The Red Cloud chief., 1919-01-02
CHAPTER xv--Con Sinued.

He knew very well that what she
had said about bis daughter and Jo-
sepb Stage was quite true. In his self
ishness be had been glad all these
years that the hardware merchant was
baked Of happiness.
The carpenter had always been a
se~lf-centered ind yidual, DESTROYS OF
his own comfort, and rather miserly.
He had not approved, In the first place,
Of the intimacy between Joseph Stagg
and his daughter Amanda.
mo good1l come o. that" he had
told himself.
That is, no good to Jedidlah Parlow.
He foresaw at the start the loss of the
girls help about the house, for his
wife was then a helpless invalid.
Then Mrs. Parlow died. This death
made palmer still to the carpenter
that Mandy's marriage was bound to
bring Inconvenience to him. Especial
ly II she married q ~close-fisted young
business man like Joe Stage would
this be true. For, at the reading of his
wife's will Mr.. Parlow discovered that
the property they occupied. even the
shop In which he worked, which had
been given to Mrs. Parlow by her par
ents. was to be the sole property OF
her daughter. Mandy was the heir.
Mr.. Parlow did not possess even a life
Interest In the estate.
1t was q blow to the carpenter. He
made q good income and had money
In bank. but he loved money too well
- .,tsh NA cnnpd ~ aFtn, hn I.A ~.uAn
II. He did not want to give up the
place. II Mandy remained unmarried
there would never be any question be-
tween them Of rent or the like.
Therefore. II he was not actually the
cause Of the difference that arose be-
tween the two young people. he seized
and enlarged upon II and did all In
his power to make a mere m%isunder-
standing grow into a quarrel That mel
ther of the proud, high-spirited lovers
would bridge.
Jedidiah Parlow knew why Joe
Btagg had taken that other girl TO
Faith camp meeting. The young man
had stopped at the Parlow place when
Amanda was absent and explained to
the girls father. But the latter mad
never mentioned this fact to his daugh-
Ger.
Instead he had made Joe's supposed
offense the greater by suggestion and
innuendo. And 1t was he, too, who
had urged the hurt Mandy to retaliate
by going to the dance with another
young man. Meeting Joe Stagg later,
the carpenter had said bitter things
to him, purportlng to come from
Mandy. 1t was all mean and vile; the
old man knew 1t now-as he had
known 1t then.
All these years he had tried to add
fuel to the fire of his daughters anger
against Joe Stagg. And he believed
he had benefited thereby. But, some
how. during the past few months, he
had begun to wonder II. after all, "the
game was worth the candle"
Suddenly he had gained a vision OF
what Amanda Parlow's empty life
meant to her.
Carolyn May, interested only In see
ing her friends made happy, had nc
idea of the turmoil she had created ir
Mr.. Parlow's mind.
During the time that the nurse was
BIT the abandoned lumber camp carint
Tor Judy Mason, Carolyn May hoped
that something might take Uncle JOE
there.
The next Friday, after school wa:
out, Miss Amanda appeared at TIT
Btagg home and suggested taking Caro-
lyn May into the woods with her, 40
the weekend" as she laughinsly said
Vim, the hackman, had brought tn
nurse home for a few hours and woul
take her back to Judy's cabin.
'Poor old Judy Is much better. blu
she is still suffering and cannot be lef
alone for long," Miss Amanda said
sCarolyn May will cheer her up"
Mr.. Parlow would drive over on Sun
day afternoon and bring the little giI
home. OF course, Prince had to g
along.
That Friday evening at supper ma
ters In the big kitchen OF the Stag
house were really at n serious pass, j,
seph Stage sat down to the table Wis
bly, without appetite. Aunty RIOS
drank one cup of tea after anothe
without putting u crumb between 1t
lips.
"Say, Aunty Rose" demanded NJ
Stagg, "what under the sun did we q
before Hannah's Carlyn came her
anyway? Seems to me we didn't real
live, did WEEP
Aunty Rose had no answer to mai
70 these questions.
In the morning there was n smoi
fog over ev%erything-a fog that Il
sun did not d~issipate, and behiI
which It looked like an enormous So
iron ball.
MIR. Stage went down to the store
usual News came over the long-d
lance wires that thousands OF acr
of woodland were burning, that the Il
est reserves were out, and that the far
ers of an entire township on the I
side of the mountain were engaged
trying to make a barrier over Will
the flames would not leap. 1t was I
annsansua of oninion however. III