The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1921-01-13

eve on Ile lltllc hiIp'h, M wv y"
d~omndest to see she's raised n lydy.
'Er father was n gentleman. an you
never want to forget q made you Mrs.
Colonel jerks SO Hive made n lydy
out ~ her, Willie: education. pianner
lessons. paintin', singin', m deport-
mint. After she graduated from the
convent, I 'ad her take n course in the
University o. California-New Or
leans wasn't 'ealthy for 'er. an she
needed n chynge q clima;e-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
or me ever since she graduated from
the convent to let her come 'Ome an
visit me, but Hive told 'er to wyte-
that I'd 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 c%ablegram would Indicate"
Geary observed. Nevertheless, Moth
err. I'm at n 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. 81 cawn't
LET 'er see me-" she walled. 81 wasn't
this wy wen my sainted Emery hon.
trusted the lamb to me; 1t wasn't until
awfter they ~hexecuted Emery that I
commenced to slip-an' now look at
me. Look at me, Willie Geary; look
at me, I sly. Wot do yer see? Aw.
don't tell me Tn young an 'andsome,
for | know wot I am. I'm a frowsy,
drunken, ~disreputable baggage, with
no heducation or nothink. All along,
hever since she learned to write me a
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 err as 'ow 'er fawther, before e
died, give me enough money to hedu-
cate 'er like a lydy-"
Again Mother jerks grief overcame
her. "Gor', Willie, I amt respectable.
She's comm to see mean I cawn't
let 'er. She mustn't know 'ow I got
the money for 'er heducation-sellin'
'ell-fire to a pack Of rotten dorgs an
consortin' with the scum of this stink
in ole! Oh, Willie, you've got to 'elp
me. ] cawn't ave 'er comm to Ell
Buen Amigo to see me, an / 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
posu 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 a shock she'll get,
pore sweetheart-an' 'er the Spittin'
himage of a hangel. And oh, Willie.
while she don't remember wot l
looked like, think 81 the shock If she
meets me! In 'er lawst letter she said
as 'ow | was the only hanchOr she had
in life. Ho, yes. A sweet-lookin'
hanchor | am-an' Hi was 'opin' to die
before she found hOut. I've got a
h%anuerism in my cart, Willie, so the
surgeon on the mail boat tells me, an
Wen | go, I'll go like-that!" Mother
jerks snapped her cigarette-stained
fingers. I'm ffty-seven, Willie, an
since my sainted Emery passed away,
l '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' 'ow
I got Il for 'er."
Billy Geary had a bright idea.
"Well," he said, "why not die-tem-
porarily-if you feel that way about
II? You could come back from the
grave after she's gone"
But Mother jerks shook her head.
mo" 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.
Thinf 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, I'll 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 company, knowing / am a friend
of yours, showed me the message and
that I took IL upon myself to call and