The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1926-07-09
THE
WILL AND
THE WAY
By LILY WANDELL

",HREE times willard Larrabee
had attempted to tell her and
each time the words refused to
sound OF course, he knew he
must tell her the truth, but he did not
want to hurt her, and that seemed In
evitable.
Mrs. O'Day, plump and coy, sat
knitting placidly, carefully, Willard
thought, as he watched her small
white fingers move in regular rhythm,
very much the way Jane had knitted,
but then that was natural, for she and
Jane had been cousins.
"Of course" Mrs. O'Day was saying
comfortably, 81 would have come back
from Europe at once when heard
poor, dear Jane was gone, but you
see, was bound, q sort<of an agree
ment to stay year, chaperoning
And now / came home for well-de-
served holiday"
Inwardly Willard groaned. 1t was
as bad as that-he had hoped she
had Independent means-she was even
obliged to work for living.
"a body gets so tired catering to
others for paltry salary" continued
Mrs. O'Day, 81 quite ache for home
of my own"
Willard patted the plump, white
hand nearest him. He couldn't speak.
He felt horribly stricken.
He had deliberately courted her,
though she had been very sweet, very
companionable from the day she first
arrived at the hotel. He realized very
| soon that she did not know-coming
direct from the steamer-a thing
about James will, and he had taken
advantage Of 1t. Even now he did
not blame himself for having done so,
for he had been desperately lonely,
but he was sorely troubled about hav-
ing asked her to marry him last night.
Now he must tell her the truth.
'Redcroft must be wonderful" Nora
O'Day said softly. "Pve heard so
much about it, never was there, you
know" She coughed, slightly embar-
raised. "Jane and / never did much
visiting-I was so much abroad"
"Jane thought a lot of you, Nora. "
He would have liked to add, Jane had
been fondest of the relatives she
never saw. Poor Jane-life had been
difficult at Redcroft.
"You built Redcroft, didn't you,
Willard?"
Eyes, I designed it inside and out,
even the furnishing, but with James
money, Of course" he added hastily.
He wanted to add that he felt he had
earned that home when he remem-
bered how he had fought and argued
for every detail. How Jane had want
ed impossible bay windows and closets
where they did not belong How he
had to explain every little item Of ex.
penditure and listen to her hourly
drone of BE careful, willard, we
don't want to waste money!"
"Yes, James money" Nora unused
'but yours now, Willard"
He felt himself fiushing-he must
tell her now. But he stalled again
with: at was well worth all the
trouble; love every bit of stone and
plaster In the house. / can't bear to
part with Redcroft."
Mrs. O'Day stopped knitting abrupt
ly. Gracious" she asked in alarm
you're not selling the plac e, are
your
mo, not that, but" then he added
lamely, "you would love 1t Nora"
She became more alarmed. would
love 1t? You mean, will love 1t, don't
you, WillardT
"Of course" he agreed unconvinc
ingly. Now he must tell her at once
He realized that with the telling came
the losing of Nora. Not that he would
blame her In the least, for he knew
she was tired of working and econo
MIXING, but the thought of taking uI
his lonesome life again, ticketed, al
most stunned, was appalling. He
knew that he was afraid to tell her
just as he was afraid to take up thai
life again without her. When hi
came to think of 1t, he had Away:
been something of coward, afrai(
of James constant ''be carefuls"
and his running away to this
hotel where he was not known, tt
escape the invitations of people who
did not want him. No father mol
mother, nor uncle and aunt of un
married nieces could be in the least
interested In him.
''Nora," he took the plunge swiftly
"Jane left an unbreakable will-the
moment marry again I forfeit the
entire fortune, the whole estate
everything"
There was silence, long enough
for Willard to remember that the
day the will had been read to hin
he had laughed. Exqulsitely funny
it had appeared to him, that Jane
should have imagined he would ever
marry again. A little later he ha6
gone to his club and told his friends
and they, too, had laughed with him
or at him, he concluded now. He
realized now as he sat beside Mrs
O'Day whose face was still perfectly