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Show MISS LULU BETT By ZONA GALE ' Copyright by D. Apple ton & Company i I "D N SHAMEI" SYNOPSIS. General factotum In the house of her elster Ina, wife of Herbert Deacon, In the email town of Warblelon, Lulu Bett leads a ilull, cramped existence, with whkh he Is constantly at enmity, though apparently satisfied with her' lot. To Mr. Deacon comes Bobby Lar--kin, recently graduated high-school youth, secretly enamored of Deacon's Dea-con's elder daughter, Diana, an applicant ap-plicant for a "job" around tile ' Df-acon house. He is engaged. The family is excited over the news of an approaching visit from Deacon's Dea-con's brother Kinlan, whom he had not seen for many years. Deacon jokes with Lulu, with subtle meaning, mean-ing, cyncernlng the coming meet-ng. meet-ng. Lulu is interested and speculative, specu-lative, meanwhile watching with something like envy tho boy-and-glrl love-making of Bobby and Diana. Di-ana. Unexpectedly, Ninian arrives. Thus lie becomes acquainted with i.ulu first and in a measure understand: under-stand: her position in the house. To Lulu, Ninian is a much-traveled ' man of the world, and even the alight Interest which he takes in her is appreciated, because It is something new In her life. And .Nin.an appears to like Lulu. The family takes an outing, with Important Im-portant results. Ill Continued. 6 "Those wlio disregard the comfort of other people," he enunciated, "cannot e;,ppct consideration for themselves In the future." lie did not say on what ethical tenet this dictum was based, but he delivered deliv-ered it with extreme authority. Ina caught her lower lip with her teeth, dipped her head and looked at DI. And Monona laughed like a little demon. As iioon as Lulu had all in readiness, and cold corned beef and salad had begun be-gun (heir orderly progression, Dwlght became the Immemorial dweller In green fastnesses. He began: "This Is Ideal. I tell you, people don't half know life If they don't get out and eat in the open. It's better than any tonic at a dollar the bottle. Nature's tonic eh? Free as the air. Look at that sky. See that water. Could anything be more pleasant?" He smiled at his wife. This man's face was glowing with simple pleasure. He loved the out-of-doors with a love which could not explain itself. But he now lost a definite climax when his w lfe's comment was heard to be : "Monona I Now It's all over both ruffles. And mamma does try so hard. . . ." After supper some boys arrived with a boat which they beached, and Dwlght, ' with enthusiasm, gave the boys ten cents for a half hour's use of that boat and invited to the waters his wife, his brother and his younger daughter. Ina was timid not because be-cause she was afraid, but because she was congenltally. timid with her this was not a belief or an emotion, it was a disease. "Dwight, darling, are you sure there's no danger?" "Why, none. None In the world. Whoever heard of drowning in a river?" . "But you're not so very used " , Oh, wasn't he? Who was it that had lived in a boat throughout youth, If not lie? Ninian refused out-of-hand, lighted a cigar, and sat on a log In a permanent perma-nent fashion. Ina's plump figure was fitted In the stern, the child Monona ullixed, and the boat put off, how well out of w:iler. On this pleasure ride the face of the wife was as the face of the damned. "It was true that she revered her husband's opinions above those of nil olher men. In politics, in science, In religion, in dentistry, she looked up to Ills dicta as to revelation. And was he not a magistrate? But let him lake oars in hand, or shake lines or a whip above the back of any horse, and I his woman would trust any other woman's husband by preference. It was a phenomenon. I.ulu was making the work last, so that she should be out of everybody's ay. When the boat put olT without Kinlan, she felt a kind of terror and wished that he had gone. lie had i;it down near her, and she pretended j ot to see. At last Lulu understood 1 iiit Ninian was deliberately choosing t remain with her. The languor of 1 :s !julk after the evening meal made i o explanation for I.ulu. She asked t a- no explanation. He bad stayed. Ard they were alone. Kor I'i. on a reiext of examining the Hocks and 1 erds. was leading l'.ohby away to the pastures, a little at a time. The sun, now fallen, had left an even, waxen sky. Leaves and ferns appeared drenched with the light .jusl withdrawn. The hush, the