Show the SYNOPSIS in good faith in an effort to I 1 til ft a neighbor ruth ingraham Kraham In in a bual insi nesi way eldward patterson fatterson canh cah ler for 0 of the th chicago agency ot 0 t life insurance co company Is wrongly suspected s u s erected by h his wife julia ot of inn infidelity id oi h t her accusation crusat on in a letter from a oil M ro resort ort unfits him for business and he be t takes ak 3 a short vacation on him bis return he Is deeply wounded by his daughter daug edith telling him its his personal be belongings longings were in tho the spare room having been removed from the ro room which had been his and his wife cifes bedroom bedroom patterson accepts the situation as proof of his cifes belief in his gallt edith seventeen years old Is borri worried ed over the estrangement of her aar parents ants ner her mother only partly succeeds in her efforts to comfort her the son edward junior Is at college collet A bu business sinea matter brings nn an inventor J james mee mariner into pattersons Patter sons ufa ilag mariner needs with which to push his invention an automobile choke and patterson Is interested after a brief investigation he decides to so iro in with mariner without Inform informing inc his hi family he ha resigns from the 1 insurance sur company devoting hla his whole time t to the pushing of the invention an old friend albert NV wallard Wll lard Illard Is fran frankly ical of the value of the ch choke az patterson Pat torson tells h his s wife of the change he has made she accepts the situation edith to Is made aware of the change in the family fortunes by her mother telling her she has decided to part with the cook she and edith to do da the hous housework CHAPTER IV continued 6 after dinner in the sitting bitting room when dad find mr mariner lighted cigars and sat at together on the sofa talking business 1113 aaby aby fastened herself on poor mother she ngali apologized for the mistake shed made in telling pet that of course he must dress for dinner it had been such a stupid mistake she quite understood and of course it was a perfectly foolish custom anyway really from where edith sat she caught snatches too of the talk between mr mariner and dad dad agreeing with mr mariner once oace she saw him look startled do you ou mean they threaten to bring sult suit lie he asked and then with a glance around as if he feared lied hed spoken too loud he lowered his voice and asked some more questions that mr mariner seem to like to answer very well lie ile acted ns as if his feelings were hurt and hl his s voice sounded sulky but he act that way very long pretty soon he was talking again as eagerly as ever about nine with the explanation that she had bad some studying stud ing to do edith said good night to their guests and went neat up to her room but when she heard them go she came down again in tier her bathrobe to talk over the evening with mother and dad she the most awful woman you ever saw do you suppose hes hea really arnzy about her or would he like to kill her iles hes afraid of her I 1 expect e mother made the conventional adult protest but only halfheartedly half heartedly then the she said what was pretty outspoken for mother well I 1 hope for his sake the she does go to california soon but dad was really blue lie ile hardly seemed to be listening finally mother said she to be taken seriously Is she ned 1 I dont know he said absently 1 I guess not I 1 been thinking about her I 1 got a rather new line on him tonight lie ile face facts unless they agree with his hopes but of course to be expected from a man of hla his temperament and I 1 suppose its natural that lie he be very scrupulous about keeping his word or fulfilling his promises lie ile likes to be allowed to forget that lies hes made them but lie he talked tonight for the first time to me about changing his design I 1 hope I 1 succeeded in persuading him out of it tonight but I 1 dont know if the ti lings right as it stands he any argument the question everything comes down to if the things right well put it over mariner or no mariner lie ile rose stiffly from ills his easy chair an and tossed the end of ills his cigar into the grate crate there was another silence after that edith found it appalling she say bay anything she believe she could move and she knew that mother whose land hand was clasped in hers felt the same way lie ile looked around at thorn them at last and almost started as if hed forgotten they were there dont you worry you two he be said im not really worried myself ive seen nothing yet vet to make me think we arent right were going to mike make our fortunes yet 0 0 christmas was coming and id editha lahs heart sank whenever she thou thought ht of it in former years the weeks before the holidays had been a time of rapturous anticipation the other girls tit at school were like that now they talked endlessly about the letting out of school the round of parties things they wanted for christmas and had hinted for and hoped they were going to get they made edith so blue when they talked that way vay that she could hardly stand it certainly there going to bo be any money to spare tills this year she could tell by the way any dad looked when nhen he be came home night after night tor for dinner slid and sat forgetting even to