Shifting
AN DS
Copyright by
The Penn Pub. Co.
WNU Service
SYNOPSIS
The future of the still youthful
and comely “Widder” Marcia Howe,
recently released by death from her
idling, selfish husband, is a conver-
sational tit-bit among housewives of
the little hamlet of Wilton. Eligible
bachelors and widowers also are In-
terested,
CHAPTER II
i"
In the meantime, Marcia Howe, the
heroine of this escapade, comfortably
ensconced In her island homestead,
paid scant heed to the fact that she
and her affairs were continually on the
tongues of the outlylng community.
She was not Ignorant of it, for her
intuitive sixth sense made her well
aware her goings and comings were
watched. This knowledge, however,
far from nettling her, as It might have
done had she béen a woman blessed
with less sense of humor, afforded her
infinite amusement. She valued her
kindly, if inquisitive, neighbors at their
true worth; and met the world with
a smile singularly free from hard-
ness or cynicism,
Bitter though her experience had
been, It had neither taken from, nor,
miraculously, had it dimmed her faith
in her particular star. On the con-
trary there still glowed In her gray
eyes that sparkle of anticipation one
sees In the eyes of one who stands
a-tiptoe on the threshold of adven-
ture. Apparently she had In her na-
ture an unquenchable spirit of hope
that nothing could destroy. She was
still young and the highway of life,
alluring in rosy mists, beckoned her
along its mysterious path with per
suasive hand,
Her start, she confessed, had been
an ‘unpropitious. one. But starts
sometimes were like that; and did not
the old adage aflirm that a bad be
ginning made for a fair ending?
Furthermore, the error had been
her own. She had been free to choose
and she had chosen unwisely. Why
whine about it? One must be a sport
and play the game. She was older
now and better fitted to look after her.
self than she had been at seventeen.
Only a fool made the same blunder
twice, and If experience had been a
pitiless teacher, it had also been 9
helpful and convincing one,
The past with its griefs, its humilia-
tions, its heartbreak, its failure lay be-
hind—the future all before her. It
was hers—hers! She would be wary
what she did with It and pever again
would she squander it for dross,
If there lingered deep within her
heart vague, unsatisfied yearnings,
Marcia resolutely held over these filmy
imaginings a tight rein. To be busy-—
that was her gospel. She never al-
lowed herself to remain Idle for any
great length of time. Like an athlefe
set to run a race, she gloried in her
physical strength,
Today, as she moved swiftly about
the house and her deft hands made
tidy the rooms, she had that sense of
being in step with the world. The
morning, crisp with an easterly breeze,
had stirred the sea into a swell that
rose rhythmically In measureless,
breathing immensity far away to its
clear-cut, sapphire horizon, The sands
had never glistened more white; the
surf never curled at her doorway In a
prettier, more feathery line. From the
Polnt, where her snowy domains dipped
into more turbulent waters, she could
hear the grating roar of pebbles mingle
with the crash of heavier breakers
It all spoke to her of home-—home
as she had known It from childhood--
as her father and her father's father
had known it. The salt of deep burled
caverns was In her veins; the chant
of the ocean echoed the beating of her
own heart.
Lonely?
If she needed anything It was a com-
panion to whom to ery: “Isnt it
glorious to be alive? and she already
had such a one.
Never was there such a comrade as
Prince Hal!
Human beings often proved them
selves Incapable of grasping one an-
other's moods—but he? Never!
She would never want for a weleome
while he had strength to wag his
white plume of tall; nor lack affec-
tion so long as he was able to race up
the beach and race back again to hur!
himself upon her with his sharp. stac-
eato yelp of joy.
Oh, she was worlds better off with
Prince Hal than if she were linked
up with someone of her own gen
who could not understand, :
- Besides, she was not going
alone. She had decided to try
periment.
Jason had had an orphaned
out In the Middle West-—his sister's
ehild—a girl In her early
and Marcia had Invited her to the
to
an
room at the head of the stairs, and
why Its fireplace was heaped with
driftwood ready for lighting. That
was also the reason Marcia now stood
eritieally surveying her preparations,
She was especially desirous the old
home should look its best today, for
the outside world had contributed a
richness of setting that left her much
to live up to. Bylvia had never seen
the ocean, She must love It. But
would she? That was to be the test.
There was room, money, affection
enough for two beneath the Homestead
roof and Sylvia was alone in the
world. Moreover, Marcla felt an odd
sense of obligation toward Jason. At
the price of his life he had given her
back her freedom. It was a royal
gift and she owed him something in
return.
She was too honest to pretend she
had loved him or mourned his loss,
Soon after the beginning of thelr life
together, she had discovered he was
not at all the person she had supposed
him. The gay recklessness which had
so completely bewitched her and which
she had thought to be manliness had
been mere bombast and bravado, At
bottom he was a braggart—small, cow-
ardly, purposeless—a ship without a
rudder.
