Show a i00 1 THE CASE OF THE CARVERS By Flank Huiluit OHaia Copyright by Dally Story Tub Co Tho pretty little peachee and cream tlfo of Carver dropped her evening paper with a murmur of dainty horror Carver ralsei his eyes from the sporting sport-Ing page of his own dally and turned thrill Inquiringly toward tho golden aired vision Itt pink I think Its perfectly dreadful sho claimed Dont you Dick Of course What Is It he naked smiling Just to think of n mans being so Inconsistent and false andand cruel young Mrs Carver went on Carvers smile faded His eyebrows eye-brows lifted a trifle Then he said I dont know what you mean He said that aloud To himself ho kept musing I wonder Didnt you read It queried she In IcatiiiR with a delicate forefinger an artlrle In tho paper This Afferton divorce case you know Just think If you cmof a mans doing anything like that I dont believe a man could ever have loved a girl and thenOh Its shocking And they hadnt been married a year were hardly out of L their noueymoon IIKO us UICK Carver shook his head deprecatingly and fidgeted at his smoking jacket and then remarked Who was the other girl Chorus or Then you did rend It Noerwhy II glanced at tho headlineR The big purple eyes across tho tablo were becoming dim with an opalescent opales-cent mist Ohhh Dick Dick Her voice was wavering dangerously Aro nanyTnen like that You seem to Oh you arent surprised you arent shocked Dick Why you silly dear Carver laughed jumping to her side and folding fold-Ing her tenderly In his arms Nonsense Non-sense Why you just said yourself It was our honeymoon You dont know how much I love you girl I could not begin to tell you Just this morning morn-ing I was telling Jack Trent what real happiness was like Jack seemed sort of down and out with the blues I told him he ought to get married ought to get a little wife like mine Jack always wanted me I guess oven away back when we were children chil-dren And he made a game fight didnt he She laughed softly as she pressed his hand But ho didnt get you said Carver Car-ver happily returning tho pressure Next morning as he was being whirled ofllceward on an L limited he rehearsed many times tho days of his courtship and then the marriage and their honeymoon and after that tho home life together and ho vowed that he would never even speak to Malzlo again Ho had just been out for a good time occasionally HO nad meant no harm surely Jio disloyalty to tho pretty little peaches and cream wife In tho suburbs But from now on there was to be no Matzle no reunions with the boys nothing All day Carver kept thinking of tho waiting wife He left early as possible that afternoon and after visiting a confectioner for a box of her favorite bittersweets and a florist for a bunch of her adored red roses he was on his way back to her Impatient as ho never before had been to clasp her again In his embrace He bounded up the steps three at a time He meant to rush In and surprise her But tho door was locked His face fell He had not thought of the possibility of her absence ab-sence Doubtless she did not look for him so soon She never had failed to meet him before He put down the candy and flowers found his key unlocked tho door How lonesome the rooms seemed He gazed around wondering somewhat some-what His eyes fell upon a letter lying on the library table Ho picked It up and found It addressed to him In her writing His brow wrinkled OI I wonder what the devil In a moment his eyes were skimming skim-ming rapidly over tho lines of large distinct characters This Is what tho lines said Dear old Dick Im awfully sorry really I am You will never know how much It has pained me But I dont lovo you Somehow that sounds blunt and cruel but It Is tho truth I dont suppose lover loved you though I used to think I did J perhaps It was your fiery way of making love that caught mo Anyway I want you to be happy oh very very happy Dick I know I shall bo so as soon as wo can arrange matters honorably anti quietly I must always have loved Jack and he I am sure has loved mo always though hes been a perfect brick since my marriage and as still as a brick too When I am Mrs Jack Trent I know I shall bo happier and I know you will bo just as happy You men aro so Inconstant you know Goodby dear boy Carver stood a long time staring dumbly at tho note Then he crumpled It slowly and tossed It from him There was a newspaper on the table Ho saw the headline Mrs Afforton Says Husband Was Unfaithful Then Carver laughed n dry mirthless laugh Ho looked wistfully nt tho love tokens ho had brought Then ho turned quickly with a queer little lump In his throat somewhere and went to tho telephone After a time Yes Oh yes this Is Dick Malzlo CJo to the show tonight All right By tho way got a box ot bltterswepts for you Knew you liked VIM Uh huh I And Ifow do red roses strike you Ha ha Yes eight sure |