pretend to listen while she and mother talked about things that lind had happened during the day the only reference he ever made to christmas was to figure out once in a while how many days it would be before ed got home from college ed had been told she know knew a little about tho the new business and that dad had resigned his position in the insurance company but how well be understood what the change meant to them she had no idea hed hardly mentioned it in his letters agatha willard would be coming home too in just a few days now agatha and ed were the only two people in the world besides father and mother whom she really loved yet she bhe found she dreaded their coming at least the she dreaded the occasion of their coming it was all A part of her passionate wish that christmas this year with all its hollow gaieties might simply be wiped out forgotten by everybody ever body so that they could go on from day to day just as they were without having to pretend she kept these dark thoughts to herself as long ions as she could but finally slie she burst and confided them to mother it was one afternoon when they were working up tip in her bedroom upon Clin charles clinkles rles surfaces costume mother she managed to make her voice sound casual enough III 1 I dont want any christmas present this year I 1 cant think of a thing after a silence she added still pretty shakily 1 I really mean that mother mother got up and came and put a pair of comforting arms about her it so bad as that ducky she said we cant do much this year of course but well manage to make it foel feel like christmas an anyhow how we must do that you know for eds sake the thing your 3 our father Is worried about lies ires afraid if ed finds out how things look just now hell want to stay right here and go to work instead of going back to college and that would be terrible ed must have hao a collego college education you jou know it aou would id make a difference to ills his whole life it if lie he do that 1 I wish he coming home edith said passionately or agatha either mother understood all right which w was Is a com comfort fort and but for something s she he said about sacrifices they might have to make edith would have hae felt a lot better belter for their talk it until hours afterward lying in bed trying to get off ff to sleep that she began wondering whether mother could really have been talking just about sacrifices in general or whether there was some special sacrifice that she foresaw she dare let herself think what it might be agatha got home two days before the performance of the play but edith h ardly had time to see her at all she almost felt hurt though perceptibly let down anyhow to find that agathas time was pretty well filled too she tried not to feel that way a bout about it it was silly bluy to wish that her best friend was dangling around forlornly with nothing to do but wait for her it have amounted to nn anything thing if she and agatha been such awfully good friends once it made her pretty melancholy when she had time to think about it ed they learned at last was getting home on the very day of the performance and not until dinner time just before or just after they tell for his telegram was obscure they had an early dinner which edith was too excited to eat and then she dressed at home in her charles surface costume father was to drive her to the school and then come back for mother and ed if he came she kept hoping of course up to tile the very last minute that hed arrive before she left but it came time to start before anything had been heard from him she felt awfully hollow as she put on an old quilted black silk cloak of mothers which shed borrowed because it came way any down to tier her tinkles and went out to get into the car another car a great big one which she immediately recognize pulled up at the curl right behind theirs just as she opened the front door A man with ith a sul suitcase tease was getting out why it was ed I 1 she cried out the fact to tier her mother and flew down doft n the walk to meet him naturally she forgot all about charles surface for a moment and she had something better to do with her hands than to keep that silk cloak huddled about her legs she at first see why E ed d should stop to stare at tier her in that bewildered way then she remembered and explained im dressed for the pla play Y its tonight at that he came to and hugged her enthusiastically mj bly but it was good to have him back I 1 what an idiot shed been to wish lie he coming dad got out of their car of course a and nd mother came hurrying hur down the walk the other car started to back a way away but a voice inside stopped it and another man got out hello edith lie said 1 I seen you ou la in years 1 it until he spoke that she knew who he was vas it was roger morgan she hardly knew him at nil all though the morgans lived in the next r street ile he was a grownup man three years 1 ears older than ed and a senior with wath tile the recognition she remembered how she was dressed and felt horribly young and foolish the play he asked Is it tonight 1 she nodded its its just a sort of foolish play were having at school the school for scandal im im supposed to be a man it was as impossible to disguise that fact as with tile the handshake the cloak hid had got