Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1919-04-18
Razard had Guessed the sitnatj

Bayard had guessed the situation
he saw the cruel joke Of it. He
thought he could dull the edge with
mockery. He snickered. rather crav-
emily:
Il wrote to ask you to lend me some
money. / guess wasted the postage"
"And I guess I wasted the fare over
here. I thought oughn't have taken
berth in the sleeper, but your moth
er insisted said I'd not been feelin'
any too we'll"
Bayard laughed outright laugh
wet with vinegar tears.
Wesley sank into a chair with the
little whimper Of sick old man.
Bayard went to his father and put
his arm about him and regretted his
Wall street disaster with a ferocious
re1norse. He could not speak, and
there was a long dumbness before
Wesley sighed:
II guess we got to lose the home,
then"
That ''then" was history in a
word.
Bayard bent his head in shame at
his helplessness. AS usual, it was
Wesley who found shabby comfort
in the situation found it for his son.
Don't you think anything more
about it, my boy. I'm kind Of relieved"
He giggled with pitiful senility. 81
been so ashamed at traipsin' over here
to bother you instead of rushin' over
to help you like / ought to-being
your father-that I'm kind Of glad you
can't help me. / got no right to add
to your troubles. I'm supposed to
take care of you.''
Bayard kept groaning:
"To lose your home! To think of
you losing your home! And me stand
ing by!"
why, it's nothing, Bayard. After
all. we're not in Belgium. We've got
friends. And relations. There's no
danger Of anything happening to u.s."
Daphne and Leila overheard this con-
versation while listening in the hall.
Daphne chung to Leila and buried
her face in Leila's bosom to smother
her frenzied grief. Leila, hopping
Daphne's cheek with her own hand
kerchief, caught the CLINT of dia-
mond on her finger. 1t glistened like
great, immortal tear.
It inspired her with a new hope.
She had often consoled herself with
the thought of her jewels as a final
refuge, but she had put off the evil
day. Now she felt that the time had
come. She threw open the door and
spoke into the gloom with voice of
seraphic beauty:
II couldn't help hearing what you
were saying. You needn't be down
hearted, though, for I've just thought
of way to help daddy out" He was
daddy" to her also.
Bayard and Wesley turned and
stared at her in amazement. She
went on in kind Of ecstasy.
my rings ]" she cried. Don't you
see! My diamonds and rubiesl And
I'VE got necklace or two, and some
chains and brooches. They're worth
lot of money. And you're welcome
to 'em, daddy"
The men were confused with too
many emotions to know what to feel,
much less what to say. Leila's mis-
sion was so divinely meant that it was
sacrilege to receive it with reluctance.
And yet for Wesley to let this new
daughter-in-law pawn her trinkets for
him was postgraduate humiliation.
The end Of 1t was that Bayard de-
manded the melancholy privilege of
visiting the pawnshop himself. Leila
made heap of her adornments. Last
of all she took from her neck the little
plaque he had given her with its star
dust of diamonds frosting platinum
fligree.
He kissed her mournfully and hur-
ried away to the pawnshop. He
skulked in and out like a burglar, and
he brought away pack of tickets and