The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1924-02-22


! don't know. 1t struck me as natural,
that was ALL"
''But how could It? That's what |
want to know. How could you think
OF thing like that? Or don't you
know what 1t means?- can't even
talk to you about It'll"
She smiled up at him, incredibly
composed, gentle with his embarrass-
ment. Dad she demonstrated. "am
| supposed to think you've lived all
these years since you left mother
like monk in monastery"
Had he been a mere disinterested by
stander, his fine ear might have spot
ted that line as a quotation. picked up,
Observation-Disclosures perhaps. AS it
was. nothing of the sort occurred to
him. He stared at her in astonished
silence while she, having got the whip
hand now. went on:
"You hate having me know things
like that, and If was going to stay
with you suppose I'd have to pretend
didn't. guess that's the real rea-
coh Nuh Ou WANT INV bhtAO
girl, and / don't believe ever was
that. 1 always hated to be bossed. /
wanted to find things out for myself.
But everything they found / wanted
to do. they told me I mustn't. They
were afraid l was COINS 10 be like you.
and they were trying to btSak my will.
They didn't, though" She paused to
smile at him. II guess turned out
like you, after ALL"
BLESS your heart - he murmured.
His vision of her blurred with tears,
and at the invitation of her hands he
bent down and kissed her, she holding
him, for moment, in tight embraces
Then she pushed him away. and with
her palms blotted the tears from her
own eyes.
81 hated you once" she said. with a
shaky laugh. "Oh, for years and
years. Because you left me there with
them. didn't think / was going to
love you when l got your letter. The
reason came was because you said
was of age and had right TO decide
things for myself. made up my mind
I'd hold you to that. / thought II
got you sort of silly about me it would
be easy to make you. l didn't figure
on getting silly about you. But have,
and that's why I've got to go away
again."
He tried to protest that this con-
clusion was nonsense, but she wasn't
ready to hear him yet. I'D hate any
governess you hired for me. I'd hate
anybody who told you tales about me
or advised you what to do with me. I
wouldn't mind, if l didn't love you.
I'd get what l. wanted, somehow-just
the way / always did at home. But
I'd be misunderstanding you like
that Because you aren't like them"
She was weeping now in way that
made continued speech impossible.
She sat erect and chung to him. "Oh.
Dad" she walled. 81 don't want to CO."
Until she was quiet he held her
without word, but when the sooth-
ing of his hands had had it's effect, he
said, Gall right. Trix. You win. 1
guess I've been fool about it. 1
hope so, anyway. But / can't let you
go. Not after this p
Her eyes were luminous through her
tears. He'd never, he thought, seen
anything so rapturously lovely. you
mean it, Dada" she cried. You'll let
me be a real grown-up? Run your
house for you, and everything Like
Margaret Craven does Henry's?
He roared at that, and she laughed
with him, but at the end of it she
asked, for reinsurance, Really, Dad?'
"It's on the level" he told her, sober
ly. "You can write your own contract.
little girl"
There was another hateful echo In
that, and it was a moment before her
enthusiasm got an appropriate re-
spouse from him. She shook him by
the shoulders. Say you think it's go
ing to be wonderful" she commanded.
"Yes, my DEAR" he said. II believe
it Is"
John Williamson surprised Joe by
coming to him with an idea about flax.
An eccentric gentleman farmer he
knew had been talking to him and.
more or less, frightening him about 1t.
He was a retired wholesale grocer,
Nicholson by name, and he had big
place out on the Fox river. He de-
voted an energetic leisure to the cul-
tivation of hobbies, and he'd been ex-
perimenting, for the past two or three
years, with the growing of Belgian
flax. the plan being to process it by
hand and provide domestic winter
occupation for farmers wives.
He was bitterly skeptical about Joe's
project for making any use of Ameri-
can seed flax, and he went on to say
some things that worried John little.