Endowed with good looks and a
devil-may-care charm, he had called
her his star and pleaded his need of
her, and she had mistaken pity for
love and believed that to help gulde
his foundering craft into port was a
heaven-sent mission,
Alas, she had overestimated both
her own power and his sincerity. Ja-
son had no real desire to alter his
conduct. Instead, day by day he
slipped lower and lower and, unable
to ald him or prevent disaster, she had
been forced to look on,
Her love/for him was dead, and her
self-concelit was dealt a humiliating
blow.
Sometimes she reproached herself
for the tragedy and, scrutinizing the
past, wondered whether she might not
have prevented it. Had she done her
full part; been as patient, sympa-
thetic, understanding as she ought to
have been? Did his defeat lle at her
door?
With the honesty characteristic of
her, she could not see that it did. She
might, no doubt, have played her role
She Had Thought of Sylvia Hayden
as Farm-Bred, the Product of an
inland, Country Town.
better. One always could if given a
second chance. Nevertheless she had
tried, tried with every ounce of
strength in her—tried and falled!
Well, it was too late for regrets now,
Such reflections belonged to the past
and she must put them behind her as
useless, morbid abstractions. Her
back was set against the twilight; she
was facing the dawn-—the dawn with
its promise of happler things.
She had paid for her folly—if In
deed folly it had been. Now with
optimism and courage she looked fear.
lessly forward, That was why, as she
Sangin up her hat, a smile curled her
ps.
The house did look pretty, the day
was glorious. She was a-tingle with
eagerness to see what it might bring.
Calling Prince Hal, she stood before
him.
“Take good care of the house, old
man,” she admonished, as she patted
his silky head. “I'll be home soon”
Obeying her he lay down with paws
extended, the keeper of the Home
stead.
While she paced the platform at
Sawyer Falls, the nearest station, Mar
cia fidgeted. She had never seen any
of Jason's family. At first a desultory
correspondence had taken place be
tween “him and his sister, Margaret;
then gradually it had died a natural
devth-the result, no doubt, of his In
dolence and neglect. When the let.
ters ceased coming, Marcela had let
matters take thelr course.
sustained acting, Little by little, more-
over, the pricking of her consclence
had been forgotten.
years of silence separated her from |
Jason's relatives and it had been easy
to allow the deceit, if deceit it had |
been, to stand.
But now those barriers were to be
broken down and she suddenly realized
that to keep up the fraud so artlessly |
begun was going to be exceedingly |
difficult,
sembler,
If she had followed her usual cus- |
fom and been open with Jason's sister,
the dilemma In which she now found |
herself would never have arisen.
Granted that her motive had been a
worthy one had it not been audacious
to make of herself a god and withhold |
from Margaret Hayden facts she had |
had every right to know, facts that be-
longed to her? Such burdens were
glven human beings to bear, hot to es-
cape from. But If with mistaken kind- |
ness she had been gulded by a pygmy,
short-sighted philosophy, it was too
Inte, reflected Marcia, for her to rem-
edy her error In judgment.
But Sylvia—Jason's niece?
With her coming, all the arguments
Marela had worn threadbare for and
against the exposure of Jason's true
character presented themselves afresh,
Should she decelve the girl as she had
her mother? Oh should she tell her
the truth?
She was still pondering the question
when the traln, with Its single car,
came to a stop beside the platform.
Three passengers descended.
The first was a young Portuguese
woman, dark of face, and carrying a
bulging bag from which protruded gay
bits of embroidery.
Behind her came a slender, blue.
eyed girl, burdened not only with her
own suit-case but with a basket ap-
parently belonging to a wee, wizened
old lady who followed her.
“Now we must find Henry,” the girl
was saying In a clear but gentle voice,
“Of course he'll be here. Look! Isn't
that he—the man just driving up In a
ear? 1 guessed as much from your
description. You need not have wor-
ried, you see, Goodby, Mrs. Doane,
I hope you'll have a lovely visit with
your son.”
The little old lady smiled up at her,
“Good-by, my dear, You've taken
care of me lke as If you'd been my
own daughter, I ain't much used to
jauntin' about, and it frets me. Are
your folks here? If not, I'm sure
Henry wouldn't mind—"
“Oh, somebody’ll turn up to meet me,
Mrs. Doane. I'll be all right. Good.
by."
Then as Marcia watched, she saw
the lithe young creature stoop snd
denly and kiss the withered cheek,
The next instant she was swinging
up the platform.
The slim figure In its well-tallored
blue suit; the trimly shod feet; the
small hat so provokingly tilted over the
bright eyes, the wealth of golden curls
that escaped from beneath it all shat.
tered Marcia’s calculations, She had
thought of Sylvia Hayden as farm-
bred-—the product of an inland, coun
try town—a creature starved for
breath of outlook and social oppor
tunity. It was disconcerting to dis
cover that she was none of these things,
Well, If she was chagrined, there
was consolation in seeing that the girl
was equally discomfited.
As she approached Marcia, she ae
costed her uncertainly with the words:
“Pardon me. I am looking for a
reiative—a Mrs, Howe. You don't hap-
pen to know, do you"
*I'm Marcia”
*But I thought—1I expected" gasped
the girl
“And 1 thought—I expected" Mar.
cla mimicked gaily.
For a moment they looked searchingly
into one another's face, then laughed.
