WW.. The Real Adventure By Henry Kitchell Webster Copyright 1916, Bobbs-MerrTO Co. COMES THE GREAT EVENT IN ROSE ALDRICH'S LIFE, THE PROSPECT OF A BABY, AND SHE REALIZES THAT WOMAN'S FINEST PROFESSION IS MOTHERHOOD-BUT PLANS GO SADLY AWRY SYNOPSIS Rose Stanton marries Rodney Aldrich, a rich young lawyer, after a brief courtship, and In atantly Is taken up by Chicago's exclusive social set and made fl part of the gay whirl of the rich folk. It Is . all new to the girl, and for the first few months she Is charmed with the life. And then she comes to feel that she Is living a useless existence, that she Is a social butterfly, a mere ornament In her husband's home. Rose longs to do something useful and to have the opportunity to employ her mind and utilize her talent and edu cation. Rodney feels much the same way himself. He thinks he ought to potter around In society just to please his wife, when In reality he'd rather be giving his nights to study or social service of some sort They try to reach an understanding, following the visit of two New York friends, who have worked out satisfactorily this same problem. CHAPTER XI Continued. But she went steadily on. "Ton were always so dear about It But tonight oh, Rodney ... I" Her silly, ragged voice choked there and topped, and the tears brimmed up and spilled down her cheeks. But he kept her face steadfastly turned to his. "That's what I said about being married and not sowing wild oats, I suppose," he said glumly. "It was a joke. Do you suppose I'd have said It If I meant It?" "It wasn't on!) that," she managed to go on. "It was the wny they looked at the house ; the way you apologized for my dress; the way you looked when you tried to get out of answer ing Barry Lake's questions about what you were doing. Oh, how I despised myself I And how I knew you and they must be despialng me!" The one thing I felt about you all the evening," he said, with the pa tience that marks the last stage of exasperation, "was pride. I was rath er crazlly proud of you." "As my lover you were proud of ue," she said. "But the other man the man that's more truly you was shamed, as I was ashamed. Oh, It doesn't matter I Being ashamed won't accomplish anything. But what we'll do Is going to accomplish something." "What do you mean to dor he asked. - - "I want you to tell me first," she aid, "how much money we have, and how much we've been spending." "I don't know," he said stubbornly. "I don't know exactly." , "You've got enough, haven't you, of your own ... I mean, there's enough that comes in every year, to live on, If you didn't earn a cent by practicing law? Well, what I want to do, Is to live on that I want to live, however and wherever we have to to live on that out In the suburbs somewhere, or In a flat so that you will be free ; and I can work be some aort of help." "You can wash the dishes and scrub the floors," he supplemented, "and I can carry my lunch to the office with me In a little tin box." He looked at his watch. "And now that the thing's reduced to an absurdity, let's go to bed. It's getting along toward two 'clock." "You don't have to get to the office till nine tomorrow morning," said Rose. "And I want to talk it out now. . And I don't think I said any thing that was absurd." "I shouldn't have called it absurd," he admitted after a rather long si lence. "But It's exaggerated and un necessary. Next October, when the begin right away." Then she looked up into his face. "It will be too late In October," she repeated, "unless we be gin now." The deep, tense seriousness of her voice and her look arrested his full attention. VWhy?" he asked. And then, "Rose, what do you mean?" "We're going to have a baby in October," she said. That's Why I Wanted to Decide Things Tonight" lease on this house runs out we can manage, perhaps, to change the scale a little. There you are I Now do stop worrying about It and let's go to bed." But she sat there just as she was, taring at the dying fire, her hands lying slack In her lap, all as If she hadn't heard. The long silence Irked him. lie pulled out his watch, looked at It And began winding It lie mend ed the fire so that It would be safe for the night ; bolted a window. . Ev ery minute or two he stole a look at her. but she was always just the same. Except for the faint rise and fall of her bosom, she might have been picture, not a woman. At lost he said again, "Come along, Rose dear." I "It'll be too late In October." she said. That's why I wanted to de-' cid thing's tonight. Because we must CHAPTER XII. The Door That Was to