Show THE STORY OF A BOOTLEGGERS BOOTLEGGER'S 1 S 'S WIFE As Told to Mary Margaret M McBride Bride Copyright 1926 by Current News Features Inc II FOR Il-FOR FOR BETTER OR FOR WO WORSE I How long I I lay lay on on my s small all white whited I I Inot oed bed d shaken forlorn little heap I did not then know or try to guess I Idid Idid Idid did not sleep and yet part of the time I was In a sort of stupor m my thoughts g going ro round nd like cag d things the the past and present a queer distorted jumble inc me Again aln and again I h heard ard Bens Ben's v voice at the door tender amplo ing and finally Impatient It lt did not seem sem to matter Remember I Iwas Iwas Iwas was only 24 and I had believed believe In Ben with all my heart Perhaps If m my code had not been such a rigid one I might have felt differently As AsIt Asit Asit it w was s I lay Jay there thinking quite Q casually that It would be impossible for me me to go on living I wondered In too the most detached manner what people had found to be the best method of getting themselves out ut of ot the w world I thought of what my mother would say when she heard I had killed myself and it seemed to tome tome tome me that she would be able to bear that better than the knowledge of the disgrace my my husband had brought t upon us all I VISIONS CHILDHOOD I Pictures of my youth persisted There was tIle the time at home when I had the measles s and th they y wanted to give me whisky y as a medicine I had fought the doctor like a little tigress and worked myself up into such a lever fever eer that the they had had to give me a sedative before I could sleep that night It It Is hard to explain how I felt about sl sin a as a child I believed then In a 0 flaming laming hell for those who ho disobeyed the dictates of ot right light and drinking liquor or strong drink as m my mother called it it was the chief of all sins in my 01 eyes Naturally Natu- Natu rally my ideas changed somewhat as I grew older particularly after I went to New York But it Is very hard hard to to get get away aay fr from m. m early training and In spite of myself I had always found myself shrinking a little UttIe- from men mep who drank I had never seen my husband drink and It had never occurred to n me me that he did If It I thought of or It at all I Imagined he felt Just as I did Now I had discovered that he was far from any conception I had of him that he was actually a peddler of the stuff I despised My Iy Ben a bootlegger Every time my mind got back to this point i f i buried my face In the pillows and cried as asIf asif asit If it my heart would break The night wore on and dawn turned Into a sickly glimmer glimme r the lighted lamp on mv my dressing tahl Once more I was conscious of my husbands husband's voice outside the door GIVE ME A CHANCE CHANCE Listen Listen Elsie he was as saying youve got to give me a chance to tell you about abolt it Now listen darling youve you've always alwa's b been en a little sport Be one now when i j- j needs you Perhaps It was the weariness in inthe inthe inthe the big voice that moved me roe I suddenly realized that my m band must have ha hovered about my door all night as distraught as I. I Something stirred in my heart ana ano anaI I I knew that my love for lOr hint him was not dead Whatever ver he might do 10 door door or be ne he was my bo boy and the In Instinct instinct In- In to take care of ot him asserted Itself I dragged myself upright and began to smooth my hair The mirror across the room showed me inc mea inca a bedraggled picture picture picture-a a wan 1 it- it i- i to nosed tragic-eyed tragic bride But Just as 1 was I went vent out to toBen toBen toBen Ben and we fell into each othe arms All the anger all nil the re resentment resentment resentment re- re that I I. I had been feeling melted until only onh a great sadness was left We wept together my bIgboy big bigboy bigboy boy and I. I Then I held him off ulf look ook at him His appearance was wasas wasas wasas as shocking as my myown own There were great circles under his eyes and lines ines s of pain pahi had bitten auto lJ hi cheeks and lips In broken husky tones he began to tell me the story I dreaded yet longed to hear First he lie admitted that during his New York he had learned earned to drink He had starr star out In a bond office through the of ot a college friend He did very well but found sound the work which was Inside the of office tiC i fining fining- and the need for constant tact galling Certain association he formed made It easy to drift Into late ate parties and the kind of ot good I time that is always accompanied b by bya a few drinks KNOWN AS GOOD FELLO FELLO AI Before he knew it Ben was re regarded regarded regarded re- re as a good fellow and one who ho could be depended upon to have ha a bottle or two of the i stuff on hand band when the n t f arose I tell you OU Elsie I dont don't know myself how It happened he said earnestly looking at me out of bloodshot ey eyes s. s Before I knew what I was doing the boys were coming to me for their liquor sup sup- plies I knew a fellow that I could give jive It to me cheap and the boys always insisted upon paying me a little more than it cost saying saing that I ought to be have something for form formy formy m my trouble It got so that people sent their friends to me and the bootle bootlegger er with whom I dealt asked one da day Why d dont don't nt you ou come in with us In Ina Ina ina a big way waye We e need a a. chap like you who can go around the swells and look like them That brought me up with witha a I. I kind of Jerk I suddenly realized that the man regarded me as no better belter than himself THEN HE LOST HIS JOBI JOB I grew very bitter I felt feIt a contempt con on- on tempt for the man for myself and for all my friends I disgustedly resolved to give up the whole thing And then In a singularly apropos fashion proving proving- that coincidences do not happen merely in novels I lost my job It wasn't personal at atall all firm all firm simply had to cut down Well Vell hone honey you can guess the rest I. I was already a bootlegger and I simply went into it on a bigger scale I began to opel ate with a aLong aLong aLong Long Island gang and that's how we happen to be living down here By Bythe Bythe Bythe the time I met you I 1 was vas sort of used to the idea I hated to break breal the news to you and thought ma maybe maybethe be bethe the fe fellows lows could help me ale Darling r T cant can't bear to make you miserable You kno know how I love you you ou I began to cr cry again You will give It up wont won't you ou Ben dearest I begged You can find a good job iob a and d you will see how economical 1 I ICan Itan can tan be and how well I can manage on ever so little I felt Bens Ben's shoulders twitch He was about to answer and I I held my breath b. Then the telephone rang Ben Bert pulled himself away In spite of-my of detaining arms and aUd hu hurri l d downstairs I listened In an agony agon of or apprehension Hello he said Then there wa waa was as asa wasa a long pause Yes yes es he muttered muttered muttered mut mut- I will and the receiver was hung up I II I fell on m my knees as my husband husband husband hus- hus hus hus- band back up the stairs Please Go God make him give It up I prayed Tomorrow Tomorrows Racket Bucket et Men and HI- HI i I Copyright 1926 by Curr Current nt N News ws 1 r Inc |