warmth, the color, were charged with some influence. in-fluence. The air of the time communicated communi-cated Itself to I.ulu as intense and quiet happiness. She had not yet fell quiet with Ninian. i-"or the first time her blind excitement In his presence ceased, and she felt curiously aeons turned to him. To him the air of the time imparted itself Jn a deepening of his facile sympathy. "Do you know something'.'" he began. be-gan. "I think you have it pretty hard around here." "I?" I.ulu was genuinely astonished. aston-ished. "Yes. sir. Po you have to work-like work-like this all the time? I guess you won't mind my asking." "Well. I ought to work. I have a home with tJ em. Mother, too." "Yes, hut glory! You ought to have some kind of a life of your own. You want it, too. You told me yen did hat first day." She was silent. Again be was !n-.resfimr !n-.resfimr her with a longing which she !j . had never really had, until he had planted that longing. She had wanted she knew not what. Now she accepted accept-ed the dim, the romantic Interest of this role. "I guess you don't see how It seems," he said, "to me, coming along a stranger so. I don't like It." He frowned, regarded the river, flicked away ashes, his diamond obediently obedi-ently shining. Lulu's look, her head drooping, had the liquid air of the look of a young girl. For the first time in her life she was feeling her helplessness. It Intoxicated her. "They're very good to me," she said. He turned. "Do you know why you think that? Because you've never had anybody really good to you. That's why." "But they treat me good." "They make a slave of you. Regular Regu-lar slave." He puffed, frowning. "D d shame, I call it," he said. Her loyalty stirred Lulu. "We have our whole living " "And you earn it. I been watching you since I been here. Don't you ever go anywheres?" She said : "This is the first place in in years." "Lord! Don't you want to? Of course you do 1" "Not so much places like this " "I see. What you want Is to get away like yo;:'d ought to." He regarded re-garded her. "Y'ou've been a blamed fine-looking woman," he said. She did not flush, but the faint, unsuspected un-suspected Lulu spoke for her: "You must have been a good-looking man once yourself." His laugh went ringing across the water. "You're pretty . good," he said. He regarded her approvingly. "I don't see how you do It," he mused, "blamed If I do." "How I do what?" "Why come back, quick like that, with what you say." Lulu's heart was beating painfully. The effort to hold her own In talk like this was terrifying. She had never talked In this fashion to anyone. It was as if some matter of life or death hung on her ability to speak an alien tongue. And yet, when she was most at loss, that other Lulu, whom she had never known anything about, seemed suddenly to speak for her. As now : "It's my grand education," she said. She sat humped on the log, her beautiful hair shining In the light of the warm sky. She had thrown off her hat and the linen duster, and was In her blue gingham gown against the sky and leaves. But she sat stiffly, plilalllm,.. "Wouldn't It Be Fun to Elope and Surprise the Whole School?" Said Di, Sparkling. her feet carefully covered, her hands III at ease, her eyes rather piteous in their hope somehow to hold her vague own. Yet from her came those suflieient, insouciant replies. "Kdueatii'n," lie said laugh in ir heartily. heart-ily. "That's mine, tee." lie spoke a creed. "I ain't never had it and I ain't never missed it." "Most folks are happy without an education." said I.ulu. "You'pj not very happy, though." "Oh, no," she said. "Well, sir," said Ninian. "I'll tell ymi what we'll do. While I'm here i'jn going to take you ai'el ina and Pwlght up 10 the city." "To the oil ?" "To a show. Pinner and a show. I'll :1vi mui en" good time." 'Oh!" Lulu h-anei! forward. "Ina nod Pwigkt go sometimes. I never been." "Well, just you come witli me. I'll look up what's good. You tell me Jest what you like to eat. and we'll et it--" "1 haven't had anything to en; in years that I haven't eooko.l . nivseif." llo planned for that th'to to eoni-v and Lulu listened as one inp us.dy experiencing ex-periencing every word that he uttered. Yet it was not in that future merrymaking merry-making that she found h'-r joy. htit in !he cotiseieusr.oss the.! Ih some one-:iny,rtte one-:iny,rtte was planning like this for her. Veanwl He Pi "',.! Hobby had rounded round-ed tin' corner by an old hop house trad kept on ("own 'i:e levee. 