Open. What a silly little Idiot she'd been not to have seen the thing for her self I She'd been, all the while, beat ing her head against blind wails when there was a door there waiting to open of itself when the time came. Motherhood I There'd be a doctor and a nurse at first, of course, but presently they'd go away and she'd be left with a baby. Her own baby I She could core for him with her own hands, feed blm her joy reached an ecstasy at this from her own breast That life which Rodney led apart from her, the life Into which she had tried with such ludicrous unsuccess to effect an entrance, was nothing to this new life which was to open before her in a few short months now. Mean while, she not only must wait she could well afford, to. That was why she could listen with that untroubled smile of hers to the terrible things that Rodney and James Randolph and Barry Lake and Jane got Into the ' way of hurling across her dinner table, and to the more mildly expressed but equally alkaline cynicisms of Jimmy Wallace. Jimmy was dramatic critic on one of the evening papers as well as a bit of a playwright. Ue was a slim, cool, smiling, highly sophisticated young man, who renounced all privileges as an Interpreter of life In favor of re maining an unbiased observer of It He never bothered to speculate about what you ought to do he waited to see what you did. Well, In the light of the miraculous transformation that lay before her, Rose could listen undaunted to the tough phllosophlzlngs her husband and Barry Luke delighted In as well as to the mordant merciless realities with which Doctor Randolph and Jimmy Wallace confirmed them.' She wasn't indifferent to It all. "Jim's pretty weird when he gets going," Eleanor Randolph said to Fred erica, on the next day after they had been dining at the Aldrlches', "but that Barry Lake has a sort of surgical way of discussing Just anything, and his wife's as bad. "Wo never got off women all the evening. Barry Lake had their his tory down from the early Egyptians, and Jim got off a string of patholog ical freaks. And then Rodney came out strong for economic Independence, only with his own queer angle on It, of course. He thought It would be a fine thing, but It wouldn't happen un til the men Insisted on It When a girl wasn't regarded as marriageable unless she had been trained to a trade or a profession, then things would be gin to happen. I think he meant It too. "Well, and all the while there sat Rose, taking it all In with those big eyes of hers, smiling to herself now and then; saying things, too, some times, that were pretty good, though nobody but Jimmy seemed to under stand, always, just what she meant They've talked before, those two. But she was no more embarrassed than ns If we'd been talking embroidery stitches." So far as externals went, her life, that spring, was Immensely simplified. The social demands upon her, which bad been so Insistent all winter, stopped almost automatically. The exception was the Junior League show In Easter week, for which she put In quite a lot of work. She was to have danced In It This Is an annual entertainment by which Chicago sets great store. All the smartest and best-looking of the younger set take part In it in cos tumes that would, do credit to a chorus dresser, and as much of Chicago as is willing and able to pay five dollars a seat for the privilege Is welcome to come and look. Delirious weeks are spent in rehearsal, under a first class professional director; audience and performers have an equally good time, and Charity, as residuary lega tee, profits by thousands. Rose dropped In at a rehearsal one day at the end of a solid two hours of committee work, found It unexpect edly amusing, and made a point there after, of attending when she could. Her Interest was heightened, If not wholly actuated, by some things Jim my Wallace had been telling her late ly about how such things were done on the real stage. lie had written a musical comedy nre, lived through the production of t, and had spent a nurd earned two veeks' vucutlou trouplug with It ea the road, so he could speak with au thorlty. It was a wonderful Odyssey when you could get him to tell It, and as Rose made a good audience, she got the whole thing at her dinner table. The thing got a sociological twist eventually, of course, when Jane want ed to know If It were true thut the chorus girls received Inadequate pay, Jimmy demolished this with more wrath than he often showed. He didn't know any other sort of job that paid a totally untrained girl as well. It took a really