fyfxyw; mi m "M &. f if 3 "J y . '$ 7i EVENING F&BMG IiteDGEBHIIlABECPHIA. SAO$BIAY SBPTEBKBH 2, JL922 s SiZAPCl By Clarence Buding'ten Relland WPi "r HH3flflB-& B WM If Tlie ..r :.", X b E H m m M I m ll ft A R: u of. "i w.. 'It! W . t'. ' T'M BEGINNING te think," said MacDennld Kent te his wife, "that marriage is like golf full of mental hazards." "I presume," said Jane icily, "that you're trying te say something dis agreeable." "I'm trying te be pleasant. I'm trying te get dressed and out of this room without n row." His voice gradually lifted with his irritation. "Thus," he finished, "setting a world's record." Jane turned te leek out of the window, and then she began te hum. The sound of her humming bored into her husband's ears maddeningly. He was a reasonable human being; he knew nothing had been done or i aid which warranted either of thorn I in giving way te anger and the usual morning quarrel,but he could feel it 'coming en. There was an inev itability about these morning rows, silly inevitability. Morning after morning he hnd arisen with geed resolutions, and se, he knew, had his wife but the result was always the same. "Mental hazard," he told himself. "Like driving a golf ball ever the pond en the sixth hole. Yeu knew yeure going ie smasn u into ine water, and you de." He turned te , .., i 1. !i !. il Jane with elaborate self-expression and painstaking patience. "I don't want te be disagreeable, Ged knows," he said. "I don't want te start the day- with a rumpus, but " "But you always de," she said pre vocatively tie compressed nis tips ana siareu , at her, determined te control his -, "TTnnnctlv Tine " he said tongue. Henestlj, Jane, ne saia. "I wasn't trying te say anything dis- .greeable-that about mental haz- ards. What I meant was that you rnn'fc nlav coif without believing you ' , , . .. . . , ' " . . can make your shots and that s i just like marriage. We're off our eed had net been present in their ,ame. We're always topping our eybhaVhfiiJS irons or hitting out of bounds, borne along bllndlj upon a warm rush Purely mental. We could play the ' SSl,-, ' game as well as we did six or seven again, wanted it te continue. The idea years age if we just thought se." l the commonplace was abhorrent te 7 "I hadn't lived with you ten years h: cdS.V hTw'i'fe'Vn's ' even years age," Jane said with i nulstve. She was young, vivid, lovelier finality. "Ged send you're net living with me ten years hence," he said, his anger suddenly ablaze. "I wouldn't be living with you to morrow." she answered, "if there AJws any way out. Oh, why haven't I . THE first sharpness of realization be money of my own? Why can't I be I ,lm,c,Be 4?i.?e?!?".d,J1,,ed- Life, con- independent of you?" "Well," he said shortly, "you haven't and you can't-and there are tneKids, seail wecanae is maKeuie best of it." "ITTITH that he jerked en his coat and flung out of the room te cat a breakfast which had become flavorless for him as it had for his wife. Words, jrerds, words. He knew, as she knew, that what had passed between them was really meaningless, was nothing hut sound and irritation. Beth knew that for the most part they lived amicably, comfortably and sincerely I P'easee;, and McDonald had interfered , one. She golfed with Jehn Firth. Jehn dnngir of it. hut alhO he bad the celf wanted te liye together in peace and little with her whims and amusements. Firth took tea with her frequently, restraint net te remonstrate. There enjoyment Then why? Why these . quarrels se easily lighted? Why this j exasperation with each ether, this ' shortness of patience, this painstaking search for cause of affront? McDonald i could find no answer te his questions. . Their marriage had stretched ever ' eleven years, and there were two chll- , drcn, nine and seven years old. Neither , McDonald nor his wife gave censid- eraiien ie ine iac. mat ine ages or their children might have much te de ' With the steadily Increasing inclemercy of their life together. The fact of the matter was that the children had passed babjhoed in safety. They were In school ; no longer were they monop olizing the attention of their parents, Clarence Budington Ktlland started writing by work en a netcipaper hrraute he "wanted ie get three square meah a day." He had been en the staff of the Detroit Veit-s for several peart. Then he edited the American Bey. He comet orig inally from Michigan, but he hat lived in Vermont and Maine, and hat owned lumber camp tn both Btatet. At one Utne he and hit brother aicntd and ran a mill ler the manu facture of clethet pins. He knows the Nerthwctt and the Maine woedt ; the business of big industries, and he knows everyday people, tee, the way they think and feel and love. Hit attitude it big and human and typically American. Hit firtt ttery te bring him into prominence teat ' Sudden Jim." Since then hit hat been a name te conjure with, "The Mental Hatard," written purpetely (or this teiict of married life stat let, ihewt the infinite finenetr of hit treatment of the marriage theme. M ri iyV; 1 V t , SKf& J Wm& 1 rLlifefe k V fHfl k m One of the Series and, consequently, after all these years, Jane and McDonald bnd time te think about themselves. .Tnne was net the sort of person te think and analyze, but she felt. Her emotions were headstrong iiml she was , undiplomatically frnnk In describing ! them. She knew that come essential element hnd gene out of their mar riage, some clement (he craved. With something of fear she realized that .she did net love McDonald. The urge which hnd swept her Inte marriage with him. and made their first years together very sweet and wonderful, had vanished. This discovery was followed by a period of active revolt. She worked herself Inte e state of mind In which she believed her husband had become actually repulsive te her, and, in her headstrong way, she told him In a storm of tears. McDonald steed nghast. That such a thing could have happened te him was unbelievable. It was incredible until he sorted ever his own feelings toward his wife and found that he had reached n state of indifference to te ward her. The glow was gene for ever. They had reached n point which every married ceuple must reach the moment of readjustment when they must rebuild upon n new foundation or see their structure swept away by the rising storm. They seemed unnble " tn Iecate a Mab,p f0ndntien v,hlch te lay a new cornerstone upon McDonald considered the practical side of the question. The thing, he te,' himself, was a fact. Apparently It could net be mended, se there was nothing te de but try te make the best of it. The children made any ether course impossible, and finances mnue tnis course necessary. It WHS all he could de tn support one estab- .ic-niii.-ui. in cMim'irc ; mcreiere. cvpn had he been willing te de se. he could net have allowed June te leave him as she. seempd te wish te de. He had net the menpy t0 tIew her 0 ve separately in independent dependence, jrraX&. Donald, and te love .seemed te her the "ne. essential te life te love and te im Invml. shft nMrt L'L. -1.- 1... ... . .. r.nizntien thlU tll0 lev(v x. , , ..... luau -it.- uuu uvvn ien j ears age urn sac xei: somehow that lier love liness and her life were going te watte; ieac sue was. Doing cruelly, mtterlj Which. If reu stnn tn ti.ir.ii- i is a dangerously fertile state of mind! tinned. The household remnin,i in. tact, but nlwnys. It iir-.t.w ,, .i.. ... : : - - i"-.vt,.