The Raymer enterprise., 1922-05-11


DO! What Q fool be had been 10 marry
Evelyn Robertson! Instead ef the
fortune he had expected. he was tied
hand and foot without money or won.
an. BE thought Of the radiant squat.
ter girl who had tzHt;, left him. TIVE
years ago womanhood has, NOT dawned
upon Polly Hopkins. but today He
undertoned an oath and went out to
the barn.
Polly Hopkins ran down the lane a.
fast as her legs could carry her. Tbs
milk was safe In the bucket. and she
had scarcely reached the railroad
tracks before she had decided not to
mention Oscars vicious demand upon
her. II she told Daddy Hopkins. he
would do some harm to Bennett, and
there would be no more eggs and milk
for Granny and Jerry. II she spoke
OF 1t to Evelyn, there was no telling
what the girl would do.
The tangle-halred squatter girl was
the daughter Of Jeremiah Hopkins, the
mayor Of the Silent City. the leader Of
all those who lived In the rows Of huts
that ran along the Lehigh Valley
tracks and on down the lakeside.
Uncouth and Ignorant were Jere-
mlah and his kind, and visitors who
came 10 the little city Of Ithaca agreed
with the towns inhabitants that II
was q shame the law allowed such a
blot as the Silent City upon the nat
ural beauty Of Cayuga and Its males
tic surroundings.
Pollyop stood shivering. her troubled
gaze searching the lake for q boat.
Daddy Hopkins had gone away early
with Wee Jerry. and she always wor.
ried little when they were out. Yet
she knew that the only way to get
the bread. beans and bacon for the
family was for Daddy Hopkins to
defy the law and drag his nets when.
ever the game wardens were not
about. Without the lake and Its hid.
den food. II would be q desolate world
indeed.
Wee Jerry was Polly's fve-year.old
brother. and long before he could
walk. he had chosen his fathers big
shoulders upon which to bent his way
through an unfriendly and often hun.
CRY world. But this same world which
had wlzened Jerry had given to Polly
wild beauty. body strong and as
plant as q marsh reed.
With q sigh Pollyop turned to the
house. The door was shut against the
storm. and thin curl of smoke
twisted upward from the toppling
chimney. losing itself In the baby
leaves Of the willows. The little lines
that had traced the troubled brow
vanished at the sight Of a slab Of
wood over the door. On It was paint.
ed In crude letters: III your heart Is
loving and kind come right In. II Il
amt. scoot on" Pollyop and Granny
Pope had worked long time to make
this sign, and even longer to nall Il
up.
'Itll help the Silent City folks,
Granny" she had said. Specially,
II I smile a lot at en-"
She flung open the door and went
In, closing It behind her. In one cor
ner CT the kitchen. an old woman, so
old that no squatter could remember
her other than aged. sat near the
stove. About her shoulders was O
shawl, and Its edges were held to-.
gether with clawlike fingers.
Munching on bit of hay nt the
wood-box was lean goat. an old
friend Of Polly Hopkins. Long ago
she had found him, lost In the wilder.
ness Of the Storm country. and had
brought him to the Silent City.
The shanty consisted Of three rooms.
Back Of the kitchen Daddy Hopkins
slept, and In the miserable coop-hole
where Polly had once stored rubbish
Granny Hope stretched out her weary
bones at night. Polly's bed ranged
the kitchen wall, and the room had
but a bench. two old chairs and 4
three-legged table to offer In rude hos
pltnllty.
II wheedled a little milk from Os.
car. Granny" said the girl. "Goddy,
but he's gettIn' stingy!"
She put down the pail. went to the
stove and thrust piece of wood into
II.
woods as wet as hell" she COM
planned. almost as II she had spoken
to herself.
The old woman stirred and lifted
her wlthered lids.
"Hell aIn't wet" she muttered. ats
dry an warm-hot. | mean," and she
shlvered. drawing nearer the Hre.
"Taint Ike this lakeside"
Granny Hope had been In the Hop.
kins' shack since the first winter snow,
Her own hut stood on little point
about quarter Of mile away. In Il
she had lived alone ever since her hus-
band had gone down In the Big Blow,
a storm that was tradition In the
settlement, and which only the Oldest
Is,h ha hifanla 1& Tho CiIonA GylA.s ooasId