The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1924-03-14
BY Henry Kitchell Webster
Copyright by The Bobbs-Merrill Co.

I've never known him to be like that
before. Ever since he wrote you that
letter. He's been like boy about you
fierce and proud-and sometimes down
right idiotic. Well. / don't adore you
no more than do him. If I'd adored
him-or been afraid of him-Fd have
lasted about one month.
I've made up my mind I'll try treat
ing you the way I've always treated
him. I've never told tales on him.
He's found out that when he tells me
thing, it's buried. don't even tell
Ii back to him as a reminder. That's
why won't tell tales on you. You'll
find 1t out gradually, If there's time
enough. l never ask him questions.
Sometimes he tells me things for fun,
and sometimes to see how they strike
me-but never because l claim any
right to know. I won't claim any
rights with you. You aren't under any
obligation to me. You don't have to
ask my permission to do anything.
You don't even have to pretend you
like me-he never bothered TO do that.
I'm here, that's all. I'm intelligent
and shock-proof and experienced. Elk
perienced in more ways than you're
likely to think. mean I'm not an old
maid exactly"
"How old are your" Trix asked.
"Oh, I'm old enough" said Jennie
composedly; "thirty-four."
This seemed to be about all. She
got up, lighted herself cigarette. I'M
folded an evening paper, and carried
1t across to the windows. Then she
heard Beatrice speaking.
"You aren't old enough to have been
my mother. But | wish my mother
had been a person like you. l wish
I'd known somebody like you-before
this"
Jennie's 'line," which she'd been
feeling a bit too complacent about,
failed her suddenly at this point. 1t
was beautifully logical to decide TO
treat the girl in all situations as she'd
have treated the girls father-but
what would she have done with Joe
If, at the end of one of their talks, he'd
burst into tears?
She went back to the davenport,
patted the heaving shoulder, clumsily,
she felt, tried to say something en-
couraging-and, to her CONSERVATION,
heard her own voice break and saw
Beatrice swim away In blur of
tears.
The break caught the girls atten-
ton instantly. She stopped weeping,
sprang up, took look to make sure,
and, with laugh, flung her arms
round Jennie. "You aren't as hard
Il was a fool to say / was expert
enced, anyhow" Jennie admitted. "Tve
hardly ever seen anybody cry before.
suppose I'll have to get used to it."
She was, however, much too expert
enced in the ways of human fallibility
to fall into1the error of supposing that
merely by winning the opening Skin
mish, she had established permanently
the sound, sane relation with Joe's
daughter which any real help would
have to be built upon
Trix. having hated her whole-heart-
edly, started swinging now quite to
the other end of the arc. Jennie had
not worked in the stenographers'
rooms of numerous big business offices
without learning what the sort of SEN
timental affection known as a "crush"
is like. She had, though not often,
been made the unwilling recipient of
attentions of this sort and she had al
ways hated them, sensing their funda-
mental unhealthiness. She couldn't
have imagined herself reciprocating an
attachment of this sort. Yet now, with
Beatrice, she was slow in recognizing
the familiar manifestations as belong
ing in that category.
Trix began getting up for breakfast
with her, coming to the table in night
gown and robe, pouring her coffee,
making her toast, superfously seeing
to it that everything was exactly
right-superfiuous because Joe's do
nestle service was always perfect any,
how. He was one of those men who
have the knack of getting it. But the