-i, iiiuu i iir Drink of disaster. Kwrvtiiin. .. ... pnmmnnnlnnn VinKl. t .. . i T. r. maddening, wearing, a "en"tnnt source "' "uuiun. rsicKerings were inevi table. McDonald settled down grimlv te the task of holding his family together, of holding his wife. He was essentially fair-minded. He perceived, regretted, and tried te make the best of iV but it was net easy. A certain testincss of disposition milled n ,v. iffi.,.1.. - for Jane, she went along thinking 'of I iciscu, iiuimng nerscif mere or lesa In suspense, craving, alwas craving for the return of that which bad vanished lurHypr. T 1. J i I iane naa always rlen mnph its I (-. n w iul wiie'S who in the .story tu-e.vn w.v bevsdary, fat. roerje-oralncrt but uncnnntlv cltvir leader of a artvn nt rmnk ime h.,'.m. alannrrl at receipt 0 e knaie 0 cljibs, stoned "Jack a Judgment after eneral nt his explain nil of uhlch are subtlu dmiied te tnrlch him without risking the late'j penalties. Up tries te disarm sus picions aaV'ring around him bu com plaining te STAFFORD Kf'0. of the Londen Crim inal Intelllgrnce Force. P.VTO StLVA. a sleek man about teum. forces his attentions en an actress, who rebuffs him 8h' is ifAIHIE WHITE daughter nf Selty White, one of the gang who uishes te retire. She ( intercitrd 11 Stafferd. VOU.IE VARSH a dell-faced but clnrr girl ii'fie acts as "vamp" of tits black mailing gang, "SWELL" CREWE, once a gentleman, tieu a creek. "T'LL tell the truth," she said. "I'm x rIc: sick of this life, colonel. I want te get away out of it all, and and he's going te help me." "A social reformer, eh?" said the colonel. "I didn't knew the police went in for that sort of stunt. And when did he take this sudden liking for you, Lellle?" "It wasn't n sudden liking at all," she said, "but I think it was because well, because I stenned Flnte in the nursing home nnd Miss White told him. I think thet's all." The colonel looked down en his pad. "There's something in that," he said; "It sounds feasible. Didn't he ques tion jeu?" raising his ews. "About you?" she said, "About usj" cerrcted the colonel. "lie esked me nothing about you, nothing about your habits or your methods or about any of our funny business, I'll swear it," she said. "You're noUgeing te believe that, are 1011, colonel?" demended Pinte. "Yeu can see that she is lying and that she's double-crossing jeu?" "She's neither ling nor (Ruble crossing us." It was Crewe who spoke, "I den t knew what you think about it, colonel, but I am convinced that I.ollie is speaking the truth." "Yeu!" Pinte laughed loudly. "I think you're In n state of mind when you'd believe anything I.ellle said. And nnywny ieu're probably In league with her." "Yeu're (t liar," said Crewe, be quietly that no one suspected the sur prising thing that would fellow, for of a sudden his fist shot out and caught Pinte under the jaw, sending him sprawling en the fleer. The colonel was instantly en his feet, his hand outspread. "That's enough, Crewe," he said harshly. "I'll have none of that !" Pinte picked himself up, his face UWd. V JiCllL of Evening Public Ledger Original Short Stories en Married Life She had her fiiends, both men and ...n.-nAn K... Tl... .n. I.I. n!n.. li... ""1-ii. l'111 ."Mill n ilii uiutm ii--i mn., r.;n...iL .. , .,.... i. .in.. n .,. lurii ii it iiur ! iini luit iiil li ir 1 1 hi "You'll pay for that," he said breathlessly ; but Swell Crewe had walked te the girl und had laid his hand en her shehlder. "I.ellle." he said, "I'm belleUng you, and I think the colonel is, tee. If you're going out of the country, why, I'll say geed luck te you. You've made a very wise decision, and one which we shall all make some of us perhaps tee late " mm n raemeni, saw ine i-oiehim. U( exchanged n glnnce with Selbj . nnd the man slipped quietly from the room. "Before we de an of that fa re -thee -well stuff I'w get a few words te say te you, Lellie, I'm vith Crewe, I think It is time ou wnt out of the country, but jeu're going out my way," "Whnt de you menu?" she asked. Her hnnd clutched Swell Crewe's sleew. "You're going out my way," said the colonel, "and I swear no harm will come 10 you. You're leaving tonight." "Hut hew ?" she asked, affrighted. "Selby will tell jeu. You'll meet .in.. ,. ...-,,.,.-..-. 