Sioux County pioneer. (Fort Yates, Sioux County, N.D.) 1914-1929, 1922-02-09

cially strange, Mollis-when he vas
born and brought up In q town three
hundred miles from here. don't sec
just how we could have heard his
name-unless he visited here. or got
into the papers in some way"
Mrs. Atwater seemed unwilling to
yield mysterious point. She rocked
decorously in her chair, shook her
head, and after setting her lips rigid
~, opened them to insist that she could
never change her mind: Julia had
acted very abruptly. "Why couldn't
she have let her poor father know, at
least q few days before she didf"
Mr.. Atwater sighed. "Why, she ex-s
plains in her letter that she only
knew it, herself, an hour before she
wrote"
Her poor father!" his wife repeat
ed commiseratingly.
why, Mollie, I don't see that faith
er's especially to be pitled."
"Don't your" said Mrs. Atwater.
''That old man, to have to live in that
big house all alone. except few ne
gro servants?'
"Why, mo-. About half the houses
in the neighborhood, up and down the
street, are fully occupied by close rela-
tives Of his; I doubt II he'll be really
as lonely as he'd like to be. And. he's
often said he'd give q great deal II
Julia had been a>plain, unpopular girl.
I'm strongly Of the opinion, myself,
that he'll be pleased about this. OF
course it may upset him little, just
at first"
.Yes; / think it Wilt" Mrs. At,
water shook her head forebodingly.
"And he isn't the only one it's going
to upset"
"No, he isn't" her husband admit
ted, seriously. That's always been
the trouble with Julia she never could
bear to seem disappointing; and SO, Of
course, suppose every one of 'em had
+ a special idea that he was really about
the top Of the list with her.
every last one Of 'em was positive
Of It," said Mrs. Atwater. ''That was
Julia's way with 'em" II
Eyes, Julia's always been much too
kind-hearted for other peoples goodl ]"
Thus Mr.. Atwater summed up-and
he was this Julia's brother. Addition
ally, since he was the older, he had
known her since her birth.
If you ask me-" said his wife, "1'll
really be surprised If It all goes
through without suicide"
ooh, not quite suicide. perhaps" Mr..
i Atwater protested. "I'm glad It's a
dry state, thought"
She failed to fathom his simple
meaning. "WhyY
"Well, some Of 'em might feel that
desperate at least" he explained.
prohibitions safeguard for the dis
appointed In love-"
This phrase and previous one
stirred Florence, who had been sitting
quietly, according to request, and
resting; but not resting her curl
osity. ''Who's disappointed in love.
papa7" she inquired with an explosive
eagerness which slightly startled her
4 preoccupied parents. "What is all this
about Aunt Julia, and Grandpa goin'
to live alone, and people committing
: suicide and prohibition and every
Y thing? What is all this. mama7''
s Nothing, Florence"
Nothing! That's what you always
! say. about the very most interesting
things that happen in the whole fam
ilyl What is all this, papa?''
sits nothing that would be, inter.
esting to little girls, Florence. Mere
ly some family matters"
sMy gOodness!" Florence exclaimed
"rm not a little girl any more, papa
You're always forgetting my agei And
IL it's q family matter I belong to the
family, guess, about as much as any
body else, don't II Grandpa himself
isn't any more one Of the family than
I am. / don't care how old he. ISL"
This was undeniable, and her father
laughed. .'It's really nothing you'd
care about one way or the other" he
said. y
"Well, I'd care about 1t II it's se
cret," Floreace insisted. IF It's Sc
cret I'd want to know It whatever IT.
about"
"Oh. it isn't 4 secret, particularly
suppose. At least, It's not to be
made public for q time; it's only to
, be known in the family"
"Well, didn't just prove I'm al
much one o the family as -"
Never mind" her father said sooth
ingly. II don't suppose there's any
harm in your knowing tiff you won't
60 telling everybody. Your aunt julia
. has just written 10 that she's en-
J, gagged"
Mrs. Atwater uttered an exclama'
J tion. but she was too late to check