The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1926-12-31

Billy felt her fingers on his knee
and instantly the thin little hand was
enveloped In his warm fist. do you
take 1t all back, Lydia?"
swell, the horrid part Of 1t, I do"
she hedged.
That's all right" returned the
young man. "I'm willing to fight for
the rest of 1t. Don't try to pull your
hand away, because / intend to hold
1t till the folks come. You can't help
yourself, so you have no responsible
| ity In the matter"
So for an hour longer they sat,
watching the summer night and wait
! ing.
Finally two dim figures approached
"All right, Lydia2' asked Amos.
ooh, yes Yesl" she cried. "Are
either of you hurt?"
NO." replied Levine. eve got hold
of Charlie Jackson about eleven and
locked him up, then we felt secure"
"You aren't going to hurt Charlie !"
cried Lydia.
"No, but We'll shut him up for a
| week VI 81, Sdlu Ai1loS.
Levine started the car homeward
They reached home at daylight. The
| celebration made table talk and news
paper topic for several days. No real
attempt was made to punish the In
/, dams. For once, the whites, moved
| by a sense of tardy and inadequate
justice, withheld their hands.
| iuc haforn
! that Amos announced that he was 60
ing to buy the one hundred and TWEEN
ty acres John had set aside for him.
How are you going to pay for it?'
Lydia asked.
"Don't you worry, I'll tend to that"
replied Amos. Johns going to hold
1t for me, till can get the pine cut
off. That1l pay for the land
"How much did you pay for 1t, Mr..
Levine?" asked Lydia.
Levine grinned. 81 forget!"
Lydia sat with her chin cupped In
her palm, her blue eyes on Levine.
To the surprise of both men, she said
nothing.
After the supper dishes were
| WdollCu, anu hIlOS was oltCuuiL6 "
the chickens, Lydia came slowly out
to the front steps where Levine was
sitting. She leaned her head against
his arm and they sat in silence.
Lydia" said John, finally, show
does the Great Search go on?'
81 don't thing l make much head
way" replied Lydia. '"The older
/ loss T
I've always felt as If, If there was a
God, He was a man.
"You mean male, rather than fe-
male" agreed John. Lydia, dear,
wish you did have faith"
"But do you believe, yourself?"
urged Lydia.
"Yes. 1 know that the soul can't
die" said the man, quietly. "And the
thing that makes me surest is the
feeling 1 have for you. I know that
I'll have another chance"
''What do you mean?" asked Lydia
wonderingly.
THAT, you'll never know" he re-
piled.
"Well. / know that you're DEAR"
said the young girl, unexpectedly, mo
matter how you get your Indian lands.
And love you to DEATH"
She patted his cheek caressingly,
and John Levine smiled sadly to him
self In the darkness.
|
College life was not much unlike
high school life for Lydia. She was
very timid at first: suffered agony
when called on to recite; reached all
her classes as early as possible and
sat in a far corner to escape notice.
But gradually, among the six thousand
students she began to lose her self
consciousness and to feel that, after
all, she was only attending larger
high school.
Except for flying visits home, John
Levine spent the year at Washington.
He was returned to congress practical
ly automatically, at the end of his
term. Kent throve nightly as real
estate man. He continued to call on
Lydia at irregular intervals In order
to boast, she thought, of his real estate
acumen and of his correspondence
| Will hdiS CIy duu OlSd, DOIH VI
whom were now at boarding school.
One Sunday afternoon In March
Amos was In town with John Levine,
who was on one of his hurried visits
home, when Billy Norton came over to
the cottage.
Lydia saw at once that something
was wrong.
What's worrying you, Billy?" she
asked.
LYDIA" he said, dropping into
Amos chair and folding his big arms,
you know my tract of land-the one
was going to buy from an Indian
paid young Lone Wolf ten-dollar
see how I could raise enough to pay
him a fair price. He's only kid of
seventeen and stone blind from ira
choma. Well, yesterday I found that
Marshall had bought it In. He looked
young Lone Wolf up and gave him a
bag Of candy. The Indians are crazy
for candy. Then he told him to make
his cross on a piece Of paper. That
that was receipt that he was to keep
and If he'd show 1t at the store when
ever he wanted candy, he'd have all
he wanted, for nothing. And he had
two half-breeds witness it. What Mar
shall had done was to get Lone Wolf
to sign a warranty deed, giving Mar
shall his pine land The poor devil OF
an Indian didn't know 1t till yester-
day when he showed me his receipt
in great glee. OF course, they'll swear
he's a mixed blood"
Lydia burst out, "Oh, wish that
reservation had never been heard Of !
1t demoralizes every one who comes
in contact with it."
Lydia" said Billy, slowly, I'm