies. You've
always been unself1sh-nobody knows
that better than your mother.
"And yet" George broke in, "you
see what he implies about me. Don't
| you think, really, that this was pref
ty insulting letter for that man to be
asking you to hand your son?" 'a
'Oh, no!' she cried. "You see how
fair he means to be, and he didn't ask
for me to giveit to you. It was brother
George who"
@Never mind that, now! You say
r. tries to be fair and yet do you sup
pose it ever occurs to him that I'm
doing my simple duty? That I'm doing
what my father would do If he were
| alive? That I'm doing what my father
| would ask me to do if he could speak
from his grave out yonder? Do you
suppose 1t ever occurs to that man for
one minute that I'm protecting my
mother?" George raised his voice adj
vancing upon the helpless lady fierce
ly; and she could only bend her head
before him. 'He talks about my WIFI
how it must be beaten down; yes,
and he asks my mother to do that lit
tie thing to please him! What for?
Why does he want me beaten by my
mother2 Because I'm trying to pro-
tect her namel He's got my mothers
name banded up and down the streets
Of this town till can't step in those
streets without wondering what every
soul / meet is thinking Of me and of
my family, and now he wants you to
marry him so that every gossip in
town will say Therel What did tell
you? 1 guess that proves it's true 7
You can't get away from it; that's ex-
actly what they'd say, and this man
pretends he cares for you, and yet
asks you to marry him and give them
the right to say it. He says he and
you don't care what they say, but ]
know betterl he may not care-prob-
ably he's that kind-but you do. There
never was an Anderson yet that would
let the Anderson name go trailing in
the dust like thatl It's the proudest
] name in this town, and it's going to
stay the proudest; and tell you that's
the deepest thing in my nature-not
that I'd expect Eugene Morgan to IN.
derstand-the very deepest thing in my
nature is to protect that name and to
/. fight for it to the last breath when
danger threatens it as 1t does now
through my motherl" He turned from
her striding up and down and tossing
his arms about in tumult of gesture
II can't believe it of you that you'd
think of such a sacrilegel That's
what it would be-sacrilege When he
!. talks about your unselfishness toward
me he's right---you have been unselfist
and you have been perfect mother
But what about him? Is it unselfisf
Of him to want you 10 throw away