The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1927-01-07
CHAPTER XIV-Continued

of her responsibility to America, and
1t left her little GREATNESS and trem-
bling. She turned back to the road
and made her way swiftly to the Nor
ton place.
Billy" she said, painting, her cheeks
bright and her yellow hair blowing,
I'm against the Indian grating"
Billy put out his hand, solemnly,
and the two shook hands. For all
Billy was four years older than Lydia,
they both were very, very young. So
young that they believed that they
could fight single-handed the whole
world of, intrigue and greed in which
their little community was set. And
yet, futile as they may seem, 1t is on
young decisions such as these that the
race creeps upward!
"What are YOU going to do, Billy?"
asked Lydia.
I'm going to get q government in
vestigation started, somehow" he re-
piled. It'll take time, but I'll get it.
It'll be lovely undertaking, Lyd!"
Il hate to think of It," she said I'M
steadily Lizzie is miserable, today.
Will you tell your mother, Billy, and
ask her to come over to see her this
evening? 1 mustn't stop any longer
now"
Poor old Lizzie was miserable, in
deed. For years, she had struggled
against rheumatism, but now it had
bound her, hand and foot. Ma Norton
came over in the evening. Lizzie was
in bed shivering and flushed and moan
ing with pain.
"Ma waited till Lizzie slept, then
she told Lydia and Amos that Doctor
Fulton had better be called, and Amos,
with worried air, started for town at
once.
Doctor Fulton shook his head and
sighed.
"She's in for a run of rheumatic
fever. Get some extra hot water bot
ties and make up your mind for a
long siege, Lydia"
And it was a long siege Six weeks
of agony for Lizzie, of nursing and
homework and worrying for Lydia. Ma
Norton and the neighbors gave what
time they could, but the brunt, of
course, fell on Lydia.
Billy called every evening on his
way home to supper. John Levine
sat up two or three nights a week.
Kent came out once a week, with a
CHEEKY word and a basket of fruit
And at frequent intervals, the Mar
shall surrey stopped at the gate and
Elviry or Dave appeared with some of
Elviry's delicious cookery for Lydia
ard Amos.
During all this time she said moth
ing to Billy about his undertaking
In June and entered ex-senator AL
worlds office as he had planned. There
was another election in the fall and
John Levine was returned to congress,
this time almost without a struggle.
Like a bomb, late In December fell
the news that the Indian commission
er had been called before q senate
committee to answer questions re-
garding the relations Of Lake City to
the reservation, while following close
on the heels of this announcement
came word that a congressional COM
mission of three had been appointed
to sit at Lake City to investigate In
dian matters.
"Bllly, how did you do it?" asked
Lydia, in CONSERVATION. He had over
taken her one bitter cold January
afternoon, on her way home from col
lege.
Il didn't do much,' said Billy. 81
just got affidavits, dozens Of them,
showing frauds, and gave them to
Senator Alvord. He has a lot Of in
fuence among the senator's and Is q
personal friend Of the President"
Billy" she said, finally, "are you
doing this to get even with Dave Mar
shall?'
"Fm doing it because I'm ashamed
of what New Englanders have done
with their heritage. And I'm doing
1t for you. To make a name for you.
You are going to marry me, some day,
Lydia"
I'm not" said Lydia fatty.
Billy laughed. "You can't helm
yourself, honey. It's fate for both of
US. Come along home! You're shiv-
ering"
when you talk that way, 1 hate
you" exclaimed Lydia, but Billy only
laughed again.
The commissioners sat for months
and in that time they exposed to the
burning sun Of publicity the muck of
thievery and dishonor on which Lake
City's placid beauty was built.
Marriage after marriage of squaws
with Lake City citizens was unearthed,
most of these same citizens also hav-
ing a white family. Hundreds of
tracts of lands that had been OBJ
tanned by stealing or by fraud from
full bloods were listed. Bags of
candy, bits Of jewelry, bolts of cotton
had been exchanged for pine worth
thousands of dollars.
1t was nerve-racking period for
Lake City. Whether purposely or not,
the net did not begin to close round
John Levine till toward the end of
the hearing. Nor did Levine come
home until late in the summer, when
the commission had been sitting for
some months.
In spite of sense of apprehension
that would not lift, the year was a
happy one for Lydia. In the first
place, she went to three college dane
Ing parties during the year. In the
second place, Kent asked her to go
with him to the last party and, to
to-