Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1920-01-08

A Jan SuAus oAA 4
ty; and her voice was thick with the
sense Of insult. you'll know that
you're out in the street. Please to
leave my house,"
George stiffened sharply. Then he
bowed, and strobe out of the door.
Three minutes later, disheveled and
perspifing, but cold all over, he burst
into his Uncle Georges room at the
Majors without knocking. Anderson
was dressing.
Good gracious, George" he ex-
claimed, whats up?"
1--WE just come from Mrs. john
son's-across the street." George pant
ed.
"You have your own fastest" was
AmbersOn's comment. "But curious as
they are you ought to do something
better with your hair, and button
your waistcoat to the right buttons
even for Mrs. Johnson! What were
you doing over there?"
"She told me to leave the house."
George said desperately. II went
there because Aunt Fanny told me the
whole town was talking about my
mother and that man Morgan-that
they say my mother is going to marry
him and that proves she was too fond
of him before my father died-she
said this Mrs. Johnson was one that
talked about it, and I went to her to
ask who were the Others"
Amberson's jaw fell in dismay.
Don't tell me you did that" he said,
in a low voice; and then, seeing it was
true, ooh, now you have done it,"
"I've done it?" George cried. "What
do you mean I've done 1t? And what
have I done?"
Anderson had collapsed into an
easy chair beside his dressing table,
the white evening tie he had been
about to put on dangling from his
hand, which had fallen Imply on the
arm of the chair. "By Jove!" he NUT
tered. "That is too bad!"
George folded his arms bitterly,
"Will you kindly answer my question?
What have I done that wasn't honor
able and right? Do you think these
rifraf can go about bandying my
mothers name
"They can now" said Anderson. II
don't know if they could before, but
they certainly can now!'
"What do you mean by thut?"
His uncle sighed profoundly, picked
up his tie, and, preoccupied with de-
spondency, twisted the strip of white
lawn till it became unwearable. Mean
while, he tried to enlighten his nephew.
Gossip is never fatal, Georgia." he
said, until it is denied. Gossip goes
on about every human being alive and
about all the dead that are alive
enough to be remembered, and vet
almost never does any harm until
some defender makes a controversy"
"See here" George said, 81 didn't
come to listen to any ~generalizing dose
of philosophy! l ask YOU"
"You asked me what you've done,
and I'm telling YOU" Anderson gave
him a melancholy smile, continuing:
Suffer me to do it in my own way.
Fanny says there's been talk about
your mother, and that Mrs. Johnson
does some Of it. l don't know, because
naturally nobody would come to me
with such stuff or mention it before
me; but it's presumably true-I sup
pose it is. I've seen Fanny with Mrs.
Johnson quite a lot; and that old
lady is a notorious gossip, and that's
why she ordered you out of her house
when you pinned her down that she'd
been gossiping. I suppose it's true
that the whole town. a lot of others,
that is, do share in the gossip. In this
town, naturally, anything about any
Anderson has always been a stone
dropped into the center of a pond,
and a lie would send the ripples as
far as a truth would. You can be sure
that for many years there's been more
gossip in this place about the Amber
sons than about any other family. I
dare say it isn't so much SO now as
it used to be, because the town got
too big long ago, but it's the truth
that the more prominent you are the
more gossip there is about YOU, and
the more people would like to pull YOU
down Well, they CANT do it as long
as YOU refuse to know what gossip
there is about YOU. BUT the minute
you notice it it's got you! I'm not
speaking of certain kinds of SANDER
that sometimes people have got to take
to the courts; I'm talking Of the
Wretched buzzing the Mrs. Johnsons
do-the thing YOU seem to have such
a horror of-people 'talking'-the kind
OF thing that has ~assailed your mother.
People who have repeated il SANDER
either get ashamed or forget it, if
they're let alone. People will forget
almost any SANDER except one that's
been fought"
"1s that ALI" George asked.
Il suppose So" his uncle murmured
sadly.
"Well, then, may 1 ask what you'd
have lone in my placer"