Show THE THE STORY OF PA A BOOTLEGGERS BOOTLEGGER'S WIFE As Told Fold to Mary Margaret McBride Copyright 1926 by C Current News Features Inc 1 JOE 1 JOE OE TELLS A SECRET I married a bootlegger in a little New EW York Baptist t church locate located in the Thirties hirt e not far from East River I t had only onh known him tw two j months and I believed he was a rea real estate agent That's what the col col- col- col lege friend from Missouri who introduced introduced introduced in in- in- in us said he was I remember remember remember ber her very words m Hes really an awfully nice pay boy oy Elsie Ralph likes him a lot think they've had business dealing dealings s I If of some sort Hes He's in real estate I Ralph says I Business dealings dealings' Yes I suppose sup sup- I I pose they did have business dealings deal deal- ings Olive doesn't yet et know wha what t i kind But But I do I round found out exact exact- i Ily ly three weeks after that afternoon n in n the little Baptist church W We were vere married in a Baptist church h l L' L cause I was a Baptist back i in n Missouri And queerly enough Ben my husband was brought up a Baptist Baptist Bap Bap- too In those first days of ou our r I courtship this was a great bond between between between be be- be- be tween us us Uk Ben was born in Illinois and from all he has said of pf hi his s father and mother they must have been a good deal like o mine hard mine hard hardworking working people with very little e mone money but plenty of ambition ambition- for their children There were six o ous o f fus us and seven in Bens Ben's family His father and mother are both dead Mine are living LIKED TO SPEND MONEY MONE When he first fell In love with me Ben spent money on me the way a g person does when he has never neve r known what it is to have mone money y and then suddenly gets bets a good deal He sent me roses roses great great big re rec red do d ones ones and and chocolates until I had t to o beg him to consider my figure I really loved it it though Every beau I ever had before was too poor fo for r such luxuries and some way ay tr tras try y as I would I could never Just shut shu t my eyes and let a man spend on on I me when I knew he ought not t tafford to o afford it So if it the beau Leau was inclined in inclined inclined in in- to be reckless I r alts al always alays ays talked him out of it and later of course he spent everything he had on some other girl But there was no talking Ben ou out t of ot anything When I tried to protest protest protest pro pro- test he closed my lips with kisses This was after atter we were engaged engage d and when I worried about finances he tie said Honey dont don't you OU bother Ive I've got got plenty of money and I Im I'm m going to have more more HOW IT ALL BEGAN I believed him too He was such sucha a big SU su au tanned sort of creature with an air of owning the earth and andI I loved him He had much in in com com- mon His education had been the same as mine mine four four years ears in a afresh fresh resh water educational o-educational college Then we had each come come to New NewYork NewYork NewYork York to seek our fortunes I wanted wanted want- want ed d to do social service work but butIn butin In n the two years before I met Ben BenI I was a d. stenographer I met very few men nten uen and those few were different different dif- dif ferent erent some way from the home boys I couldn't get used to cocktails cocktails cocktails cock cock- tails and smoking for women women women wo wo- men yet everybody else seemed to take ake these things for granted r I had lad about decided I should never neer fit it in with the city when one day Imet I Imet Imet met Olive Wallace Vallace an old school friend She asked me to dine at ather ather her little Greenwich Village apartment apart apart- ment ment mene and nd Ben was there too It all aU began that evening He took ook me home and when he left lect meat me at it the door I knew w he to kiss me He didn't do it it though an and l I also knew knew- why He Ire looked ed on meas me meas as s a nice girl Even in this day clay of if flappers and a flip younger generation generation gen- gen ration nice girls from back home dont don't let a m mart man n kiss them the very first night lIe He kissed me mo a week later though hough and we were engaged There was vas no reason i why we shouldn't be married quickly for my folks liked what I told them of Ben My mother was relieved I think that I would woula now have respectable protection in inI ina n na a city which she regarded as too wild for her daughter She planned I to o come on for the wedding but my father ather was ill at the time and so I Ben and I like so many other young I couples in New York simply walked to the Little Church Around the Corner and were were I married I I We e spent our honeymoon in Can Can- ada It was Ben who chose Canada merely asking me in an offhand way if that would be all right Anything Anything Anything Any Any- thing was all right with me In those days even the fact that Ben spent considerable time away from our hotel He Pie said he had to see a I fellow I didn't mind because Q I IWas was already planning how we the would furnish the little Long Island home that Ben had bought before our marriage Much as I loVed oiled that little house Ben and I had almost quarreled about it I thought it was as too expensive ex- ex expensive expensive ex ex- pensive for us but he said it was nothing to What wed we'd have eventual eventual- ly He seemed so sure th that I was convinced too We Ve were away for two taro weeks week eek anc and when we the cam came hack back w went nt straight out to our new home At the station station station sta sta- tion a darling little coupe was waiting wait wait- waiting ing for us us' A wedding present said BenNICE DenNICE Ben Den NICE LITTLE HOME The shack as Ben called it was ws really a very nice little house set setin setin setin in a wide lawn not far from the bay The green shutters were thrown open to the afternoon sunshine sunshine sun sun- sun sun- shine and to my surprise the in inside inside in- in side was done don in period furni ture tore Even with my limited experience ex experience experience ex- ex I could see the hand of 01 a decorator and I began to worry again about expenses Ben grew rather impatient with me I right then learned my first lesson les les- son that son that men dont don't like lute their sur Bur surprises surprises spoiled by any nagging about expense I decided to bottle up my 01 misgivings and was rewarded by finding in my husband an amiable admiring lover Just the same it it seems to me that a faint premonition premonition premonition pre pre- monition of disaster haunted me There were little things 1 I couldn't understand Ben was out so much at night There were so many queer telephone calls for him and his lis side of the conversation was al always always al- al ways so noncommittal even fur fur- tive It was was just a week eek after atter our homecoming that he told me two friends of his were Invited to din din- ner I was glad for I w wanted him to feel that our home was wa always open to his guests I got the very best jest dinner I could and dressed myself my my- myself self in a a little rose-colored rose frock that hat was the greater part of my trousseau MEN NICE-LOOKING NICE BUT BUT BUT- The guests guest were vere men nice look ing ng but different from Ben In Indeed Indeed Indeed In- In deed the they puzzled me until with tl tI the e force orce of a sledge hammer one of I them hem opened my eyes to ever everything thin It t was at the dinner table and the two wo whom Ben called Steve and Joe were going at my nice beef beefsteak beefsteak beefsteak steak with more gusto than politeness po- po Fine little woman observed Joe approvingly with his mouth full She got used to your yet yet Ben Den Now my missus misses What happened after that is like some dreadful nightmare t tp us How Jow those few words which in themselves might have meant nothing at all cr ed crystallized my growing growing grow- grow ing ng anxiety I cannot explain I think hink I asked Ben then and there what his friend mEal meant t. t It was teas soon all too evident My little house house- the he little house that had meant so much to was me-was was bought with bootlegging boot- boot legging egging money The roses and chocolates of our courtship came from that too And even the honeymoon trip to Canada was partly business I can remember Bens Ben's booming voice and then myself myself my- my self elf sobbing h hysterically behind the locked door of our little bedroom Tomorrow For Better or OP for Worse e. e |