Show I 1 IF 1 X IA I OF TH imm 1 R A in by HONORE conort WILLSIE 0 by frederick A stokes co r CHAPTER XI 11 lydia giggles 1 the days clays lew flow lightly by lightly for lydan ayilla too in spite or of tile heavy secret site she carried of levines plotting the lay day before they broke camp lydles old squaw appeared mid anti asked for clint charlie lie jackson charlie find kent were cooking dinner dear tile me sold miss towne tell t him to anle the poor tiling anway ly dla ile ho must feed tier her first exclaimed lydia lending leading the old indian over to the cooking shelter sli elter kent and lydia exchanged glances as charlie tell led the squaw equaw lie he called lier her into tile the woods after lydia had heaped tier her old firms arms with food kent and gustus had put the he dinner on tile cable ahle and they all were seated tit at the meal whon when charlie returned what dio did she want charlie naked asked olga you care care it if I 1 told hotd you replied charlie grimly nut lie he burst forth suddenly some day clay you whites will pay some day tile the japs or th the e jews will do to you americans what youve done to us cl look here lydia levine Is up to tf some mope new cussedness old susie came S on him in council the other night with H six of the worst liala breeda in the reservation she lost tier her head and began to jaw him so site she fand out what it was about A and n d h hes es retting getting the last of my timber now ly J dla dia youve pot got to help me when you get home talk to levine rotting getting thelast he last of your timber 1 exclaimed kent yes the law lets em ret get the dead and dolp stun tu and chos going to swear its ita fresh stuff that lie he cut this summer hummer and will get out next winter but how bow does ile he come to be taking your wood why dont you go to see him yourself asked kent 1 I cant answer either of those questions replied charlie sullenly the two young whites thought of the attack on levine and looked at each other apprehensively aw wont ont the indian agent stop him asked lydia lift I 1 wily afes h es deepen the mire himself film self with dave marshall sly my god margery Af argery marshall went serif to xer JM ew york on ii a blind indian boys pines clydla save my pines for mei they belong to my tribe my father was going to washington three years ago to tell the president about tile the graft when they shot him film from ambush if I 1 put up lop a fight shoot mo me lydia wont you help us neither kent nor lydia ever had seen charlie thus before ho was neither arrogant nor sullen lie ile was pleading with a tragic hopelessness that moved his two hearers profoundly fo oh charlie I 1 I 1 will try cried lydia 1 I truly will t 1 I knew you would said charlie huskily and lie he turned back abruptly to the camp lydia lydan stared about her supposing the thought that she owned a hundred acres of tills tah pine land she forgot kent find concentrated every force of tier her mind on sensing what lend land ownership would mean and suddenly there stirred within her a desire tor for acreage for trees soll soil and shrub it a wide dem demesne esnes that should be hers and her childrens forever are Y you oil really going to le amne kent roused her from her reverie I 1 yes I 1 I 1 promise torl to lots of good tie do grunted kent and if you tell him we overheard him in the woods ill be sore 1 I dont see why because after I 1 finish high school iro im going to tell him I 1 know to make him hial let roe me in on the deal look here lyd dont tell him I 1 was with you arly anyhow how 11 oh all right re replied P lied ledla crossly for goodness sake dont lets leta wk talk about it any more I 1 dont vee cee V men always have to bo be plotting I 1 i going bpck bock to camp and help pak pack tile the driver arrived with the carry all a at nine ie the next morning morn lne nna at t mid nud afternoon lydia clydla was IrI griped copped Ped tit nt the gate where adam adain took Powes of her lr the house seemed ibell small and dingy lyd at 14 dropped her suitcase in the ailt chen at ft I 1 th he e ive 1 just got t to train old lizzie laid so go that she ahe wont leave her old th ca apet slippers and her apron in be e middle of tle the kitchen every time lit rio goes 88 out I 1 do wt wish we had i i A wf furniture furl lurn tue iture instead Ini tead oi of this ever tt old lit mahogany I 1 just guess er ethl erele 18 holl k house got bot to be some reforming reform lne in tills 11 armmer ak wi i 8 came alne ln in the jhb sate gate shortly after kh lydia was for or him at front loor door lie he looked suddenly WS by and old to lydia la and she bhe e 4 him aih very tenderly it required ahe H 1 8 supper hour h our and d all the reit it file ahe evening e to tell t the t r of atthe the cam calop P and to ancher liz tr amos questions there 1 leveral lidle clydla aid not I 1 cabe l that t at of the I 1 in 14 halfbreed half breed coun binl the wood fo r rawle 14 r i dla waa ral tinb sitting on the front steps the nest afternoon with it book in tier her lup lap and adam tit at tier her feet when billy norton called lie ile stopped for a flint clint in the garden with tier her father before coming up to greet lydia lit 11 Is awful homely A regular old far fanner nier site she thought comparing alln with tile the elegant