The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1921-03-18
Poor mi am S
Rock
CONTINUED Prom Our Last Issue,
BERTRAND w. SINCLAIR
cepyriEht, 1889. by Little. brown a CO

The Scotch" he said. cherish
a grudge like family heirloom"
Perhaps they do" Maoliae an
swered. why notf You had your
inning. II was long one"
II wonder" Cover said slowly.
why old Donald MaeRae kept hts
mouth closed TO you about trouble
between US unul he was ready 10
dios"
How do you know he ma thatr''
Maeiiao demanded harshly.
THE night you came 20 AJAX for
the Arrow to take him 10 town you
had no such feeling against mo az
I you had since" Cover said. II
know you didn't You wouldn't
have come II you had. cut no
figure IN your eyes. one way or the
other, until after he was dead. so
he must have told you at the very
last. Why did no tell you
why shouldn't her, MaeRae de-
manded. you made his iife a fail
ure. You put a scar ON hts face
you put a scar on his soul You
weren't satisfied with that You had
10 keep on throwing your weight
against him for thirty years You
didn't even stop when the war made
everything seem different You might
have let up then. We were doing
our bit But you didn't You kept
on until you made a pauper OF him
and sat here gioating over a. II
preyed on his mind 10 think that
l should come back from France
and find myself a hogEar because
he was unable 10 COP. with you Ho
lived his life without whimpcring to
inc. exccp; 90 say he did not like
you. He only wrote this down for
INC 10 road-when he began 10 feel
that he would never soe me again
the reasons why he had failed In
everything. lost everything. when
! pioccd out the story. from the day
you ussd your pike pole 20 knock
down man whose fighting hands
wcrc tied by a promise to a woman
he loved. from then TN the las, cold.
eloodcd maneuver by which you got
this land Of ours. I hated you. and
i set out 10 pay you back In your
own coin
But MaeRae continued after a
momentA<y hesitation. that A. no,
what ! came hero 20 say. would
rather not talk about these things.
or think OF them now. I want 70
buy this land from you II you are
willing TO sell That's ALL"
Cover scarcely seemed 20 hear
him He was looking al MacRAe
with curious concentration.
Hell. IL Is true indictment. up
70 certain point" he said al Last
What a curse misund.ruta nding Il
and pride' by God. have cuvsoi
your father. MacIsae. many a time
! struck him an ugly blow once Yes
was young and hothcaded. and I
was burning with jealousy. But I
did him good turn nj that think
I-oh. well. maybe you wouldn't un-
derntand suppose you wouldn't
believe me II / say didn't swoop
down on him every time | got a
chance. that I didn't ouzhwhack--no
matter n he believed DID
Nor MaeTaao said increduiouriy.
lou didn't break up a legxinx ven.
turn on the Ciaha when he had a
chance 10 make a stalker You didn't
show your fine Italian hand In that
marble quarry undertaking on Ter.
adaG Nor other things that could
name as he named them. why crawl
now7 IL doesn't matter. I'm not
swinging club over your head
Cover shook himself.
NO" he declared slowly. He
intcrfer-d with the Morton interests
in that Claha logging camp. and they
did whatever was done. The quarry
business I know nothing about
tell You. MacRae. after the flrE, short
period OF time when I was aflrc with
the fury OF jealousy. did not do
these things. I didn't even want 20
do them ! wish you would ret that
straight ] wanted Bessie Morton.
and ] got her. She didn't want me.
She wanted Donald MacRar. But
she had wanted other men That
was the way she was made. And
she never loved anyone half so much
as she loved herself. She waa--she
is--the Essence OF self from the top
VI mr. Hf-hI 70 fFf tlCFrs
she was oowardiy. too. DO you
think two old men and myself would
have taken her from your father N
she had had any Hpirit7 You knew
your father. He would have fought
and we could not have beaten him.
But she had. TO knuckie down-tak-
the easy way for her. She cried. and
he promised
Cover lay back IN his chair. His
chin sunk on his breast. He spoke
slowly. cropping for his words. Mac
Rae did not interrupt Something
compelled him TO listen. There wns
a painsd ring In Covers voice that
held him. The man war telling him
these things with visible reluctance.
with a simple dignity that arrested
him. even while he felt that he
should not listen.
"She used to taunt mo with
that" he went on. ''taunt me with
striking Donald MacRae. For years
after We were married she used to
do that. Long after--and that
wasn't so IonR-ahe had ceased 10
care II such a man as your. father e1.
isted. But she often reminded me
that 7 had struck him like n hard
ened butcher. because she knew she
could hurt me with that. SO that
used to wish 10 God / had never fol-
lowed her out into the gulf.
For 30 years I've lived and work.
cd and never knew any real satiafac-
ton in 1iving-or happiness I've
played the game. played II hard 7
made money. Money! poured II
into her hands like pouring sand in
rathole. She lived for herself. her
whims. her codfish-aristocracy stand
ards. She made lap dog Of her son
the first rs years OF his life. She
wouid have made Betty a cheap i'm