The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1921-01-28

rescued the pore lamp. III 'er ultll
the harrival O. the next fruit steamer,
wen I shipped FER to New Orleans in
care O. the stewardess. Hi Fad 'er
put in the Catholic convent there, for
as Emery said: ''Enrietta, keep an
eye on the little nipper, an do yer
damndest to see she's raised a lydy.
Err father was a gentleman, an you
never want to forget e made you Mrs.
Colonel jerks So Hive made a lydy
out O. her, Willie: education, pianner
lessons, paintin', singin', an deport-
mint. After she graduated from the
convent, 'ad her take a course in the
University O. California-New Or
leans wasn't 'ealthy for Ter, an she
needed a chynge O climate-an' for
the last two years she's been teachin'
in the Ugh school in Los Angeles"
"And you haven't seen her in all
these years." Geary demanded.
''Not a look, Willie. She's been aft
err me ever since she graduated from
the convent to let her come 'ome ah'
visit ME, but Hive told FER to wyte-
that ia be comm soon to visit her.
An now, s'help me, she won't wait no
longer; she's comm to visit me! Cor,
Willie, she's on her w'y!"
$50 this cablegram would indicate"
Geary observed. "Nevertheless. Moth
er, I'm 1T a loss to know why you
should feel so cut up over the i'm
pending visit
There was real fear in Mother
jerks tear-dimmed eyes. II cawn't
let Ter see me-" she walled. Il wasn't
this wy Wen my sainted Emery hen
trusted the lamb to me it wasn't until
awfter they hexecuted Emery that I
commenced to slip-an' now look at
me. Look at me, Willie Geary; lcok
at me, s'y. Wot do yer see? Aw,
don't tell me I'm young an 'andsome,
for know wot am. I'm a froWsy,
drunken, lisreputable baggage. with
no heducatiOn or nothink. All along,
heyer since she learned to write me
letter, I've been 'Enrietta Wilkins to
'er, an Mother jerks to every beach,
combin' beggar in the Caribbean
tropics. I've lied to 'er, Willie. I've
wrote 'er as low 'er fawther, before e
died, give me enough money to hedu-
cate 'er like a lydy-"
Again Mother jerks grief overcame
her. "Gor', Willie, amt respectable.
She's comm to see mean I caWn't
let 'er. She mustn't know low 1 got
the money for 'er heducation-sellin'
'cll-fire to Il pack of rotten dorgs an
consortin' with the scum of this stink
in 'ole! Oh, Willie, y u've got to 'elp
me. I cawn't ave 'er comm to El
Buen Amigo to see me, an I cawn't
ruin 'er reputation by calm on 'er in
public at the 'Otel Mateo. Oh, Cor,
Willie, Mothers come a cropper.
Willie agreed with her. He patted
the sinful gray head Of his landlady
and waited for her to regain her COM
posure, the while he racked his agile
brain for a feasible plan to fit the
emergency.
"She been picturin' me in 'er mind
all these years, Willie-picturin' a
fraud" walled Mother jerks. IF she
sees me now, wot shock she'll get
pore sweetheart-an' 'er the spittin'
himage of hangel. And OH. Willie,
while she don't remember wot I
looked like, think O. the shock II she
meets me! In 'er lawst letter she said
as 'ow was the only hanchor she had
in life. Ho, yes. A sweet-lookln'
hanchor am-an' Eli was 'opin' to die
before she found hOut. I've got a
hanuerism in my cart, Willie, so the
surgeon on the mail boat tells me, an
Wen I go, I'll 60 like-that!" Mother
jerks snapped her clgarette-stained
fingers. I'm fifty-seven, Willie, an
since my sainted Emery passed away,
T 'aven't been no bloomin' hangel."
She wrung her hands. "Oh, wy in ell
couldn't them harteries ave busted in
time to save my lamb the 'umiliatin'
knowledge that she's be'oldin' to the
likes o. me for wot she's got-an' low
I got it for 'er."
Billy Geary had bright idea.
"Well," he said, 'why not die-tem-
porarily-if you feel that way about
it? You could come back from the
grave after she's gone"
But Mother jerks shook her head.
NO." she declared. "While Dolores is
self-supportin' now, still, If anythink
'appened an she was to need 'elp,
'elp is somethin' no ghost can give.
Think again, Willie. Cor, lad, w'ere's
yer brains?"
"Well," Billy countered thought
fully, apparently there's no way of
heading her off before she takes the
steamer at New Orleans, so We'll take
it for granted she'll arrive here in due
course. About the time she's due,
suppose you run up to San Miguel de
Padua for a couple Of weeks and
leave me to run Ell Buen Amigo in
your absence. I'll play fair with you,
Mother, so help me. I'll account for
every centavo. I'll borrow some de-
cent clothes from Leber the day the
steamer gets in; then I'll go aboard
and look over the passenger list, and
if she's aboard. TIL tell her you closed
your house and started for California
to visit her on the last north-bound
steamer-that her cablegram arrived
just after you had started; that the
cable cOnDanv. knowing I am friend