1 him downstairs. New be a sensible g rl and de as I tell you. Helbj will go with jeu and see you safe Wp made all preparations for your de - pnrt ire tonight." "What's this, colonel?' asked Crewe. Wre out of it. sad the colonel savagely; "rm running this show my- "" """- - "" self. If jeu want te join I.ellle later, : P'cker blushed prettllj and hung her why, jeu can. Fer the present she's head, .lust the place te iaisc them, con going just where I w-ant her te go and tlnuH i.,.,i (rat-a-tat-tat-tat). be- III 111(1 Wll 1 liu.i- JIII1IIIII11. He held out his hand te the girl and she te&k it. "(ioed-by end geed luck, LelUe!" he said, "Hut can't I go back te my rooms?" she asked. He shook his head. "De as I tell you," he said shortly. ... - . . hhe steed at the ioer, and for a moment lier eves met Crewe's and he raa... t.?"'ar(Uer' , , nl,r'. j VXOr n n?J "PI"1 his arm ' Ooed-by, Iiellle, and the deer shut en the girl "Let r.ie go," said Crewe between his teeth, "If she trusts you, I don't. This is some trick of that dirty half-breed " With n snarl of rage Pinte whipped his ever-ready knife from his hip pocket and flung it. It was the colenei who drew Crewe aside, or that moment would have been his last. The knife whizzed past nnd waB burled almost te the hilt in the wall. The colonel broke the tense silence which followed. "Pinte," he said in his bilkiest voice, "If you ever want te knew whnt it feels like te be a dead man just reneat that performance, 'will you?" Then his rage burst forth. "I'll sheet either of wf Mere often than was, perhaps, discreet, .K ....... .. .1 .. E.U l.k.. fl-.!. t..riA.. -li.' iiiiiiuii-ii Willi .Mfllll 1 irui, ..lll'ill- ,1.1 ..... ii.,i ...,,.i. . .u,. ,i, ,i ill u n-s 11ik.11.11 i-iiiiiiliii ill ii'inii. ' I ill- ' j 011 If nu play the feel in front of iin again Yeu dirty little pickpockets that Iw taken fiem the gutter: em 1 mi-erabU little .-ncak thiet.s'" I It- Ut lnee 11 flood of abuse th.it made (wn Cicwe wince, , "New tit down, both of jeu," he finished up, out of brenth. lie went te the window nnd looked out The car which he had hired for '. the occasion was btill standing at the - G'wan te Bed Story The Darling Little Woodpeckers Once upon a time, dear children, there was a family of darling little woodpeckers who lived in it telegraph pest behide the railroad track. (Johnnj, get off the piano.) Yeu may wonder why they cliesp thh place for their habitat instead of the dusky forest. Yeu may wonder, Indeed. Hut the nicnr. k .Imnl. -nliAn tmi I., .no- 1, , , , , , ,,: ... . ... , And leuUal. We willranke our home in ,""s 'eiegrapn pest, sum Aiireii oeu pecktr te his wife, (rat-a-tat-tat-tatl 1 1)Peause it wlU be jui,t tn place t0 , . , kil,, ,w ,hu u ivi. cause here they will nbrene great deal of travel, anrt travel, tit, jeu Knew, ... . broadens the mind. . Upi time went by and the children We Alfred Woodpecker waxed In wUdein nnd grace. In all woodpecker - ii ui.i i urn- lis i. ,,i .,.pn mQre nr knew half se much i i '! "- "" """'"""" : i i0. ali their lives they had been watching the traveling salesmen go by 'a,,,! observing them closely. And If you 1 don't, rhink traveling salesmen knew anything, just ask them. Hut Alfred Woodpecker's children had ether ac complishments. They were the best hole hele hole beiers in the land. They could drill Inte weed, they could peck their way into concrete pests and thetf could bore holes In tin reefs. Finally they grew proud of their great skill. And pride, as you knew dear children, cometh before the fall. THE children of Alfred Woodpecker their names were Alenzo, Grace nnd Tlra had barely grown te woodpecker woodpecker woodpecker heed when the first blew fell. The wir- less transmission of messages was per fcetcd and all the telegraph poles were The husband paused, net intend ing te spy, and the man's voice came te his ears Jehn Firth was making love te his wife was In Jnnp a headstrong, rebellious stratum which drove