accomplished stenogra pher, for Instance, to earn as much a week ns was paid the average chorus girl. The trouble was that the indis pensable assets In the business were not character and intelligence and am bition, but just personal charms. "But a girl . who's serious about It who doesn't have to be told the same thing more than once, and catches on, sometimes, without being told at all, why, she can always have a Job and she can be as Independent as any body. She can get twenty-five dollars a week or even as high as thirty." The latter part of this conversation was what she was to remember after ward, but the thing that Impressed Rose at the time, and that held her for hours looking on at the League show rehearsals, was what Jimmy had told her about the technical side of the work of production, the labors of the director, and so on. As the weeks and months wore away, and as the season of violent alter nations between summer and winter, which the Chlcagoan calls spring, gave place 'to summer Itself, Rose was driven to Intrench herself more and more deeply behind this great expectation. It was like a dam hold ing back waters that otherwise would have rushed down upon her and swept her away. And then came Harriet Rodney's other sister, and the pressure behind the dam rose higher. Rose bad tried, rather unsuccess fully, to realize that there was actu ally in existence another woman who occupied, by blood anyway, the same position toward Rodney and herself that Frederics did. She felt almost like a real sister toward Frederlca. But without quite putting the notion Into words, she had always felt It was Just as well that Harriet was an Italian contessn, four thousand miles awny. Rodney and Frederlca spoke of her affectionately, to be sure, but their references made a picture of a rather formidably correct seriously aristocratic sort of person. She'd discovered, along In the win ter sometime, that Harriet's affairs were going rather badly. It was along In May that the cable came to Frede rlca announcing that Harriet was com ing back for a long visit. "That's all she said," Rodney explained to Rose. "But I suppose It means the finish. She said she didn't want . any fuss made, but she hinted she'd like to have Freddy meet her in New York, and Freddy's going. Poor old Harriet I We must try to cheer her up." She didn't seem much in need of cheering up, Rose thought when they first met All that showed on the con tessa's highly polished surface was a disposition to talk humorously over old times with her old friends, In cluding her brother and sister, and a sort of dismayed acquiescence In the smoky seriousness, the Inadequate civilization, of the city of her birth. Toward Rose herself, the contessa was, one might say, studiously t affec tionate. She avoided being either dis agreeable or patronizing. Rose could see, Indeed, how she avoided It About this time the question where Rose and Rodney were going to live after their lease on the McCrea house ended, had begun to press for an an swer. October first was when the lease expired, and It wasn't far from the date at which they expected the baby. They spent some lovely after noons during the days of the emerg ing spring, cruising about looking at possible places. This was the situation when Har riet took hand In It It was a situa tion made to order for Harriet to take a band In. She'd sized it up at a glance, made up her mind In three minutes what was the sensible thing for them to do, written a note to Florence McCrea In Paris, and then bided her opportunity to put her Idea Into effect To her Rose was simply a well-meaning, somewhat Inadequately civilized young person, the beneficiary, through her marriage with Rodney, of a piece of unmerited good fortune. When she got Florence McCrea'a answer to her letter, she took the first occasion to get Rodney off by himself and talk a little common sense Into him. "What about where to live, Rod ney?" she asked. "Made up your mind about it yet? It is time someone with a little common sense straight ened you out about this." Harriet couldn't be sure from the length of time he took seeing that his pipe was properly lighted, wheth er he altogether liked this method of approach or not. "Common sense always was a sort of specialty of yours, sis," he said at lu7, "ahd straightening out You were always pretty good at It" Then out of a cloud of his own smoke, "Fire away." "Well, in the first place," she sold, "If you had your house today you'd be lucky if the paint was dry and the thing was fit to move Into by the first of