gustus anil and with kents careless grace hello 1 lyd ill I 1 awful glad youre buck back I 1 lie he sat down on tile the stop step below hot her and lydia wrinkled tier lier noso nose he a ell carried with jilin tile the odor of ahny h fly and horses kows your mother asked lydia fin al coming over tomorrow toi A mothers lothers riot not so very well she works too hard tit at tile the blamed canning I 1 told tier lier id rather never eat it than have haie tier her get so done up ill be over to help her said mail lydia we hall it a perfectly heavenly time in callep baily did you asked tier her caller call er indifferently ferent ferel itly ly going to try to sell fudge this winter lyd lyall 1 I dont know lydias tone was waa mournful daddy hates to have me 7 41 A ll 11 I 1 aoh oh I 1 all right replied lydia crossly crosly now im growing up he seems to be getting sensitive about my earning money I 1 iles hes right too said billy with a note in his voice that irritated lydia much you know about it I 1 you just try to make your clothes and buy your you r school books on nothing dads dada just afraid peo know how little he earns all men are selfish pigs astonished by this outburst billy turned round to look up at lydia she was waa wearing tier lier sunday dress dresa of the year before cheap cotton that she had put outgrown grown the young man at her feet did not see bee tilts this all he observed were were the dusty gold of her curly head the clear blue of her eyes and the fine set set of her head bead on tier her thin little 1 ders you alfaya took look just right to me lyd he be bensaid said listen lyd im not going to be a farmer im not be a farj f nerl cried lydia abter after all youve said about no I 1 im going in for two years law then im goings into politics I 1 tell you lydia ledta what this country needs today more than anything Is young clean politicians you mean youre going to do like mr levine Lev lne god forbid exclaimed the young man alan im going to tight men like levine and by heek heck I 1 he lie paused and looked at lydia dreamily dreamel y ill be governor and maybe more moie yet but W hatli changed you persisted ed lydia the fight about the reservation mostly theres something wrong you know lit in a system of government that allowa conditions like that its against american principles lydia was impressed she forgot that billy smelled of the barnyard welt well she said llam wed all be proud of you if you yere were president I 1 can tell you ou 11 would you be ba I 1 billys voice was pleased then clydla will you wait tor for me walt wait for your yes yea till I 1 walie make a name to bobring bring to you lydia flushed angrily look here billy y norton boil you dont have to be 0 illy after all the years weve known each other iro im only fifteen just remember that and I 1 dont propose to walf wait for any man min id as soon think of waiting for for adam as tor for you anyhow billy rose with dignity and without a w word ord strode downs down the path io to the gate and thence up theroan the road lydia stared after him andl indignantly gri antly that rhae old farmere far merl she said bald to td adam ahl whoa wriggled and slobbery slobber 0 sympathetic sym pathetic ally I 1 she sh ew was I 1 when john levane arrived n and found her toast ing herself find and the waffles for supper r perhaps it was tills sense of indignation that made 1 her I less patient usual with what aie was growing to consider the foibles of the inneo sex set at tiny any rate fihe arp ellitta ted tier lier carefully planned led con coll rs atlon with etli levine leslie when tho four foll of thein were seated i on oil the back steps I 1 lifter after supper the others were listening to account of tier her investigating tour with charlie 1 I say it was tile the best iden in the bild for you to he be through tile the woods with that young indian was levines comment coin ment when lydia hall had finished 1 I 1 dont see how you can speak so cried lydia passionately when tills this minute youre taking lits his pin atno e wood lydan I 1 said amos sharply let tier alone alojs amos levine lu quietly whitt what tire are you talking about lydia tilt the In indians dinni are people just like ilke us she cried and youre treating i them us its it if they were boasts beasts youre robbing them and letting the them in starve I 1 oil oh I 1 saw them charlie showed the s poor things to me ille all sore eyes fill and coughing and eating dirt and youre making makin g money lout out of them 1 chevery th the every very money you ald our note with was made out of a starved squaw oh I 1 cant stand it to think bitof it of you I 1 lydia paused with a half sob and for for a moment only tile the gentle ripple of the waves on the shore and tile the crickets were to be be heard levine elbow on knee chin on hand band look looked through the jusk dusk at the shadowy sweetness of lydias face his own face calm and thoughtful youre so BO good and kind to roe me ledla began again how can you he bo so hard bard oti on tile indians indiana are arc you ste stealing riling charlies logs arp are you mr air levins levine 1 I bought hla his pine replied levine levane quietly ile he does ait believe it ile he thinks youre stealing and hob so afraid of you why does lie he feet feel bat that way mr levine