“Fancy having an aunt like youl"
exclaimed the incredulous Sylvia,
“And fancy having a nlece like
you!"
“Well, all I can say Is I'm glad 1
came,” was the girl's retort. “I wasn't
altogether sure I should be when 1
started east. I sald to myself: "Sylvia
you are taking a big chance. You may
just be wasting your money.”
“You may still find it's been wasted.”
“No, I shan't. I know already It has
been well spent,” announced the girl
“Walt until you see where you're
going.”
“I am going to Paradise—I'm cer
tain of it. The glimpses I've had of
the ocean from the train have con
vigeed me of that. Do you live where
you can see it, Aunt Marcia? WII it
be nearby?
“I shall not tell you one thing,” Mar
cla replied. “At least only one, and
that is that I flatly refuse to be Aunt
Marcia to you! It makes me feel like
Methuselah. I really haven't that
amount of dignity.”
“Ah, now my last weak, wavering
doubt 1s vanished. Not only am I glad
I came but I wish I'd come before.” *
She saw a shadow flit across her
aunt's face,
“You weren't asked until pow,” ob-
served Marcia with cryptic brevity. i
“That wouldn't have mattered. Had |
1 known what you were like, I should |
have come without an invitation.”
In spite of herself, Marcia smiled
“Here's the car,” she answered
“What about your trunk?”
“1 didn't bring one.”
She was not a clever dis- |
Murriage vs, carcer—what's the
‘woman?
Lucy Jenkins Franklin, dean of
Heves to be a solution. Her con
“If a couple Is working for =a
definite goal which wlil further their
a married woman should work if she
80 desires,
“But she should not keep a job
and just drift along without any
plans.”
She continued:
“From the economic point of view,
the woman Is not gaining much by
working unless her salary is large
enough to enable her to hire the
work done which she would do If she
were home. Unless things go with
order and precision, and the atmos
phere is kept homelike It does not
pay her economlienlly or psycholog
ically, to leave the home. It Is very
easy for a woman to destroy this
home psychology by working outside,
“The professional woman who is
not Interested In her home i8 an
hazard te the development of a suc
cessful home life,
worse than to come home to a phice
which Is definitely ‘mald-made. a
home which lacks personality, vital
ity, and real home Interest,
every phase of her home,
“The woman who works outside
the home should protect her
life so Ler husband and
dren will always have the
that It bel
that
gE to them.
terests,
- believe strong!
program. As soon as possible,
people should
what I eali
a ‘third loyaliy'—some gonl that thes
want than anything
else,
pick out
to reach
and not
more
Just looking at each other. It may
be a child, or the opportunity for
the man to continue studying, or
bullding a home, but whatever it Is
it must bring thelr lives more closely
together. With a definite end in
view, I approve of married women
working.
“The married woman who wants a
career has two jobs, and she must
have a methodical and executive
mind In order to do them success
fully. She must also have the physi-
cal strength necessary for such an
undertaking.”
When Jelly “Sheets Off”
I's Time to Stop Cooking
When fruit juice and sugar are
cooked rapidly together In a broad,
flat-bottomed saucepan, a point is
reached where pectin and acid of the
frult eombine with sugar to make
Jelly, Boome Jelly makers use a
thermometer to discover this point
They say it Is reached when the
thermometer reads 219 degrees or
221 degrees F,
ut bureau home economics
specialists find temperature tests for
jellies not as dependable as the “two
drop” or sheeting-off test. The tem
perature when the jelly “sheets off”
with the kind of fruit or
of
This test Is simple. When
in a steady stream, but sep
together—it is time to
cooking.
Farmers Must Keep Busy
A new
Spain to keep all farm units in pro
law compels farmers
uitural
lessen Import requirements,
Agric unemployment and
NEW SCHEME FOR
BIG NAVAL FORCE
With statem :nts and denials flying
back and forth in London about the
new navy Britain will bulld when
the present sea power limitation
treaties lapse, one clear fact
emerged :
King George Intends to have s
navy second to none.
Surrendering before Immovable
Japanese objections to continuing
limitations under a system of ratios,
the British are now negotiating with
the principal powers for an exchange
of building programs beyond which
the powers concerned would agree
not to build.
Thus, the United States would
agree to lay down only five battle.
ships In a stated time, Britaln would
agree to build only five and Japan
five,
But even If such naval programs
are declared In advance, they will
not be binding oo the powers, Lord
Londonderry, the cabinet's spokes.
man In the house of lords, now re-
veals,
Any power changing Its mind
would promise to give a year's notice,
he stated,
Chief Initial difficulty about this
system Is that no government wants
to declare what It Is going to do
until it learns what the other nations
will build.
80 Britaln has taken the bull by
the horns and submitted its tentative
in the next few
years to United States, Japan,
France and Italy. Germany already is
tied to of the British
program
the
39 per cent
But the British cabinet refuses to
which will have
the money, let alone the pub-
have to foot the bill
So a8 sensation was caused
to
when
British
lan was published
pugports be the
seven-year naval
and the cost of the vast armada put
traction ever known.
wear.
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