September." "But we've got to get out of here, anyway, In October. And that menu we've got to have some sort of place to get into. It Is an awkward time, I'll admit." "No, you haven't," she atd. "You can stay right here another six months, If you like. I've heard from Florence., When I found how things stood here, I wrote and asked her If she'd lease for six months more If she got the chance, and she wrote back and simply grubbed at It" Rodney smoked half way through his pipe before he made any comment on this suggestion. "This house Isn't Just whp we want," he said. "In the first place, It's expensive." Harriet shrugged her shoulders, picked up one of Florence's poetry books and eyed the heavily tooled bind lug with a satirical smile before she replied. "I'd on Idea there was that in It" she suld at last. "Freddy sqld some thing; . . Rose had been talking to her." Then, after another little silence and with a sudden access of vehemence: "You don't want to go and do a regular fool thing, Roddy. She Stared, Bewildered. You're getting on perfectly splendid ly. But If you pull up and go to live In a barn somewhere and stop seeing any bodypeople that count, I mean" Rodney grunted. "You're beyond your depth, sis," he said. "Come back where you don't have to swim. The expense isn't a capital consideration, I'll admit that Now go on from there." "That's like old times," she oh served with a not Ill-humored grim' ace. "I wonder If you talk to Rose llko that Oh, I know the house Is rather solemn and absurd. It's Flor ence herself all over, that's the size of It But what does that matter for six months more?" He pocketed his pipe and got up out of his chair. "There's something In It," he ad mitted. "I'll think It over." "Better cable Florence as soon a you can," she advised. ' - Rose protested when the plan for living six months more in Florence Medea's house was broached to her. She made the best fight she could. But Harriet's arguments, re-stated now by Rodney with full conviction, were too much for her. When she broke down and cried, as she couldn't help doing, Rodney soothed and com forted her, assured her that this no tion of hers about the expenslveness of it all, was Just a notion, which she must struggle against as best she could. She'd see things In a truer proportion afterward. s Very fine and small and weak, Rose Stanton, lying In a bed with people about her, let her eyes fall heavily shut lest they should want her to speak or think. . . . Then, for,a long time, nothing. Then presently, a hand, a firm, powerful hand, that picked up her heavy, limp wrist and two sensi tive finger-tips that rested lightly on the upper surface of It After that an even, measured volee a voice of authority, whose words no doubt made sense, only Rose was too tired to think what the sense was:- "That's a splendid pulse. She's do ing the best thing she can, sleeping like that." And then another voice, utterly un like Rodney's and yet unmistakably hi: a ragged voice that tried to talk In n whisper but couldn't manage It broke quecrly. "That's nil right," It said. "But I'll find It easier to believe when" She must see him must know what It meant that he should talk like that With a strong physical ef fort, she opened her eyes and tried to speak his name. She couldn't ; but someone must have been watching and have seen, because a woman's voice said quickly and quietly "Mr. Aldrich." And the next moment, vast and tow ering and very blurred In outline, but, like his voice, unmistakably, was Rodney her own big, strong Rodney. She tried to hold her arms up to him, but of course she couldn't And then be shortened suddenly. He had knelt down beside her bed, that was It And she felt upon her palm the pressure of his Hps, and his unshaven cheek, and on her wrist a warm wetness that nrust be tears. And then she knew. The urgency of a sudden terror gave her her voice. 