her, sometimes against her own will, te de these things which she was expressly forbidden te de, or te accomplish that from which deer, nnd he distinguished Selby talk liur te the chauffeur. "Listen, veu," he said, "nnd espe cially j en, Crewe. You're tee trusting with these females. Mujhe Lellle's speaking the truth, but it is just as likely she's Ijing. I'm net going te tnke your corroboration, you knew, Crewe, ' lie said, "we ve get te uc pend en her word. There's nobody else I can speak for her, is there?" By J. P. McEVOY taken out. Imagine hew they felt. Im agine hew you would feel If you have, been trained te de nothing but iteek holes in telegiaph pests and woke up one morning te find theic were no such things any meie. That's hew Alenzo and Grace and Tim Woodpecker felt. Se. what did they de but hop en top of the first I iraiihinnuneniai limited train tnat came along und after riding days and nights and days and nights thej get off in what looked in the night like n premising spot. IT WAS u forest, dear children, that looked like n bunch of telegraph poles. Hew happy they were. They started in immediately te peck their own hornet in the poles. Hut what was Alonze'f, sumrise u-iw.n with the wry first peck he bent his 1 nose dear around te the rli?ht. Ami '(.irmu was equally surnrlsed when will, , the very first peck she bent lier iui' ,- ... " . . - .. . .: . : :.- " " eicar around te ine ictt. And Tim was I i'ra' "rii:","?. " VPr J i com- . "'Jil might they have bent their neM.H dear children, for these peer mis- 1 Rul(Pcl woodpeckers had get off in he i wiy nuntie et nni uerp tivnir tn maim their home In the great petrified forest of Arizona. And they may be there jet, for nil I knew. Gwan te bed. FLIERS CROSS ANDES MTS. Chileans Flying te Rie Janeiro Via Buenes Aires Reach Mendoza Mendoza, Argentina, Sept. 2. Cap tains Aracena nnd Barahona, Chilean army aviators attempting n flight from Santiage te Hie by wuy of Ilucnes Aires, started en the second Btage of their journey yesterday. They made n successful Jump ever the Andes, snfcly reaching thin point en the eastward side of the mountains and jestcrday morning set off again for IJuenes Aires. by the Best American nutherlty sought te restrain her. Mc Donald knew his interference would enl make a bad mutter worse. He wes mere or less of n faiulist, tee. "If she's any geed," lie said te himself, I think it Is time jeu went out of the county, hut you're going my way Hefere Crewe could speak the colo nel was answered, "Jnck e' Judgment ! Peer old Jack e Judgment! He'll speak for Lellie!" The colonel looked up with a curse. There was nobody In the room, but the voice had been louder than ever he hnd heard it before. It seemed as though it emanated from a disembodied spirit that was floating through the air. There was a knock nt the outer deer. Where the Voice Lived "Open it," said the colonel In a low veice: "open It, Crewe." He. pulled open the drawer and took out something, "And if it Is Jack e' (Judgment " Crewe opened the deer, hlj heart beating (t n furious rate, but It was Selby who came into v the room and faced the half leveled gun of the colonel. "What de you want?" asked Boun dary quickly. "Yeu feel, I told jeu net te lese sight of her!" "Hut when is she coming down?" asked Selby. "I've been waiting there all this time, and there's a policeman at the corner of the street. I wondered whether you hnd seen him, tee." "Net come down?" said the colonel. "She left here five minutes agel1 Selby shook his head. "She hasn't come down," he said, "and I've certainly net passed her en the stairs. Is there any ether wav out?" "Ne way that she could use," said the colonel, shaking his head. "I've had new locks put en nil the doers," He thought a moment. "it ii , hasn't come down she went up," By Edgar Wallace I ""'SS-S Fiction Writers "she'll stick. If net, she'll go." And there he rested, hoping for the