A Wonderful Secret, or Marion Marlowe's Discovery — page 9: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

. 6 MY QUEEN. you wuz twenty-one, an’ two off, I reck’n. into er noose town.” “You're Way off your trolley, Dick Hinck- ley!” said Bert. laughingly. “My term of service was up at eighteen, so, you see, I’m as free as the wind! Matt Jenkins can’t touch me!” “You're wrong there, Bert,’ spoke up an elderly man, with a. florid face, who was wip- ing his fat hands on a red bandana. “You wuz tew Stay ‘tl you wuz twenty- one, jest as Dick here says. Ef any one hez told you different, they wuz lyin’ to ye!” “And do you mean that he can put me back?” asked Bert, excitedly. « His face had paled a little at this informa- tion, but Marion’s voice rang out with a stern determination. Moa se “What nonsense! Bert has been adopted by a millionaire! Do you suppose his new father will allow him to go back to the poor- house?” There was a moment’s silence before any- one spoke, and then Judge Walters, the man who had spoken before, slowly answered the question: “Law is law, an’ papers is papers, Marion Marlowe. Them papers of Bert’s wuz made out in my office, and I'll testify thet they wuz all made out square an’ fair. Bert can't be adopted by any one without Matt Jenkins’ permission; he wuz bound out to Matt, an’ thet settles ther whole business.” An ominous silence followed this judicial remagk, and poor Bert’s face grew paler and paler. “What time is the next train for New York?” asked Alma Allyn, suddenly, “You must go straight back, Bert! You must not lose a minute!” “Yes, do go back, Bert! There’s a train at four from Haysville, isn’t there, father?” asked Marion. “Get Bill or somebody to drive you over! I will not draw a long breath until you are safe from Matt Jen- kins!” For just a‘ minute Bert looked frightened and was tempted to yield; then his face flushed a little and he faced them all bravely. thet’s er year or Yew’ve run yewer head by comin’ back ter Hickory- “No, I won’t! I won't run a step! I'll Stay right here and defy him! If Matt Jenkins is mean enough to spoil my future by trying to put me back in the poor farm, he can just go ahead and try, and you can watch him do it! TVve come to Hickory- town on a visit, not to stay! I'll wire my new dad to-night and warn him of what is coming; then I expect the residents of this county to: stand by me through this thing! They certainly wouldn’t be so mean as to ° uphold that brute Jenkins!” There was another ominous silence, and | Marion glanced around uneasily. The group of people who were plodding along the road were all residents of the county, but it was their own votes that had put Matt Jenkins in his place, and kept him there for twenty years, in spite of his brutality. “You don’t mean to say that you would let him put me back there, Judge Walters !” cried Bert, suspiciously. “You are the big- gest man in Hickorytown, and I want you to answer my question!” The crowd had dwindled a little now, for they had just passed a fork in the roads, and for a minute everyone stood still and looked eagerly at Judge Walters. “Ph. aint easy sayin’ what you’d do, ex- actly,” began the old judge, nervously. “Matt’s a good man in his place, and I’m not ther one ter go agin’ him. We put him inter Office, an’-its fer us ter stan’ by him. ‘Taint expected we should sympathize with every youngster thet runs awav from ther farm jest because they happen ter hev ther good luck ter git adopted.” . “Then you mean that you will stand bv Jenkins if he attempts to get me back into his clutches?” asked Bert. growing furious. “No, no! You can’t mean anything so horrible as that, Judge Walters,” broke in Marion. “You surely wouldn’t do a thing that was so unjust and inhuman!” Judge Walters drew out his bandana and wiped the dust from his stovepipe hat, and his broad chest began to swell with a thought of his importance. “As a high offiial in ther courts of law, I must obey ther mandates of my callin’,” he said, pompously, ‘So, Af Matt_Tenkins_sees.