'vV 'hat the pro-enoe of the o!k, -is w: s wt'h-drawn, wt'h-drawn, the two looked ahoet them differently dif-ferently ami began themselves to cvp i off an Influence Instead of heing j pressed upon by oTerpowerlng personalities. person-alities. Frogs were chorusing In tho near swamp, and Bobby wanted one. He was off after It. But PI eventually eventu-ally drew him hack, reluctant, frog-less. frog-less. He entered upon fin exhaustive account of the use of frogs for bait, and as he talked he constantly flung stones. DI grew restless. There was, she had found, a certain amount of this to be gone through before Bobby would focus on the personal. At length she was obliged to say, "Like me today?" And then he entered upon personal talk with the same zest with which he had discussed bait. "Bobby," said Dl, "sometimes I think we might be married, and not wait for any old money." They had now come that far. It was partly an authentic attraction, grown from out the old repulsion, and partly it was that they both and especially es-pecially Di so much wanted the experiences ex-periences of attraction that they assumed as-sumed Its ways. And then each cared enough to assume the pretty role required re-quired by the other, and by the occasion, occa-sion, and by the air of the time. "Would you?" asked Bobby but in the subjunctive. "She said : "Yes, I will." "It would mean running away, wouldn't It?" said Bobby, still subjunctive. sub-junctive. "I suppose so. Mamma and pnpa are so unreasonable." "Di," said Bobby, "I don't believe you could ever be happy with me." "The Idea ! I cun, too. You're going go-ing to be a great man you know you are." Bobby was silent. Of course he knew it but he passed it over. "Wouldn't It be fun to elope and surprise the whole school?" said Di, sparkling. Bobby grinned appreciatively. He was good to look at, with his big frame, his head of rough, dark hair, the sky warm upon his clear skin and full mouth. Dl suddenly announced that she would be willing to elope now. "I've planned eloping lots of times," she said ambiguously. It flashed across the mind of Bobby that in these plans of hers he may not always have been the principal, and he could not be sure . . . But she talked in nothings, and he answered an-swered her so. Soft cries sounded in the center of the stream. The boat, well out of the strong current, was seen to have its oars shipped ; and there sat Dwight Herbert gently rocking the boat. Dwight Herbert would. "Bertie, Bertie please!" you heard bis Ina say. Monona began to cry, and her father fa-ther was Irritated, felt that it would be ignominious to desist, and did not know that he felt this. But he knew that he was annoyed, and he took refuge In this, and picked up the oars with : "Some folks never can enjoy anything without spoiling it." "That's what I was thinking," said Inn, with a flash of anger. They glided toward the shore In a huff. Monona found that she enjoyed crying across the water and kept it up. It was almost ns good as an echo. Ina, stepping safe to the sands, cried ungratefully that this was tho last time that she would ever, ever go with her husband anywhere. Ever. Dwight Herbert, recovering, gauged the moment to require of him humor, and observed that his wedded wife was as skittish as a colt. Ina kept silence, head poised so that her full little chin showed double. Monona, who had previously hidden a cooky in her frock, now remembered it and crunched sidewise, the eyes ruminant. Moving toward them, with Pi, Bobby was suddenly overtaken by the sense of disliking them all. He never had liked Dwight Herbert, his employer. Mrs. Peaeon seemed to him so overwhelmingly over-whelmingly mal-ire that he had no Idea how to treat her. And the child Monona he would like to roll in the river. Kven Pi . . . lie fell silent, was silent on the walk home, which was the signal for Di to tottso him steadily. The little being was afraid of silence. It was too vast for her. She was like a butterfly in a dome. But against that background of ruined ru-ined occasion. I.ulu w-ked homeward beside Ninian, And all that night, he-side he-side her mother who groaned in her sleep. Lulu lay tense and awake. lie laid walked home witli hi r. lie had fold Ina ami Herbert about going to liie oily. Whal did it mean? Suppose Sup-pose , oh no ; h no ! "lather lay still or get up and set up." Mrs. I'.elt directed her at length. "Why not say the wadding service?" asked Ninir-n. itci m: i.iim im tin |