away from her again what with the cold and her embarrassment tier her teeth were chattering so she was sure he could hear bear them what a perfect fool she must look to him I 1 A novel by henry kitchell webster copyright by the dobbs bobbs merrill co service dad rescued her by turning to tha thank lok roger for having brought ed to home ome from town but slie she realized as she bolted into her car that mr morgan had bad been in the act of saying something else when dad interrupted him something about coming himself to see the play lie he meant it of course but what on an idiot he m must think her to have dashed away like that without a word it was too late to do anything about it now lie he was saying good night in a very self po pos S hessed sort of way to mother and dad and getting back into his own car she was warm enough now burning she threw back her cloak and let down the window lie ile possibly have meant that he really wanted to come and see the play could he oh well he certainly now eds looking well he dad said as they drove olt off together and it fine to have him back she was guiltily aware that shed forgotten all about ed shed evon even forgotten tor for a few seconds about the III im supposed to be a man it wax was impossible to disguise that fact as aa with the handshake t the h a cloak had got away from hop her again play and here she was actually on the way to the performance I 1 Sup suppose porge she were to forget her part when dad pulled up at the entrance with a well good luck my dearl well see you after the show she was so paralyzed with misery that she could hardly get out of the car and though she have believed it possible she went on feeling worse and worse she discovered she cou speak in anything above a whisper her voice was gone altogether her feet and hands were numb shed thought and passionately hoped she was going to be frightfully ill und find her unconscious there in her corner that would stop the play better that than disgrace she really believed something like that was going to happen perhaps shed better tell miss cennett bennett but miss bliss bennett took her plight calmly she said an utterly unbelievable lie Ile vable thing stage fright well a good sign the greatest actors they say always have it worst ive heard it said that john barrymore whenever lie he opens a new play feels just as bad as you do now 11 she knew that possible yet there was a flavor of comfort in it the miracle happen until she had been some minutes on the stage she heard herself saying the first few lines but she was sure that nobody in the audience could hear but when they brought uncle oliver onto the stage and moses introduced him something queer happened to tier her she forgot that she had forgotten that speech she heard herself saying it in a new voice that hers at all it was charles surfaces light clear vibrant she made of wood any more slie she was made of mr air she felt rather heard a sort of electrical crackle of amusement it came from the audience she had made them do it she could make them do it whenever she spoke it was the roost most wonderful thing that ever happe happened nei in the world in the wings she kept away from the other girls she had a feeling that if she talked or even listened to what they said the virtue would go 90 out of tier her she went on feeling queerly remote almost disembodied after the thing was over triumphantly over an acclaimed success and people came and hugged her or kissed her through the makeup and told tier her how perfectly splendid shed been it was delicious but it possible to realize vint that it was over that she would probably never be charles surface again it would have made her blue if she could have realized that but she the one thing that really broke through was what miss bliss bennett said youre a real actress edith and im proud of you they were going to have a short dance after the performance but edith want to stay for it she just wanted to be ba quiet for a while and all alone allone so that she could go on living it ed come home with them ile he and agatha were going to stay and dance 0 4 0 0 the house was still rather queer that was it be so awfully early since there was daylight in the r room 0 omi but it possibly be late either shed lain awake most of the night and what sleep shed had bad had been a mere succession of naps dis als by dreams was ed awake yet she called to him film not loudly enough to waken him if he be were asleep but so that he could hear in the adjoining room if lie he were awake it would be awfully nice to have him come in in his pajamas and sit down on the edge of the bed and have a good to long 0 g talk before it was time to get up and dress shed earned a mornings rest mother had said and to bother about helping with the breakfast ed answer lie he must have come home awfully late for she heard him come in she got up and shut the window and then tapped on his door no answer she opened it and looked in his bed was empty she padded out to the head of the for a look at the hall clock half past ten it bea be 1 the clock must have stopped last night but it was ticking away with an air of self conscious rectitude as if it knew it was right she heard tier her mother coming up the stairs wheres ed she asked oh he went out about a half hour ago go mother |