The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1922-11-03
CHAPTER TX

AS the fire burned down to Goals
and the stars wheeled through the
sky. Linda told her story. The two
of them were seated in the soft grass
in front of the cabin, and the moon
light was on Linda's face as she
talked. She talked very low at first.
| Indeed there was no need for loud
tones. The whole wilderness world
was heavy with silence, and a whis-
per carried far. Besides, Bruce was
just beside her, watching her with
narrowed eyes, fOrgetful of every
thing except her story.
I've waited a long time to tell you
this" she told him. "Of course. when
we were babies together in the or
phanage, 1 didn't even know it. 1t
has taken me a long time since to
learn all the details; most of them I
! got from my aunt, old Elmira, whom
you talked to on the way out. Part
of it l knew by intuition, and little
of it is still doubtful.
You ought to know first how hard
I have tried to reach you. OF course.
/ didn't try openly except at first
| the first years after l came here, and
before / was old enough to under
stand" She spoke the last word with
curious depth of feeling and a per-
ceptible hardness about her lips and
eyes. Il remembered just two things.
That the man who had adopted you
was Newton Duncan; one of the
nurses at the asylum told me that.
And 1 remembered the name Of the
city where he had taken you.
you must understand the difficult
ties l worked under. There is no
rural free delivery up here, you know.
Bruce. Our mail is sent from and
delivered to the little post office at
Martins store over fifteen miles
from here. And rome one member of
certain family that lives near here
goes down every week to get the mail
for the entire district.
| AT firSt-and that was before I
really understood-I wrote you many
letters and gave them to one of this
family to mail for me. 1 was just a
child then, you must know, and 1
lived In the same house with these
people. They were just baby let
tiers from-from Linda-Tinda to Bwov-
aboo-letters about the deer and the
berries and the squirrels-and all the
wild things that lived up here"
Berries" Bruce cried. 81 had some
on the way up" His tone wavered,
and he seemed to be speaking far
away. Il had some once-long ago.
Eyes. You will understand. soon.
l didn't understand why you didn't
answer my letters. understand now,
though. You never got them"
mo. never got them. But there
are several Duncans in my city. They
might have gone astray."
"They went astray-but It was be-
fore they ever reached the post office.
They were never mailed, Bruce. I
was to know why, later. Even then
1t was part of the plan that l should
never get in communication with YOU
agaip-that you would be lost to me
forever.
when I got older, 1 tried other
tacks. wrote to the asylum, encIos-
ing letter to you. But those letters
were not mailed, either.
'Now we can skip long time. I
grew up. 1 knew everything at last
and no longer lived with the family
mentioned before. 1 came here, to
this old house-and made 1t decent
to live In. cut my own wood for my
fuel except when one of the men
tried to please me by cutting 1t for
me. / wouldn't use 1t at first. Oh.
Bruce-I wouldn't touch itr
Her face was no longer lovely. II
was drawn with terrible passions.
But she quieted at once.
eat last / saw plainly that was a
little fool-that oil they would do for
me, the better Off was. At first. I
almost starved to death because I
wouldn't use the food that they sent
me. I tried to grub 1t out of the hills.
But came to II at last. But, Bruce,
there were many things I didn't come
to. Since l learned the truth, / have
never given one OF them a smile, ex-
cept In scorn, not a word that wasn't
a word of hate.
"You are city man, Bruce. You
don't know what hate means. 1t
doesn't live In the cities. But II lives
up here. Believe me, IL you ever be-
lieved anything-tha 1t lives up here.
| The most hitfor and tba hI...t.O-.. -.
| from birth NM 'aatb' 1t burns