The Ely miner., 1924-04-04

4
thousand dollars in that letter." In
response to Jennie's stare of uLdis
guised astonishment. she went on to
explain. 1T was the thousand dad
gave George as reward. He cashed
the check for 1t, but never touched
the money. When he ran away with
me he made me send 1t back. put
1t in my account at the bank and sent
dad check for it, telling him, in the
letter, what 1t was. didn't much
! want to, but George stood over me un-
til l did. But guess if you tore it
up, that settles that. Only you might
tell dad what was in the letter."
II don't think l WILL" Jennie said,
thoughtfully. mot for the present.
anyhow, When his head gets better,
/ suppose will"
whats the matter with his hesd?'
| Beatrice asked.
st aches," Jennie told her, simply.
"All the time. Night and day. Never
stops. 1t isn't sharp ache, he says ;
It's just as if his brain was a size too
big for his skull. But if he gets ex-
cited or makes any exertion it's worse
beats, like hammers. That's why
Pm not going to tell him"
pretty awful for him, that would
be-" the girl reflected. "How long will
it keep up. do you suppose"
Months, perhaps, Doctor Bennett
says. He hasn't told Joe that, though" !"
"Months!' Trix echoed, aghast.
"Thatll drive him crazy"
II don't know what it'll drive him
to-" said Jennie.
"And / suppose" Beatrice said,
roughly, "you think It's all my fault"
Jennie didn't answer at once. 81
wish / did," she said at last. Its
my fault, good deal of it. That's
what's worrying me-"
Because you didn't play detective,
yourself, and find out about George
before dad came home? What diff
ference would that have made? You
came nearer succeeding, the way you
tried. You almost made it, If you'd
cared about me little more-enOugh
so you had to ask Questions-oh, it
would have come to the same thing in
the end, l guess, whatever anybody
did. Only, Jennie, you told me once
it was the first real talk we ever had
together-that you weren't an old
maid, exactly. I've thought of that
since, and wondered what you meant
by it. l don't suppose you'd care to
tell me that, now, feeling about me
the way you do"
She paused there, tentatively, but
Jennie volunteered nothing. She took
the girls two arms for a moment in
a tight grip. "I'm glad you said that,
Beatrice. I'm on your fathers side
more than ever. He's going to need
all the help he can get. Whatever /
DOH be done for him. All the same,
I wish you luck, and 1 hope you're go
ing to be happy. You are, l suppose,
now"
Yes, am" The words were unin-
flected, and her laugh acknowledged
how dubious they had sounded. Il
mean," she explained, II don't know
whether happy's the exact word or
not. I'm glad l did it. I'd be glad,
even if it was all going to end in a
crash, half an hour from now out
there on the lake front, when George
gets in from Cleveland. Because it's
been something, already, that I'd never
have been quite-alive without But
life's kind of funny, isn't it? Funnier
than any one ever tells you. You have
to go ahead and find it out for your
self"
She wasn't asking for sympathy,
though, as she made clear by rising
from the corner of the desk and mov-
ing ava. little. "Pm goin to
school, again." she added, in bright
er note. George isn't crazy about
having me do it, but / tell him I'd
go crazy if / didn't. What I'd really
like is to learn to drive a plane and
then get job, myself, in the mail. I'd
get the Omaha run, you see, and then
we could come sailing in from oppo-
site directions at the same time, and
have our two day. off, together here.
1t gives George fits to have me talk
like that, but it's silly of him because
I could learn to do it just as well as
he could. Anyhow, there isn't chance
of it, SO he needn't worry"
She scribbled line or two on Jen-
MES scratch-pad. There's where we
live now,' she. concluded. 81 don't
know how long We'll stay. George is
talking about moving TO Cleveland
but / don't want to, much. Anyhow,
they'll forward it, if anything happens
you want to tell me about"
Jennie said good-by and had to re-
sist an impulse to say a good deal
more than that. All her resentment
against the girl had been sponged out
and the underlying affection made
legible again.
Before Christmas Jennie packed all
the clothes and trinkets she found in
the blue room and dispatched them to
Beatrice. 1t was, she had no doubt,
what Joe wanted her to do with them,
as soon as he was able to get about
again.
When winter settled down upon the
flax country there came a lull in the
activities of the Greer company. Joe
nursed his headache like wounded
bear until he discovered that by drink
ing enough whisky he could get re-
lief from it. After that he appeared
to the world at large to be himself
N rxo;r II uvoS NOT on oppooropoo A..
for long deceived Jennie, however. She