best. THESE things happened in these un pleasant days .of nineteen hundred nnd twenty, when business was HI with that epidemic which decimated the financial population, as the flu had dec imated the human population of the country, and new, when McDonald's mind end heart were full of the dan ger which threatened his home, his business took sick of It, nnd lay at the point of death. He' dealt Ifl silks, and everybody knows what happened te silk In that unhappy year. Fer weeks at a time his presence was required in the city day and night. Fer weeks at a stretch he carried his lead of worry Inte his home after mid night, there te lay tossing, brain vexed almost te madness, unable te sleep. It was during these weeks of whnt Jane was pleased te call neglect that her in cipient affair with Jehn Firth begun te assume clear outlines. He was bringing Inte her life again that thing she craved romance, the eagerness of these first days of her marriage. He loved her. Vehemently be told her of his love, and she delighted In the stirring of It and then ns must happen, being In love with love, she Imagined herself In love with Firth. Which is exactly ns bad as the real thing. Or perhaps It Is the same thing. And, tee," there was the clement of adventure, secrecy, apprehension. Leve flowers b(est In such conditions. Here lies the chief defect of marriage ease of access te the loved one. There ere no difficulties, no obstacles. If some method could he Invented whereby n husband would Incur risk In seeing his wife, or the wife have te plan nnd evade nnd dnre In order te see her husband, divorce would disappear from the earth. Fer weeks new. Jnne had been hold ing Firth at arms' length, reluctantly nnd mere reluctantly, with difficulty and with greater difficulty. She was hnpny again, clandestinely happy, thrilled, wised en the brink of the precipice ' Of a Friday night McDonald took an earlier train than usual, arriving nt his home shortly after 10 o'clock. He was at the end of his rope. Th worst had happened. He was smashed, bent en down, obliterated. As he alighted from the train he was just where he had started fifteen years age no, he was in worse case than he had been then. Fifteen years nge he hud dared te embark In business for himself. He had persessed youth nnd hope, and about his neck was no millstone of ro re ro spensibillty. He could make or btcak nnd no damage done te any but him self. . . . It was different tonight. When his creditors finished with him he would net lime two nickels te jin gle together. en the house toward which he walk- se slowly and heavily . that would be gene. lie dreaded the ordeal of brcuking the news te Jane. Usually he rode home in a jitney tonight he walked, walked te save the quarter It would have cost te ride. He took the short cut through a vacant let te his back deer. The soft lawn deadened his footsteps as he rounded the house te the low perch, nnd he ar rived unheard. Se lest was he in his apprehension of the coming interview with his wife that he was unconscious of his surroundings until he steed ut the corner of the perch. Then the sound of n mnn's voice nrrested him. He paused, net intending te spy, and the man's words came te his cars, ve hement words, impassioned words. . . . Jehn Firth was making love te bis wife. McDonald he.itated. He did net think clearly; was incapable of blimp decision. "Yeu must love me," he henrd Firth say. "Yeu must. Yeu must. I can't get along without you, Jane. Jane " There was a brief silence. "Tell me jnu low me. Sav jnu'll go nwav with me. Nobody, nothing has the right te They went up the stnirs together nnd searched, first Pinte's flat, nnd then the storeieoms nnd empty apartments en the fleer higher up. "(Je down te the deer nnd wait, in case, she tries te get out," said the colonel. He returned te the room with the two men, and they looked at one .... r "' Il01" astonishment, the a