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Show WHAT IT MAY COME TO. The Case of a Husband, Wife and the Other Man. ' "Jim, pass the toast rack." "I beg your pardon, dear." "You get worse, Jim." "Do I, really?" "Every day. Er Jim?" "Sweetheart?" I1 "I wish you'd dismiss the butler' for a few minutes; I have something to say to you." "Certainly Williams! " "Yes, sir."-"Just sir."-"Just leave Mrs. Vermilye and me alone j awhile, and see that we are not disturbed during j breakfast." "Very good, sir." "Sophy, my love, let me help you to a sole just a tiny one?" j "You'll have me hog-fat, Jim. No, not that Ione; the cute little fellow there. That's it, thank you." m "Well, Sophy, let's have the secret." "It isn't a secret, Jim." ! "Well, it is to me, isn't it?" i "Yes, I suppose so. You'll promise not to be j er violent, won't you, Jim?" "Violent, Sophy? What on earth have you done? Gambled the house away at your infernal bridge?" "Worse than that, Jim." "I'll bet it's money you're after, Sophy." "Oh, you'll never guess. Can you stand a real shock?" "Well, don't forget that I'm five thousand short of Union and it's up six points from where I sold it." "Jim, dear, don't you understand?" , "Don't ask such a woman's question. What's I up?" " , - i "I want a divorce!" 1 "Just half a cup, dear, please. A divorce, eh?" 1 "Are you fearfully angry, Jim?" "I'm surprised. Who is he?" "Jim!" "Oh, that's It, is it? I'm the cause, and not another! " , "Of course not, you stupid! If you must know, it's" "No, Sophy, don't tell me. I did not mean to be inquisitive, dear." "You never are, Jim. You've always been so perfectly darling about everything, and I feel just horribly mean, but Oh, well, Jim, you know, dear, we've been married nearly three years." "Gracious, have we?" "All but a month." "Why, it seems only yesterday that I married you, Sophy." "It's just dear of you to say that, Jim." "Well, we've certainly managed famously, haven't we?" "Famously, Jim, and you have never given me cause for one regret!" "And you are sure you are not making a mistake, mis-take, Sophy?" c , "One can never be sure of anything, Jim, but I am reasonably sure. I've thought the matter over for several months past." "You little malefactor! And I never even dreamed of such a thing." "It wasn't easy to tell you, Jim, but I just had to be square and above board." "You always have been, Sophy." "And you are just a tiny scrap sorry, aren't you, Jim?" "Why, of course." "I am, too, Jim. In fact, I might have hesitated hesi-tated much longer, but I know that you also have other " "Now, Sophy!" "Oh, I don't blame you, Jim. Mrs. Van Dueven is perfectly ultra, in spite of her hair." "You never will forgive Mrs. Van for being a widow, will you?" "Why, certainly! I always did believe in the survival of the fittest." "You little monster!" "And you love her, Jim, which Is more to the Pp IHl point." mm HHi "Love her, Sophy?" Bl UH "Don't you?" SB HH "Oh, come, now, I never neglected you for MHli I9H Mrs. Van or " 1Mh 991 "Of course not. You've been bully in all HflE' iflifl things, Jim, and I don't like you one scrap less HH Hl than when I married you. Do you me?" SHI HH "It would not appear so, now that I'm going HUH i to release you." lIBt HBfl "I knew you would do the honorable, the nice SBI fiH thing, Jim." MB fH "But I'd like to be certain that you're acting JfBI Hl wisely." wSr iH "I've investigated him, Jim, in Bradstreet's!" jfljfll ' !H "You designing little fox! You see, dear, I Uroli fll wouldn't like to have you marry for love alone. mfflk IB That's a capital thing for the middle classes Ollll HflB where there's nothing else to marry for, but you $lf raB would find it prety hard now to get along with- HrH' IhB out your horses and the car." Is fill fl "Yes, I know, Jim." jj&ffl& H "I insist that I do not wish to be inquisitive, llBf' fflSV Sophy, or even to appear so, because it is not a Hfli HH man's province to meddle in his wife's affairs, nor UBS? BB hers to pry into his. But perhaps it might be Msf!' H well for you to confide his name to me, unless I'lEj JfH you have any very strong objections." ff IftH "Certainly, Jim. It's Dick." jl ,H "Farm an?" W ' H "H'm." WW H "Goodness, I had not the remotest idea! I'd ifr kI have given odds on Colonel Violet." JHIlS ' 11 "The Colonel was only an experiment, Jim. , "Ik' . gH I really love Dick." 1j,; H "Ah, well; that gives the affair a rosier com- m''-! 119 plexion. Farman's well able to take care of you, Wmj I H and handsomely, too." if; jSp wM "You are not more than a little angry, are ik'fflf' ' H you, Jim?" ''jjp' ' 9fl "Angry? I should say not. Why, Dick's one ,tm 9&M of my best friends." , WM "He said he thought you'd be decent about it." m ' BH "I should think so, indeed. Sophy, I congratu- $? flH 'i jIm' late you. Give me another cup of coffee, dear." " "I have not considered the best way to go about it, Jim." , "Desertion's the only nice way at present, Sophy, though the Divorce by Mutual ''onsent Bill is expected to go through almost any day now." "Of course, Jim, I want to suit your convenience." conveni-ence." "Nonsense, girlie. If my attorney has no better bet-ter solution to offer, I'll take an early boat to Europe and cut off your allowance, and then it'll be plain sailing for you." "You go to Europe, Jim?" "Why, what did you suppose?" "Well, I did not suppose that you would give me a divorce." "My dear Sophy, you surely did not think that I would allow you to give me one?" "Yes, I had thought that, Jim. The mere fact of your willingness to give me my freedom would have justified all my faith in your generosity." "Sophy, I have always vowed to do anything to insure your welfare and happiness, and I shall not prove derelict in my duty toward you now." "Then, you'll see your attorney first thing?" "I'll go there direct this morning and arrange everything." "It's too bad that you should have to chase off to Europe on my account, Jim." "No, now that I think of it, Sophy, the trip will be rather timely. There's that ' confounded indictment pending against me in connection with the Free and Easy Savings Bank, and Black said I'd better be absent when I'm wanted. It'll be coming up shortly, too." , "Well, we have been happy, haven't we, Jim?" "Very happy, Sophy, and I shall always remember re-member our married life with a sense of the keenest pleasure. By the way, are you coming to Lenox tomorrow?" "Yes, if you wish it, Jim." "Not enthusiastic, eh?" "Dick isn't!" "Oh! I forgot." "Mrs. Mulholland has invited us both to join a week-end party at her country place. Says she knows we're perfectly hopeless!" "Well, come and give me another kiss before I'm crowded out of your affections completely!" "That makes five this morning, Jim. Diok would have a fit." "What a head you have for arithmetic, Sophy!" "There's a knock, Jim. Williams, C fancy. Come in!" "The car's waiting, sir." "I'll be right out, Williams." "Very good, sir." "Well, good-morning, Sophy." "Good-morning, Jim and thank you." "Oh, nonsense, Sophy. What's a little thing like a divorce between a man and his wife? See you at dinner. Good-bye!" F. Irving-Fletcher, in Town Topics. |
