St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1922-01-21
she exclaimed, as vindictively as you

Cant | say anything at all without
putting my foot into it?' 1 asked In
/ despair you break mans back
with load of obligation one day, and
toss him lightly out of your young life
| the next haven't done anything to
EARN yp;lr 20 earn the back of your
hand, Jeanne; or. If I have. I don't
know what it Isl
"You have committed the unpardon-
able sin," she accused coolly. 81 don't
wonder that Miss Randle took your
ring off,
| wasn't going to let the talk shift
to Lisette; not If I knew II, and could
help it.
"What is the objectionable SIM" I
asked.
ITO misunderstood: to think per-
son capable of a thing when a person
is not; to-just take it .for granted
that a person is guilty-oh"-with a
| little stamp of her foot-'I can't bear
to talk about It'll"
l guess it's a part Of a mans equip
| ment to be dense and sort of stupid
| In his dealings with women, l mean.
| Slowly, so slowly that I thought the
catch would never snap and hold, my
fool mind crept back along the line,
searching blindly for the point at
which all this fiery indignation toward
me had begun; back and still back to
that moment Of our deliverance-
Daddy's and mine-at the shafthouse
door, with this dear girl untwisting her
arms from her fathers neck, and with
me saying, I'm not hurt, either. Wei
come home, Miss Twombly-or should
/ say, Mrs. Bullerton?''
"Jeanie!" gasped; "do you mean
that you're not going to marry Charles
Fullerton THAT you never meant TOT"
"Of course, I'm notv' she retorted,
with a savage little out-thrust Of the
adorable chin. "But you thought so
small Of me that you simply took it
for granted !"
I wagged my head In deepest hui
mility.
"Im as the dust under your pretty
too hard Bullerton-that is-er-we
had scrap the next morning after
you went away, you know, and :. !.
we'll, he rather got the worst Of. It,
And when l had him down and was
trying to make him tell us where you
were-even your father thought you'd
gone off with him-he said you'd
planned to go with him to get mar
RED but that you had failed to show
up at Atropia in time for the train"
"T1e told a lie, because that Is the
way he is made and he couldn't help
it," she said simply, still as cool as
cucumber. "FFe said we were going
to Angels to get married, and IL
didn't say we weren't; / just let him
talk and didn't say anything at ALL"
''Won't you tell me bit more?'
begged.
''You don't deserve It the least lit
tie bit. but I win. It began with the
deed; your deed to the mine. One
day, when you were over at the shaft
house, and had left your coat here in
the cabin, saw him take the deed
from your pocket when he didn't know
I was looking. He read 1t and put 1t
back quickly when he heard me stir
ring in the other room. l knew it
hadn't been recorded; you and Daddy
had both spoken Of that I felt sure
he'd take 1t again, and perhaps de-
stroy it. At first,s I thought I'd tell
you or Daddy, or both Of you. But I
knew that would mean trouble"
"We were never very far from the
fighting edge In those days." I admit
ted Fullerton had shown me the
gun he always carried under his arm,
and had told me what to expect In
case I were foolish enough to lose my
temper"
IT know" she nodded. "He killed
a man once; it was when I was a
little girl and.we were living in Grip
pie Creek. He was acquitted on the
plea Of self-defense. SO I didn't dare
say anything to you or to Daddy.
What I did was to steal your deed
myself, when I had chance. Daddy
has some blank forms just like it, and
I sat up one night in my room and
made copy. It wasn't very good
copy-yoyr grandfather's handwriting
was awfully hard to initiate. Besides,
I didn't have any notarial seal. But
I thought it might do for-for some
thing to be stolen. Then I hid the
real deed and put the copy back in
the envelope in your pocket"
"And Fullerton finally stole it, just
as you thought he would" put In.
"He did. You are dreadfully care
less with your things; you are al
ways leaving your coat around, just
where you happen to take it off. I
knew then that the next thing to be
done was to get your deed recorded
quickly He-he was urging me every
day to run away with him, and was
afraid to tell him how much despised
him; afraid he'd take it out on you
and Daddy So I Just let him go on
and talk and believe what he pleased.
of course, he wanted to ride with me
the morning we went away, but after
we got down the road piece. I made
an excuse to go on ahead by another
trail"
'That much Of what he told your
father and me-when we were having
the scrap-was true. He said you
went on ahead"
IT didn't go to Atropia, as he ex-