'Roddy," she said, "there was go ing to be a baby. Isn't there T Something queerly like laugh broke his voice when be answered. "Oh, you darling I Yes. It's all right That lsq't why I'm crying. It's Just because I'm so happy. "But the baby!" she persisted. "Why Isn't It here?" Rodney turned and spoke to some one else. "She wants to see," he said. "May .she?" And then a woman'! voice (why, It was the nurse, of course! Miss Harris, who had com last night) said In an Indulgent soothing tone: "Why, surely she may. Walt Just a minute." But the wait seemed hours. Why didn't they bring the baby her. baby? There I Miss Harris was coming at last, with a queer, bulky, shapeless bundle. Rodney stepped In between and cut off the view, but only to slide an arm under mattress and pillow and raise her a little so that she could see. And then, under her eyes, dark red and hairy against the whiteness of the pillow, were two small heads two small, shnpeless masses leading away from them, twitching, squirming. She stared, bewildered. S "There were twins, Rose," she heard Rodney explaining triumphantly, but still with something that wasn't quite a laugh, "a boy and a girl. They're perfectly splendid. One weighs seven pounds and the other six." Her eyes widened and she looked up Into his face so that the pitiful bewilderment In hers was revealed to him. "But the baby," she said. Her wide eyes filled with tears and her voice broke weakly. "I wanted a baby." "You've got a baby," he Insisted, and now laughed outright "There are two of them. Don't you understand. dear?" Her eyes drooped shut, but the tears came welling out along her lashes. "Please take them away," she begged. And then, with a little sob, she whispered: "I wanted a baby, not those." Rodney started to speak, but some sort of admonitory signal from the nurse silenced him. The nurse went away with her bun die, and Rodney stayed stroking Rose's limp hand. In the dark, ever so much later, she awoke, stirred a little restlessly, and the nurse, from her cot, came quickly and stood beside her bed. She had something In her hands for Rose to drink and Rose drank It dutifully. "Is there anything else?" the nurse asked. "I Just want to know," Rose said; "have I been dreaming, or Is It true? Is there a baby, or are there twins?" "Twins, to be sure," said the nurse cheerfully. "The loveliest liveliest little pair you ever saw." "Thank you," said Rose. "I Just wanted to know." She shut her eyes and pretended to go to sleep. But she didn't It was true then. . Her miracle, It seemed somehow, had gone ludicrously awry. Knowing that they have plenty of money to raise twins properly, why should Rose resent the fact that she has been presented with two babies Instead of one? (TO 13 hi CONTINUED.) EASY TO TELL REAL DIAMOND There Are Many Ways In Which the Finest Imitations May Be Detect ed, Even by the inexperienced. The experienced eye does not find It difficult to decide whether a diamond Is genuine, for the facets of real ones are seldom so regulur as those of fine Imitations. With the latter the great est care Is taken In grinding to polish and smooth the whole stone so that there will be Irregularity In the reflec tion or refraction of the light. A neces sary tool for testing Is the file, which cannot scratch a real diumond, al though It quickly leaves Its mark on an Imitation. Better than the file Is the sapphire, for the sapphire Is the next hardest stone to the diamond. Any stone that a sapphire can scratch is assuredly not a diamond.. . If you put a small drop of water on the upper facet of a brilliant and touch It with the point of a pencil the drop will, keep Its rounded form, but the stone will remain clean and dry. In case of an Imitation the drop Immedi ately spreads out. Plunge a diamond Into water and It will be plainly visible and will glitter through the liquid, but an Imitation stone Is almost Invisible, If you look through a diamond, as through a bit of glass, at a black dot on a sheet of white paper you will see one single point clearly. If you see sev eral points or a blur of black it Is an Imitation. The white sapphire, the white topaz and rock crystal are fre quently sold as diamonds, but imita tions are more commonly made of glass. Bound to Fltfht Anyhow. Early last year, says a contributor to an English weekly, a grocer In a Scottish village decided that either he or his assistant must enlist. As he was single and his mother and sisters were well provided for from their In terest In the shop, he thought it was his duty to go. Mackay, the assistant agreed promptly, and presently found himself in command of the business. But a few months later the master was dumfounded to meet his late as sistant, attired In khaki, "somewhere In France." "HI, mon," he said angrily, "what are ye doln' here? Did I no tell ye tae stay at hame In chalrge o' ma shop?" "So I thocht at the time, mnlster," replied Mackay, "bit I sune fun' oot It wlsna only the shop I was In chalrge o but a yer womunfolk. 