Jugud,
11)20
THE L.\~ I >~WOM.\.N
•
OUR NEW SERIAL.
"T.''
By Kay Cleaver Strahan.
CHJ\P'J l R 1• 0~ R.
(If \1' I J,J,
" L ~ t t~, " "'"lld
·
full~·
m:u_ricd brother, " has been bcauti-
J WO.
•
1 know now that Lotta and married b
deltrly kind to me, during the d'tys th · t rother wr:re
hut it s~cmtd to m e at thf'! time 'that t'h' . cumc after,
f Y w ·~re Vf'r)'
, rut' I .
!',o much I wanted to be pro~tratu.l 1
I If• quit tly in bed, and r~>,t and r'"st. { wanted to
. k f
h'
"'
or ('W·r arid
not t h tn o a nyt ~ng nnd not 5...., anyth
'
'
mg
·•nd
not lw<'lr anyt I ung, and not f<:el an th'
' '
Bu~ the) .would . not l~t nw. That ver;. n~~it~l ~~
t<•lllng thl<> as 1t ~cemf'd to me th<:n-th"'
d
11'
h
"Y startc
tjWtrhn; u~g ,V:,'ht mde. -~bout the baby. \\here· did 1
•'Ct •m.
o
·
h v~ ere tu J o ••<'t him:. · Ov ·r an< 1 ow·r
and ovc·r t ey asked that one que-;tion and ·h
",.
,
w ••n
1'1
( :•n~w?r: , . ,o llU.tttf"r wht>r~. 1 did get h'm.
I Ie 1s mtne,
they would pers1st and be.,. me
tn lo think.
h
· to
I brought out all the answe1s I had f'vc·r heard
;tl){,ut \;,here folks got babies, tr) ing to sati.,f
tlwm ·
I n a cabbage patch,'' 1 'd sa). " In ~
b~sket at the doo;; i~ s~ork brought him. He (ame
wllh the doctor.
L ntll at last it occurred to me
to tell them the truth, just how I did get him,
nnd l wondered that I had not thought of that
b1 fore
!:>o 1 sat up in bed :lnd told them, and ... howt·d
tlu m that my ring wa., gone, and a'$ked them, ttOd
I need him
now to teach me othf'r things-so many other mor(\
impo rt~nt thing-:.
J h a d to cons('nt to the ad' erth.ing of cour,e,
and du1 ing those dreadful weeks of uocertainty and
wniting the fear of losing my bnb) almost mndc In<'
forgt't to be sorry t'nough nbout He-nry.
\Ve had waited a month, n month whkh kt me
hq> Patrick ( I n:uned him that for no r E'.hOn at
.111 <''-. an) houc.ehold. Di:.rupt ·, That
'>Ort of thing."
" B u t -:ouppo"mR-
•
.. said I.
4
'
One'-. own arP different," said ma rried brnth,.r.
" But h" i . . my own ,·' I :.aid.
" ., :\onscn.,(•, '' . to nHWf' :. " I quavl'rcd .
:\on . . en,e,
-.~ud marn• d brother :t"ain and
' Ph)lli....
,.,
'
n ddPc>p the co~u·nl~ from . . pilling
out •• nd in th,. (JthPr hand hf' had the g:ndr>n c;hears
. "llP'll h urt ~ i m-,cl! with tho·e," I ga-.rro, run-
n1ng to nH•rt hun .
'' lie ha ... cut nil our ~oung geranium plnr•'. I took Pat and went
to m~ O\\ 11 room .wd bf'g1n to realtt•· things :
chi~fe"t realiz 1tiun wac; that I did not bl.ut1c Lotta
a nd marril'd brolht r at .. tll and that I could not
a llow them to be bt•autifully patient am longw b~
<"m•· of thirlv dollnrs a month, tn\
-,hare of -lhl• " • -.tntc." ( had P al. And 1 had
th<> "Thl" Hmw."
The Hone• ·... a pit'<'<' of land, up high in tht'
Ort.>gon hill,, situat('d, a-. marriN:! brntlwr ""orn-
fulh s~'t'at• .... e
for \<'ar-. and ~f".trs in fath•!r's !amily thf'r•' h.1d been
l'OtH-t·ntion ahout it, until \h<' Nhf'r<; tin.tlh J, ~idl'(l
it wa-> not \\orth llllllf"nding O\('r nnd i{rtVt• 1t to
~
But
)
-
-
...
' I