Page:Frank Owen - Woman Without Love (1949 reprint).djvu/93

 the matter a step further, If the patient dies, they should be shot. It might be a good idea to shoot them anyway."

Louella did not know of her father's and mother's passing until her brother Templeton wrote to advise her about it. She did not go to Galvey then. Her brother went.

Templeton Blaine looked after everything. He sold the farm to a neighbor, for he had neither the time nor the inclination to devote to it. He had little sentimental attachment for it. Although he had been born on the farm, he belonged to the city.

When he returned to New York he sent his sister a check for every cent that he had received for the farm. He needed no part of the inheritance. He was wealthy. He reasoned that Mary would need the money far more than he.

Louella had been stunned when she read Templeton's letters about their parents. Of course the letters were addressed to her under the name of Mary Blaine. Templeton Blaine knew nothing about Louella Leota.

He was rather lackadaisical in that respect. Mary had stated that she was employed. He never questioned the source of her income. Occasionally he sent her a check. Often he told her that she could draw on him for any money she needed. Because she never asked for anything, he naturally assumed that she was well-provided with funds. As a matter of fact, she was. She had always saved something every week. It was fascinating how quickly her bank accounts mounted.

She would have liked to visit the old home once more before the house passed out of their possession. Now it was too late. Templeton had acted for the best according to his way of thinking. He had generously turned all money over to her. Never in any of her letters did she even hint to him about her keen disappointment. When it was too late to go home she was miserably homesick. It is the way of humanity the world over.

More and more she devoted her evenings to reading. She liked the calm, peaceful books. Her life had been tempestuous. She was enjoying a moment's repose.

Occasionally she thought about Yekial Meigs and his homestead. Though it was not exactly about him that she thought, either, but about Steve Garland who had wooed death and gone