The L'Anse sentinel., 1920-01-09


right. and I don't need any coddling
by people that think I wasn'ti And
I suppose you believe I was wrong not
to let Morgan see her that last night
when he came here. and she-she was
dying. II you do. why in the name Of
God did you come and ask me? You
could have taken him ini She did
want to see him. She
Miss Fanny looked startled. "Y0u
think"
"She told me col" And the tortured
young man, choked. "She said--Just
once She said I'D like to have seen
him-just oncer She meant--to tell
him good-byei That's what she
meanti And you put this on me. too (;
you put this responsibility on mel
But ! tell you. and I told Uncle
George, that the responsibility isn't
all minel If you were so sure was
wrong all the time-when took her
away, and when I turned Morgan out
If you were SO sure, what did you
let me do 1t for? You and Uncle
George were grown people, both Of
you, weren't you? You were older
than I, and If you were SO sure you
were wiser than I, why did you just
stand around with your hands hanging
down, and let me go ahead? You
could have stopped 1t If It was wrong,
couldn't you?"
Fanny shook her head. "No, George.
she said slowly. Nobody could have
stopped you. You were too strong,
and"
"And whatw he demanded loudly.
"And she loved you-too WELL"
George stared at her hard, then his
lower lip began to move convulsively,
and he set his teeth upon 1t but could
not check its frantic twitching.
He ran out Of the room.
She sat still, listening. He had
plunged into his mothers room, but no
sound came to Fanny's ears after the
sharp closing of the door; and pres
emily she rose and stepped out into
the hall--but could hear nothing.
What interview was sealed away from
human eye and ear within the lonely
darkness on the other side of that
door-in that darkness where Isabel's
own special chairs were, and her own
special books, and the two great wal
nut wardrobes filed with her dresses
and wraps? What tragic argument
might be there vainly striving to con-
fute the gentle dead? "In Gods name,
what else could have done?" For
his mothers immutable silence was
surely answering him as Isabel in life
would never have answered him, and
he was beginning to understand how
eloquent the dead can be. They can
not stop their eloquence, no matter
how they have loved the living; they
cannot choose. And so, no matter In
what agony George should cry out,
"What else could / have donew and
to the end of his life no matter how
often he made that wild appeal, Isabel
was doomed to answer him with the
wistful, faint murnur.
"Td like to have-seen him. Just
once"
A superstitious person
might have thought II unfortunate that
Fanny's partner in speculative indus
try as in Wilbur's disastrous rolling
mills, was that charming but too hap
hazardous man Of the world, George
Anderson. He was one OF those OPP
timists who believe that If you put
money into great many enterprises
one of them is sure to turn out for
tune, and therefore. in order to find
the lucky one, II is only necessary to
go into large enough number Of them.
"You ought to have thought Of my
record and stayed out" he told Fanny,
one day the next spring, when the af-
fairs of the headlight company had
begun to look discouraging. Things
do look bleai-, and I'm only glad you
didn't go into this confounded thing
to the extent I did"
Miss Fanny grew pink. "But 1t must
GO right" she protested. "We saw
with our own eyes how perfectly It
worked out In the shop. 1t simply"
"Oh, you're right about that" Am
berson said. ut certainly was per-
feet thing-in the shop"
"But think of that test on the road
when We"
"Tbat test was lovely" he admitted.
''The inventor made us happy with his
orntory. and you and Frank Bronson
and went whirling through the night
at a speed that thrilled us. We must
never forget it--and we never shall.
1t cost"
"But something must be DONE"
"Tt must indeed My something
would seem to be leaving my watch at
my uncle's. Luckily, you"
The pink OF Fanny's cheeks became
deeper. "But isn't that man going to
do anything to remedy itf Can't he
try to-"
"He can try said Anderson. "He
Is trying, in fact. rye sat in the shop
watching him try for several beautiful
afternoons"
"But you must make him keep on
tryingp
"Oh. yes. I'll keep sittingi"
However, in spite Of the time he
spent sitting In the shop. worrying the
inventor Of the fractions light, Amber
son found opportunity to worry him
~. a