' That either loved
the other no one suspected, for Bill was harshly treated, and ran away
from home at fifteen. He came back after the war, with money, which he
lent out at high rates of interest; everything he touched turned to
gold; he has grown rich, and is a great man in the State. He was a
large contributor to the soldiers' monument."
"But did not choose the design; let us be thankful for that. It might
have been like his father's. Bill Fetters rich and great," he mused,
"who would have dreamed it? I kicked him once, all the way down Main
Street from the schoolhouse to the bank--and dodged his angry mother
for a whole month afterward!"
"No one," suggested Miss Laura, "would venture to cross him now. Too
many owe him money."
"He went to school at the academy," the colonel went on, unwinding the
thread of his memory, "and the rest of the boys looked down on him and
made his life miserable. Well, Laura, in Fetters you see one thing
that resulted from the war--the poor white boy was given a chance to
grow; and if the product is not as yet altogether admirable, taste and
culture may come with another generation."
"It is to be hoped they may," said Miss Laura, "and character as well.
Mr. Fetters has a son who has gone from college to college, and will
graduate from Harvard this summer. They say he is very wild and spends
ten thousand dollars a year. I do not see how it can be possible!"
The colonel smiled at her simplicity.
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