arm?" nuestlnnn.i rv I ve get a buzzer under ene of the treads of the stairs," ald the colonel; it is useful te knew when people are coming up. It went off about twenty seconds after she left." Ten minutes passed, and Selby ie turned te say that the policeman hnd been making Inquiries as te whom the car belonged. ,inSu'" beti,cp K,nt U nwn-v'" 'd "'0 '"5., ' .nml vemi nttn' iur men." rhey ve gene." said the ether. "I wasn t taking any risks." He diseppenied te carry out the colonel s instinct mns. and they heard the whine of the moving car Boundary unlocked n cabinet and took out u full decanter of whisky. Without a word he poured three stiff doses into as many glasses and filled Ing, nnd thinking nfter his own in. terests, IJeundnry looked up nnd saw the dagger which Pinte had thrown U wns still embedded in the wall tmU ln'i ?0UKh ,hnt T s,"'"'d have J?ck p' Judgment messing mv room about" he said, "but je must de something te the same wall! Pull It Pinte1!" dn,t kt me "'ee U flB"'- Thc Portuguese smiled sheepishly walked te the wall und grippe the handle Evidently the pointed em? bedded in a lath, for the knife ,i,,it move He pulled again, exerting 1 his strength, nnd th s tlme t "'!., ".! b'-'ta'la Ju ii 1'innier anu a btr n of the wall paper. ' ..D"Te"w1!" Bnilrt the celnd angrily. Me.r yU Ve dne! JuS IT. .'. ll. i , .. tie naiueu ie ine wan and stared for the dislpgment of plaster and paper had reveale. three round, black disc se SCS. set juirm wun witt JllltNlPr 011(1 Olllv rated from the rnnm i... .1... "" f 0-l"' 11 mil .. . .7i:r-i. i " "., " '."" ""'I- paper, iviiii.ii nun even snipped. Te be continued Monday CepvriQht. UeOlure Neutpaptr fljmdlcdl. uiiw jeu any idea whnt's happened, Lrewe? asked the colonel suspiciously. Ne j.ien i the world," said Crewe. Hut she went downstairs," Ktid the colonel; "I heard the alarm click." keep us apart if we love. It's a tin fc' Keep up 'apart." "I Oh, let me think, let m think," said Jane. "Think! You've had time for think. Ing. Weeks nnd months of It. Y9 must knew. Yeu de knew. Oh, Jant. nobody ever loved you as I de." Vlt's sweet te be loved," said Jaat, But Oh, a woman has se much t think of." "Just think of you and me of tht happiness we have n right te haw, Tell me, Jane, tell me you love me."' "Net new, Jehn," McDonald heart his wife say, "net tonight. Let mt hnve just this night te think. Te, morrow ru- ru tell you hew it ti te be." "You'll tell me you love me? You'll' tell me you will go away with me?" Jane paused, while McDonald waltej dumbly, unnble te speak, unable tot move, "l 1 nope se," she said seftl, TMTeDONALD turned slowly. Stealthily' " he walked away. He did net want te be seen or henrd. He wanted te get away nnd te face this new dli. aster, te stnrc Inte Its eyes and te demand its meaning. He tramped. Hew after hour he tramped, his head seeth. Ing with incoherent thoughts. Be he hnd lest everything, business, wlfj, home nil In one debacle! He tried te realize it. te peer nhend and te picture his future. He could net. He groped for some plan te fe. low. for some action te take hut thera was no light te fellow, only the murk of bewilderment. One thing hi knew, ene fact steed out. He did net want te lese his wife and his home. Per haps his wife might be n Tjettcr wlfe nnd his home- a happier home but they wcrt his aul he wanted them. The thought of losing what lay yonder wai Int'dprnhln te him. There were savage thoughts, tee, vle lent thoughts, but he fought them down. Somehow he did net blnme Firth, and he could net blame his wife. Circum stances, cursed circumstances, were at fault. It wns just the wnvs things had happened. , And then, ns dawa broke ever the eastern trccteps, fatalism came te his.succer, "I'm nt my blackest hour," he said tn himself. "I'm broke. If she'j any geed she'll stick by me. If she leaves me nt a time like this she'i better gene. " Se once again he turned his foetstere