The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1920-11-11
fAo DGe ~ ~WOo1 SAoe sem,
one had pushs6 go ~ Ots tina
connected the two residences. Henc,
he nails and hammer.

jig u" HVSO01OO w. ~ WV SAsOS
connected the two residences. Hence
he nails and hammer.
For I'VE half a year Duryea had
beer. gathering material and making
exhaustive notes along a line of inter-
est and likely to be of great profit to
him. He now removed manuscript
and memoranda to a room on the
other side Of the house to evade be-
:ng near the disturbing element. He
continued, however. to use the library
overlooking the next lot, when he was
aot at work. He was seated there one
morning when he glanced out of the
window as an unusual commotion
awOke the echoes.
A new figure had appeared upon the
scene. 1t was tlat of a young lady
among the group of children. She
wore a bandage across her eyes and
groIed like a blinr person with her
arms. But there vas the poetry of
beauty, of perfect grace in her every
movement and a radiant flush and
smile upon her face expressed the
deepest tenderness and love for the
adoring throng about her. They call
ed her name-"Our Darling Mercy!"
They kissed her hands and chung to
her dress, and amid the babel Duryea
discerned that she was their former
teacher, who had returned after an
absence of a month seeking to over
come fast-approaching s~ightlessness.
Duryea was infinitely touched at
the sight of such helpless loneliness. a
winner of hearts, even in her great
affection. He went to his room on the
other side of the house. but could not
get down to work finally flung his
cigar into the waste basket and re-
turned to the library. The children,
however, had gone in to their studies.
Duryea dozed in his chair. A crash
awoke him. The little ones in the
next yard were out at play again and.
some one had flung a ball. It had
gone through a window, arousing
Duryea, who observed a faint Of smoke
In the air. He forgot his momentary
olSCA Ut llC dISIuCut. IuIIlCu lIOIH
the room and traced the smoke across
a hal and into his new writing apart
ment.
"Just in time!" exclaimed Duryea,
as he caught up the blazing waste has
ket, hurled it through the window and
~extinguished some papers on the desr
the edges of which had ignited. "Tf
that ball had not aroused me, where
would my work of months be nowY"
He felt a trifle more kindly toward
his unconscious young tormentors, and
as a physician whom he knew, later
came out of the house next door,
Duryea, at the gate Of his own home,
hailed him.
DR.. Warden told hin 81 Miss Mercy
Paxton, whose sweet at~tractiveness
had remained a pleasing memory in
Duryea's mind.
I'VE fear for her eyes," pronounced
the physician, and are doing the1
best we can for her. She should have
a specialist, but the treasury Of the
home is depleted
"Come in" insisted Duryea. II
want to talk with you" And what he
had to say was under pledge Of
secrecy that he would furnish the
money to care for the afflicted young
lady.
And the next morning at daylight.
Alan Duryea went into the garden.
drew out the nails that held the parti-
tion gate and left & open for all the
little wanderers who chose To roam
Owe his beautiful garden.
His somber nature had changed nm
der the influence Of the sweet, patien
sufferer, and he realized that In @takiEes
away the barrier he had opened the
cate to- love.
For little later. her af1iction rel
moved. Mercy pss,x 4 anfid the mopns
fIghtabeautias 81 ssartisaAbe
ame his promise ltsistss
SZtyE - tE4 HAG@SE