The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1923-02-15
Loved I Not Honor
More
By MARTHA WILLIAMS


I Thunder and catn:p!" Squire john
son roared, his tone supplying all the
profanity the syllables lacked. whats
this you're sayin'? Molly Mix has
gone and bought the MellOo place
right under my nose? Take my word
she'll rue her bargain before year
Older"
/ Squire lay not. Maybe l don't
know wimmen nigh as well as you do,
but sorter reckon to know Miss Polly
from way back and the word go. She
makes err full hand at anything we've
the mind ter start-bein' good friends
err bad, playin' high er low. Fact is,
l sorter think she's beat We some ways
eff you give her high. low, jack and the
game ter start with. Be blamed eft
don't like her and her ways-sO well
l always think what er pity she didn't
happen ter be er man." Zeke Triplett
answered, settling himself easier in
side-saddle position on the back of
Dumping, his round roam pony, In
preparation for long session OF
gossip.
"'Gree with yer erbout that last-if
she wus only he thar'd be chance
to lick some er the contrariness out Of
her." the squire returned. Fact is
he went on, eff she'd only a-been
switched properly 'twould a-made her
the right sort-faiiish as women go.
But no. Her old dad saw the sun rise
and set in her-she had her way from
the time she crawied-and that amt
good fer nothin' human"
"Say, weren't your old dad prutty
much the same sort?" Zeke asked in
Inocently, but with a subdued twinkle
The squire scowled-redder he could
not grow, answering in his best church
voice: EFF my pa never laid the weight
of his hand on me you can bet hit
was because l never had need of it.
Granny said to her dyin' day they
didn't raise boys like me these times"
Schoolmaster Likens tells me he's
glad they don't-his boys teachin' now,
We know-and him and his passel have
er h of er time hikin' and campin'
tergether. Ole man says that's the
one bit O. ra'ale progress he can ketch
a-hold on-boys shown men how ter
be boys agin."
Nobody could ever a-showed him
anything-pig-headed old crabapple,
wusser than the Polly Mix-she was
Polly Gray then. And they got erlOng
fine-so much alike, l reckon" the
Squire returned acidly, then suddenly
'"D'ye know what she paid fer the
land? Makes me mad to think how
set waitin' fer the Melloo gals ter
come ter my price. I'd a-give theirs
ruthern have sech neighbor-"
"She won't bite unless We set her
back up Zeke interrupted. "She paid
every cent she was asked, and said
why not? They've got land l want.
I've got money they want So they
traded. Money came from her stepson,
Joe Mix. He paid handsome for her
dover right-they like each other well
ienough-but neither wanted ter live
with tother."
"Dont blame him." the Squire
broke in with emphasis.
Zeke laughed tantalizingly, then
said: Maybe hits all 'appened fer
the best-Miss Polly has took one of
her Gray nieces ter live with her-so
your son Tommy can marry the place
that's cheaper'n buyin' hit"
"I'Il disown him if he ever thinks Of
;chv, fhn
tered.
Easy! easy!'' Zeke cautioned.
,"Young Schoolmaster Likens, they tell
me, 'sgot mortgage on the Gray gal
so after all We may owe salvation
ter the breed"
With that he rode off, laughing fit
fully and now and again rubbing his
Hands. He had riled the squire beau
;tifully-a thing that always pleased
Not that he hated that excellent gen.
tleman, but because, as he told him.
self, it was good fun to cut the comb
of a cock that crowed overload. He
felt that he had sown seed to spring
Iup-into what harvest he could not
guess.
Polly Mix had sloughed the Mrs.
when she buried her man-partly out
of inchOate rebellion against the mar
Iried woman status, more to aggravate
the tabby cats who had gossiped
about her ceaselessly since she was in
short frocks. Her youth had been
careless-she had married widower,
in climax of rebellion against the
kinfOlk who wanted to adopt and
make a lady of her" after her father
died. The husband had been foolishly
fond of her-children might have made
her as fond of him. Lacking them she
had refused to take more than a
moiety of what he left. Naturally her
stepson as kind as he was dull, had
dealt literally with her in the wind-up
of affairs. His new wife and Miss
Polly were exactly criss-cross in
,everything-it was heap better to
keep them friendly enemies than black
and bitter ones. If only Joe had
glimpsed Miss Elsa Gray earlier! Polly
had intuitively understood that-so
had denied herself the child's COM
pany until Joe was fully and safely
anchored.
Elsa was sunbeam in the sad
Melloo house. Not sad for long-what