Palisadian. [volume] (Cliffside Park, N.J.) 1906-current, 1921-04-16
The Girl of the
Wilderness
BY r. RAY BAKER
1q2l by McClura NeWspaper Syndicate.

o. 1921. by Mcclure Newspaper syndicate.)
The old man leaned forward and
rested a hand on knee Of his son.
They sat before a fireplace in which a
swapping blaze was struggling against
fall chill. They were smoking pipes
and apparently enjoying each others
company, as cronies do; and they
were cronieS.
The old man? He was not that when
one came to a closer inspection. He
looked old, seated as he had been in
the shadows, for his silver hair was
all that was really distinct in the
dusk. There were wrinkles, but not
deep. One would take it he had led
a free and easy life, until gradually
the impression formed that there was
something about him denoting a sor-
row. Possibly it was his eyes.
Its up to you, Paul." he said in
a voice that was singularly soft and
pleasing. II would not try to argue
you out Of this marriage, but l want
to warn you and be sure you are not
making a miStake-aS l did once"
The last four words preceded deep
sigh, and the father leaned back again
in the shadow, to watch the glow
from the fireplace play about the
handsome, clean-cut face Of his son.
Il am sure, father" the son said.
with note Of finality, Il love this
girl of the Wilderness. You should
see her romp through the woods, her
cheeks aglow with health. You
should see her paddle a canoe, and
dive and swim. And yet she is as
retiring and reserved as the most de-
mure society belle, when the occasion
requires it,"
But your station in life," his father
hesitated. This girl cannot be your
social equal. You say she and her
mother live in a shanty in the woods
near Cedar Creek, where you spent
your vacation. They must be crude
people, it seems to me-"
The son was on the point of max
ing an angry retort, but he checked it.
"She's as good, and a lot better
than most of the girls in my station
of life," he said. "Her English is
knowledge on a wide range Of topics.
/ did not see her mother, for I never
could get Anne to invite me to- their
home. In fact, it is not her mother,
Anne told me. Rather, it is her adopt
ed aunt. Anne is really the daughter
of the sister Of the husband Of the
sister Of the woman she calls mother
If you can grasp that. Anyhow,
she's ne blood relation, put they love,
each other like mother and daughr
ter. 1t seems that each is all the
other has.
"They live in the woods from choice.
Anne's father was wealthy and left
a large amount of money to his daugh-
ter; and Anne insists on sharing
1t with the woman she now calls
mother. Because they love the woods
and choose to live in them-that does
not indicate a low station, does it?
And what if it does? 1 love Anne"
1T all sounds very rosy, this love
talk" observed his father and there
was touch of bitterness in his voice,
"but it doesn't always work out that
way. Look at my own case. l don't
care to talk of it as a rule, but it's a
sample of what one gets for marrying
beneath his level. Your mother was a
lovable, good girl, but she had not
been educated in my ways of thinking.
hn oil
yours. Your mother would not get
along in the society to which l was
accustomed. Like this girl you think
you love, she was fond of the woods
and she wanted me to spend my life
in them. l could not reconcile myself
to it, because 1 love the noise and
hustle of the city. The silence Of the
woods drives me frantic. But l con-
scented to try it, and built a habita-
ton in the woods; not a modern struc
ture, as l desired, but rustic log
house to suit your mothers fancy. /
could not endure the solitude and
finally one night we Quarreled; and
a terrible quarrel il was! 1t was rain
ing, and thunder and lightning punctu-
ated every sentence that was uttered.
In fairness to your mother, whom
loved in spite of our incompatibility,
l must say that did most of the quar-
reling. She simply sat and looked
into my face with those gentle blue
eyes and let me rave. 1 never told
you this before, because-because it
was pretty hard for me; but now,
when you are considering a step that
it almost identical, 1 cannot refrain
from bringing it up as an example.
But it is hard"
The silver hair was buried in the
mans arms.
1.-THE next morning l left the house
with you," he went on, more composed.
You cannot remember it, for you were
only a year and half old and had
to carry you in my arms. 1 sneaked
out of the cabin with you bundled in
a blanket before Ethel, your mother,
~,