Lev lne lydia I 1 you saying I 1 exclaimed amos keep out amos said levine Lev lne weve got to clear tills this up ive been expecting it for somo some time lydia years ago before before the government began to support the indians they were a fine upstanding race tile whiter could have learned a lot from them they were brave and honorable and moral and in a primitive way thrifty well then the sentimentalists among the whites devised the reservation system and the allow allowance lince system and tile the indians have gone to the devil just as whites would under like circumstances cum stances any humn human n being lifts has to ea earn rn what he eats or he degenerates the only way to save those indians up there Is to kick them out tho the strong ones will live and be assimilated into our civilization the weak 0 ones nes will die just like weak whites whiten do but how about charlies PInes instated ats ted lydia ldla what makes him think youre stealing them and he says that when the pines pine a go the tribe will die 1 I paid for or the pine insisted leine v an indian has no idea of buy ing and selling its a cruel incident tills this breaking up of the reservation burits bu but tits its like cutting MY ou a log leg to save the patients life sentiment Is wasted adla was turning over ln in her mind the scene in the woods between john and the half balf breeds that then was a part of the process of removing the pit patients ti ants degl I 1 the end justin pd tile the moans site she heaved a great sigh of relief well then I 1 ilont dont have to worry about that tiny any more sho she said only I 1 dont flare to think about those i lansng old squads squaws qun wa or tile tho baby thai froze fioro to clients clints right rig lit levine leune coin coal dont think about thern them if there was still a doubt lit in tile the linck back of lydias igind rogar regarding dlug tile for it 11 time nt at least site succeeded in III quieting Jul ting eting it one of tile not results of the camping trip was that lydia rediscovered tile pine by the ante it was tile same pine against which site had in benten beaten her little ista fists the night of Pat patiences lences death site she liked to sit on oil the steps and nt at it dro dreaming amIng and wondering for tile the Ind latis unil and the tittles were now unalterably associated in lydias mind the life of ono one depended on that of tho the other strange thoughts anti and perhaps not altogether cheerful anti wholesome thoughts for or a girl of lydias age so it was probably well that margory margery about tilts this time began to show lydin a certain margery esque type of attention in tier her heart in spite of tier hor ni mothers others teachings margery had always shared tier her fathers admiration for lydia in tier her childhood it had been lt a grudging jealous admiration that seemed like actual dislike aisuke rut but as margery developed as a social favorite and lydia remained about the same quiet little dowd the jealousy of the bankers daughter gave way to liking therefore several times a week i margery Af argery appeared on be her r bicycle tier her embroidery bag dangling from the handle bars the two girls would then establish themselves on cushions alona cu by the water and sew sent and chatter one day lydia said 1 I wish we lied had hardwood odd floors like yours what kind are yours youra inquired margery just pine and kind of mean splintery pine too upstairs at all the floors were that way said margery and they had a man come and sandpaper em cm and put kind of putty stutt in the cracks and oil and wax lem cm look one fine geel gee I 1 said clydla thoughtfully til ill do it I 1 and ill cut our old liv ing room carpet up into two or three rugs Lizz lell have to squeeze enough out of tile the grocery money for fringe id rather have fringe than a fall coat amos homo home a night or so later found the living room floor bare and lydia hard at work with a lilt bit ot of glass and sandpaper scraping nt at the slivers silvers aint it awful asked lizzle lizzie from the dining room she would do it tizzies Liz complained all day said lydia slie she reallie realize how our house looks looka like poverty anti destruction compared with other folks im going to get some style into it if I 1 havo have to tear it down oil oh daddy dont clont you get sick of being poor yes said amos shortly anti I 1 think yo youre urea a silly girl to wear yourself out on this kind of thing lydia sat eat up and looked at him she was growing fast and was thinner than ever tills this su summer nimer if mother was waa alive she said shed know exactly how I 1 feel suddenly there came to amos memory a weal weak and tender voice with contralto notes in it like lydias Lyd tap lydia lie he said abruptly make the house over if you yoa want to my in y amr d e r and he be marched out to th the kit kitchen alz to io wash and take off his overal overall JW it took lydia several to complete her task when it was done the cracks were still prominent and the oily finish was mis spotted hut but in III lydias eyes it was a wort work of art RD and she cut tho the old carpet cm pet into three parts with enthusiasm stio she sewed tile the fringe on the rugs niki on in lie fie front porch sitting so she could margery when sho aho appeared far iowa down |