The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1927-06-24
By George Marsh
Copyright by The Penn Publishing Co.
WNU Service.


bursts against the straining fly Of the
tent. Then with the hairy bulk of the
contented dog sprawled against the
length of his recumbent body, head
propped on one hand while the other
rubbed the alredale's ears, Guthrie's
thoughts were again with his home
coming, two years before.
The tense days following his land
ing marched past his dreaming eyes in
q pageant Of camp life and military
duties preceding the discharge Of his
battery; swift hours with Ethel, din
old friends. Again he rode through
cheering thousands In the final review
of his brigade.
He chuckled at the memory of Shot,
marching with battalion headquarters
In full field kit and wearing blanket
with its wound stripe.
At the time of his discharge the
surgeons had shaken their heads over
his lungs. You're not out of the
woods yet" he had been told. "a long
rest in the open air, or you'll have
trouble with that chest" But a desk
In the office Of Charles Guthrie wait
ed him and he had kept his own
counsel.
you've lost five years, old man."
his materialist brother had deprecated.
You're twenty-six and have a lot
to learn"
Hot blood had darkened Garth's
face. Lost five years? Where would
you and your money be if millions of
us hadn't lost five years?" he blurted.
ooh, you know appreciate all that,
old chap" soothed the SNUG Charles.
Its unnecessary for me to repeat
how proud l am of your record, but
you know nothing about the business
as yet; and l want to see you In a
position to marry"
True, Garth had acknowledged, ne
knew nothing of the Guthrie Steel
company, which, created and devel-
oped by the energy and ability of
Charles Guthrie, had, through war
contracts, made his brother a mil
waiting So, instead of the summer
In the open air on which the doctors
had insisted, he had gone to work.
The fingers of the man lying In the
tent shut cOnvulsively on the thick
name of his dog as he remembered
the pain which thrust through him
when he had first realized that Ethel
never voluntarily walked or sat on his
right side. Coming from world OF
broken men, where the blind and the
MANNED were commOnplaces, he had
almost forgotten the shock the scar
on his cheek had given her the day
Of his homecoming. Unpleasant
though 1t might be, this red cash, to
look upon. it was nevertheless the
symbol of his service, the measure of
his manhood. Yet to the girl who
loved him, 1t seemed a thing of aver
sion-repulsive. Following the discov-
cry, he had, on meeting her Ironically
covered the cicatrix with his hand, or
turned his head, but the red shame
and the passionate tears of protest,
which it invariably induced, checked
him.
That Ethel Falconer was not Of the
fiber of many of the women he knew.
who patiently cherished the scars Of
their men-gloried, seemingly, in these
proofs of their sacrifice for Canada
and the empire, had forced itself upon
the consciousness Of Guthrie with n
bitterness with which his philosophy
vainly contended. Vehement as were
her protests, her denials, when, in a
moment of depression and disillusion,
he had suggested that to hold her to q
promise made in 1916 to a man whose
face was presentable and body sound,
was grossly unfair, now that he had
returned to her the flotsam of war,
Scared, changed, he nevertheless
knew that Ethel, too, was having her
bad half hours. But notwithstanding
his moment Of doubt, his gray moods,
due as much to physical condition as
unhappiness, Garth Guthrie had val
iantly chung to the dreams of the fair
girl he had taken back overseas with
Then, after six months In the Office
and foundry of Charles Guthrie, the
lungs of the returned soldier had de-
veloped a condition which medical au-
thorities diagnosed as alarming. A
certain sanatorium in the foothills of
the Laurentians was the imperative
order, and the wedding In the spring,
for which Ethel and Clara Guthrie
had so meticulously planned, was In
definitely postponed.
With his dog, trained as puppy be-
hind the lines in 1918, Guthrie left
Montreal to make the fight for lost
health-and happiness. And before
the SHOWS left the Quebec hills and
the spruces dripped in April thaws, he
was well on the road TO the first. Six
months in the Laurentians had healed
the lung LESSONS and put back the hard
weight he had lost, but 1t was under
strict parole that the Garth Guthrie of
old, burned to deep tan by the sun
glare from the March crust, one day
walked In on Ethel and his sister-in-
law. That night at dinner, through
the course of which the practical
Charles dwelt at length on his plans
for his brothers apprenticeship in
special branch Of the growing bust
ness, the sober eyes of Garth lit with
frank amusement-the hint of a smile
repeatedly lifted the corners of his
mouth. At length the older brother
abruptly demanded:
you don't seem to be taking me