Show The W Woman Who And And Earned TheA A MODERN STORY OF HOME AND BUSINESS By Jane Phelps S S. S S. S CHAPTER 21 My Iy what a a. whopper Mary Ryan said sak as we went upstairs together What do you jou OU mean ean I had forgotten what I 1 had bad s said ld about expecting a friend I r I like to know know who you expect this evening I l' l iwas was sort of planning to in invite In- In vite Vito myself to visit you jou ou Well you are the friend I 1 meant so EC sowe sowe we are both satisfied and It wasn't such sucha a whopper after all Then I I 1 have s a anew new flew magazine Well We'll read aloud I 1 fellI felt fell feltI I 1 couldn couldn't t talk even to Mary Roberts Robert action so unlike him hii made me uneasy Why didn't he tell me who he was going With i S SC C be bully I I will read a and you yoi can listen It will 1 be as good as a lesson lessor In English for me lI l i I readily agreed Mary M ry would not notice notice notice no no- tice it If I 1 were a bit inattentive Heres Here s what looks like a a. good story Mary Iary Judged the merit of a a. story by the amount ot of dialogue and the length of ol the paragraphs if the latter were lt lung ng she discarded the story as prosy anc and would have none of It Mary had a pleasant voice and he her reading had a soothing effect upon me Inc although I 1 was not listening Really I 1 had not heard a single word when sh she stopped and said Aint that true Read it over again Mary I did not quite catch it A man doesn't like a divided affection affection tion she repeated Then Aint It true They are selfish that is most men mer menI merI I ever heard of are They dont don't want to tc divide up with another man or with a ahat a ahat ahat hat or anything You queer girl The Idea of ot dividing an affection with a hat I I mean It It The only thing a man dont don't object to dividing Up with is the dishpan and the stove Then he aint never Jealous jealous jealous Jeal jeal- ous of no matter what happens Now listen to this she ho picked up the magazine magazine maga maga- zine zinc and commenced to read John Mercer was a domestic man yet he never had been domestic He lie had lived In boarding houses practically all his life Ho He envied the man with a little home wife and children more than he envied the millionaire who had none of ol these things Ho lIo worked hard and his work had always behind It the thought of a home a wife In that home perhaps children He used to dream of coming home at night to a cozy dinner with his wife and of how they would do up the work together and have long happy evenings evenings evenings eve eve- either talking over their plans for forthe forthe forthe the future or In some Innocent pleasure they could afford Also he was a a. sociable soul lIe He longed to be able to ask his friends to share a bit of his home comforts To play the host When ho he found all his dreams had failed to come true he became became became be be- came morose lost Interest In his work and then when Natalie Natalle his wife Insisted upon keeping her position he was Jealous jealous Jeal jeal- ous of the divided affection she gave him Mary stopped again where It says a man doesn't like a divided affection You see this man In the story got a small salary and his wife kept on working after they were married He lie let her because he loved hor and was afraid h hI ho couldn't give her all she wanted But all the time he was sore down inside He lie wasn't the showy kind He Just wanted a home and kids That Natalie didn't care very much about them either unless either unless other women had them Aint It funny Gerry Ger how folks what write stories tell teU things just like they are in real life I 1 used to think all stories was fairy stories that they was Just meant to amuse folks But It aint so Stories tells real things and helps people to see seo their mistakes and be happy Dont Don't you think so Oh I dont don't know I SI know you didn't hear har a word I was reading but I guess you have to listen when I talk Youre You're worrying over Robert Rob Rob- ert because ert-because because he stayed out Hes He's allright all allright allright right Gerry Only ho he dont don't want to di divide divide di- di vide his affection with women's lids lIes lIe's like this man In the story Nonsense You always apply everything everything everything every every- thing you read to someone Run Hun alon alonto along to bed It Is getting late We will finish the story another time I did not care to have even Mary with me when Robert Robert Robert Rob Rob- ert came home CHAPTER 22 After Mary went I stood by the window and watched for Robert I thought of his depression and wondered Idly if Mary could be right right Mary Mary and the writer of that story I 1 shrugged Surely no one could expect a woman earning as much as I did to throw up UI her position and grub along on half halt the amount because a man wanted a ahome ahome home or was tired of boarding house cooking That was vas too childish C U UI I 1 must have a long talk with Robert I decided If he were ambitious and we saved saved we we had not yet saved much of anything anything my my clothes took the greater part of what I earned we would have haie a ahome ahome ahome home after a few years But If he lost his ambition let the other men In the J office office- outstrip him we never could have havea a home not home not a decent one I had Just arrived at this point in my cogitations when I saw him swinging up the street sheet I breathed a sigh of relief as asI asI asI I saw how briskly he walked He lie had hadnot hadnot hadnot not been drinking Still up up Why didn't you go to bed he asked when he came in 1 I had seated myself with the magazine Someway I Idid Idid Idid did not want him to catch me watching for him Mary Iary has been down She read aloud to me Im glad you weren't alone he Kissed me i called the shop but they said you had left I 1 met Marlon MarIon and she had two tickets for John McCormack's concert concert concert con con- cert tonight Her brother was going with her but he had to go back to the school for some reason and she had no escort She offered to give me the tickets That I Iwas was when I called you up When I couldn't get you I proposed we go together to to- gether Then she insisted I 1 go home to dinner with her you her you see I never know when you will get home he added apologetically apologetically apolo apolo- so 50 I hurried home here and changed then went up there to dinner A dandy one too I 1 wished you could have been with me Everything tasted so good Did you have a nice time at the concert concert concert con con- I cert Wonderful What a voice that man 1 has Its It's great to be able to give so i many people pleasure Isn't It It Hes He's so generous with his encores also You j must go and hear him the next time he sings Robert was passionately fond of music I used to tell him he should have I been a musician he loved it soWell so Well Vell go together next time I replied replied re- re I plied quietly a queer little Jealous feel- feel Ing tugging at my heart He had enjoyed so thoroughly and with someone else You mean we will If it we can afford It The tickets are pretty expensive Marions Marion's s were sent her by a friend of her father Bully seats too right down front on an the aisle Well dont don't you think we better go to tobed tobed tobed bed I expect we had Im I'm not a abit bit sleepy he commenced to hum an air he had heard You must get your rest You can cant can't t work If you jou OU do not and I dont don't want them to put any more of the clerks over aver you ou I had not meant to say anything of the sort It Just slipped out When I 1 saw him flush I felt terribly sorry and changed the subject ct rather I tried to to They advance the one they think most capable who capable who gets them the most business business business busi busi- ness he returned moodily the happy light gone from his eyes his voice hard and coldWell cold Well Veil you must be that one one I replied then hurried hun him to bed so that he would not talk of anything disagreeable But long after he slept I thought of him and Marion Marlon Hovey enjoying the concert to together together together to- to gether while I sat at home and wondered Wondered wondered won won- dered if Robert were beginning to lose his love for me He wouldn't have done It t when we were first married I 1 whispered and I 1 Iam Iam am Just the same as I 1 was then That he expected me to be any different different different dif dif- dif dif- ferent as a wife I did not Imagine He loved me before we were married why should his love lovo change afterward when conditions were Just the same Continued tomorrow |