'Man, says I tae masclf, 'gin ye've got to fecht gang and fecht someone ye can hit T So I Jlned." Youth's Companion. WhrxWell Dress Utoneri Will We&S In the Play of Summer Styles. Organdie Is the gay and spirited sou- brette in the play of summer styles. It bobs up everywhere, with all sorts of summer frocks, as a part of their make-up or In accessories worn with them. In the weave called swlss or gandie it Is more sheer than ever and disports Itself In all the new and love ly shades of colors that grace the joys of midsummer. It Is used In bands and borders on frocks made of other sheer fabrics, In petticoats and In col lars and cuffs, In frills and In vestees. It Is of much service in separate col lars, like those Illustrated here. Along with Jabots, collars of this kind am plify the summer wardrobe, saving the day, with their crisp daintiness, for the overworked wool or silk frock that serves many purposes. Pretty acces sories of this kind help out the tourist immensely and are the easiest of all belongings to carry along on a Journey. The collars shown to flwjfcj selections from a display i J couars maae oi voiio or crjut cunnot forget the war and k to, and therefore, even theme of our belongings reflect Ik thoughts that are In the lit are the last presented itjtaul lengthened at the shoulderioii fall over the top of theiniil fringe on an ofllcer's epaulet the models are edged win fc and ornamented with set-In y. of lace. The third collar ii ered with eyelet work and m foliage. None of thorn prw difficulties to the average ti an, and lace, voile and ora: scattered abroad la ill tj stores. When made by hand aV stiff prices In the shops, be them are made in this way. I made collars are plentiful and inexpensive. ' ' 1 1 .. mMu.'ii' " .. "n v. !'.''.": ' i .i " " " ' s , V"' ' V ' . . ; si n't ! MMIWII'iWf1ir!. Auxiliaries of the Red Cross. Rains Uncover Gold Nuggets. The days of '40 have been revived here to a certain extent says the Sac ramento (Cul.) Bee, several Auburn men having brought nugga worth from $1 to $20 which were found In the ravines and streams since heavy rains have washed the dirt from the gravel. One nugget, which. It U mid, U worth $20t wm touad. The American Red Cross Is engaged In so many humanitarian and philan thropic activities that Its work must of necessity be depnrtmentlzcd and each department thoroughly organized for the sake of efficiency. A chapter of the Red Cross, in 'any locality, repre; sents all of the Red Cross activities. Under its supervision different commit tees are organized for the different kinds of work to be done, each commit tee devoted to one particular object or class of work. In communities where no chapter exists Red Cross commit tees may be formed, by special author ity of the director general of civilian relief, for special Red Cross activities. These committees are called auxiliaries. Several auxiliaries may be formed In the same community, to take care of the several different classes of work to be done. Where a chapter exists auxiliaries must be formed with tho consent of the chapter, and they will be a part of the chapter and subordi nate to It The Red Cross Is the only society authorized by the government of the United States to render did to Its land and naval forces In time of wnr. There fore women who wish to help should first Join the American Red Cross and 811k Skirts for Cotton Now. It Is no longer thought extravagant to substitute silk for pique, linen or cotton duck skirts. Its price is within the limits of the majority of purses, it washes better and more easily than the ordinary white fabrics, and It is cool. Good reasons, all, for Its pref erence. With fashion demanding a silhouette that is slim without sever ity, the best medium of obtaining It Is with a fabric that does not ask for starch. On a separate skirt with white uh silk with a dlauioud of cerise nnr onrnll ti lth the M&" V. A V VIII VII J doing the sort of work M In the present emergoMJ can Red Cross faces I ff; sailors, In addition toting work It has already flow lng, for the countries it" rope. It must provide pltals, equipped witn pltal supplies, surgeoi nurses anu iiuia" - j a.u l... Wnlfnll ""I UU1U UUU Ulinu some provision for P1 Aara anA onllnrS. Dfld '" I after they are dlsrals-, als.. It must gnther i volunteer worn Mltji try, and Is doing so stttJl xnousanus vi - fi for some practical war J n,ay express , country anu uk i:..) wnrk of the wnr. Th" them will be found t activities and win e " ture articles. .,a n it. th V' " . . III a main reamre - - m. the soft shirt of J, frills bound with cen the skirt coloring- ' Unti "Will you lair""" Flubdub?" , rilii' "I hardly thin j - p go with her. ray introduction' "I can't uub ir' know ten lest j pint si) lid
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