tewnrd his home. The house wns still ns he admitted himself nnd mounted the stnirs te the room which- was hit wife's nnd his own. He opened the deer. Jane heard the sound of it clei Ing nnd sat up startled. "Oh. McDennld," she said, and thea she sat mere erect and stared at him, nt his gloomy, despairing eyes, at bit I weary, haggard face. ".What time ll it?" she asked. "Nearly live." "What what Is the matter. Mc Donald. Where have you been all night?" "Wnlklnu.V he sad: "walking." "Walking?" alarm was, in her velet, "WInt has happened? Whnt's the mn-ter?" He paused. Which cnlamlty should he announce first? Something, net rea son, told him there wns but one cal amity te announce. About his discov ery of InsI nleht he would be silent. He could net 'bring himself te speak of if, and In that moment he knew that whntcver came, whatever should be the outcome, he could never tell her what he hnd ectlieard. It must be burled, -f burled In his heart, never te be ex humed. "I'm broke." be said baldly. "Breke'' What de veu mean?" "I mean." he said natientlv. "that the business has gene up the spout. Tie lest evervthing. Even this beuse nai gene. We'll have te get out of it I hawn't a cent In the world. It's the end." ' She stnrcd nt him wide-eyed, and ttriinuelv enencrli the thencht that filled her mlnil wns net of the money lest, of comforts departed, of possible poverty te come It was of MeDennld's les that the thing he' had labored se hard te build was destroyed. Her heart cried out with sympathy for him. "Yeu peer boy Everything wu've weiked se hard for?" "Kvervthlng." he said dully. "I- done." , She get out of bed nnd walked te hit side. "It's wicked, cruel." she said. He shrugged his shoulders. "You're been wanting te te get away iron me," he said in 11 low voice. "Therei no reason why you shouldn't new You'll be as well off awuy from me U with me." "McDonald !" "I tell you everything's gene. Thli house everything! Yeu can't keep a servant. Ged knows where I'll fl money for feed." He turned away. "There's no use nrolencrlnc this ' Somehow I'll fi things up for eu(t stay here until you're ready te go. She clutched his arm. "McDonald, what de you menu? De you want t get rid of me?" He looked down into her eyes. 0i he said. "And veu think I'd desert yoo yeo yoe when you're down and out ! Yeu thini I'm thnt kind of a quitter?" , "You've wanted te get away. Yeu TI been se tired of me." "Peer boy," she said softly. "P" boy ' I -Oh, McDonald , can t J" see I couldn't go new. If you we rich If everything wns all right vlta jeu" she hebltnted. "But net no, net when when ou need me Sit down here." She drew him upon the bed beside her. "I may be a ret ter," she ssld. "but I'm no quitter We'll start ngaln MayM It's (ill been plnnned this w-ay. Mnjbe It didn't just happen, well start fresh I'm net afraid. Yeu ou can find a job or get a start senji' hew and I'll work .0fc Mac, Mac, don't you want me te neif you &een. "Yeu don't love ine," he said. She looked into his eyes a full Bin tite before renlvlne. nnd tlifn she sala. "Ne, McDonald net the way yc menu. Hut I de love you, nnd in, knunl 1 nil u nil T njlmlvi. .nil I-.. ,!" ...... ........,) j".. . Mube, denr, It's better than the etJ kind of love inem lasting, mere W depend en Don't mnke ma go-J dnn't mnlcA nin in T.nt me stay SHO crnt nil rivn, nirnln nn, Ipfim thfi be ginning, but from a new beglnal"! 11 She steed before him and held' eat her hand. It is significant she did offer her lips, but something told WW of them that would be playing off Key; She extended her hnnd and he te0 ." In his hand and clung te It. suauww she burst Inte tears, "Thank Ged jeu're you're -busted," she said treiniileusl). Copyright, ltttjy Vnllta Fiaturt Svndtyr AH rlflfiU rturvtd. RiprodUlei treMW"fcA jaV-vm $vniiw & v-, Vl -irm, jte. snf'T fflfW- tf4MWlrgilri.liy.J,L m&m&i -
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers