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Show ILOVE and MARRIED IIFEl frty. the noted author J i Idaih MCHciae tsihson 1 A M03U5NTOUS DECISION. "What has iuy stupid brother bconl doln?r now?" asked Alice agoin. "He has asked mo to send hlin tho key to my safety deposit box 30 that he can get that pin he gave mo and have the stolie react, although he knows I sold It to you. He says that he has notlcedjlhat 1 have not been wearing It and that ho' suspects that. T . 111. it.. .11 it i. uu iiul iifu liiu auiiuif;- Alice laughed si hard that she became be-came almost hysterical but when sho could pet her breath she said: "Well. I always know John was stupid but I really did not thi.nk he w'i.,as dense a-3 that." "John doesn't know that I overheard over-heard you telling him that I had already al-ready sold you tho pin and ho probably prob-ably thinks ho Is doing a very clevor thing and will bring me to soma explanation ex-planation as to why I haven't it." "Do you know what he thinks you will do?" said Alico suddenly. "No. What?" "He imagines that you will buy tho pin back from mo rather than tell him what you did with it." "I shall do nothing of the kind," 1 replied making a quick decision. "What will you do then?" To Explain It AN, "I ohall tako this occasion to explain ex-plain tho whole matter to him. I think ho should know to what straits I was driven just before I wont to Atlantic At-lantic City." As I said these words I realized that I nover would havo dared to tell John about the pin If I did not know that' I now had plenty of money. Tho tables ta-bles were turned. I was able to be myself to say what I pleased and John milHf nnl nnlv nmlrn Mi Urw.t nf it but of me. "I have always believed, and beJIcvo now more sincerely than ever before that tho Increase of divorce which so many good people vlow with such apprehension ap-prehension Is because mqro women In the last few years havo found out that they roally do not need' a man to support them. 1 remember my mother tolling of a friend of hcr3 who found that her husband had boon untrue un-true to her. 'Sho despised him ever after,' said my mother but still Went on living with him." "How could she do it," I asked my mother and my mother answered, 'Sho had nowhere else to go.' " Able to Earn a Living. "That is probably the reason many of our mothora and grandmothers rest under stone tablets upon which Is in- scribed Devoted wife of otc, etc.' For many women of the old order of things marriage was Just a way of earning their dally bread, but, thank heaven, today most women are ablo to earn an honest living without the aid ofv a husband." I told this to Alice and she remarked, re-marked, "That Is all very well, my dear, but when there aro children I think another factor enters." "Porhaps," I answered, "but I havo determined on one thing. 1 am going to tell Jjohn all about that diamond pin. Onco more I am going to try to make him understand to what his pe-nurlQusncss pe-nurlQusncss has brought me, Once moro ,1 am going to try and niakc him realize that his way of treating mc In money matters Is one of tho reasons' for our unhapplnoes." "I don't think Jolih is unhappy,-" said Alice. "I do," I answered. "I am almost sure he Is unhappy. Certainly he la vory restless or ho would not be traveling trav-eling around with Elizabeth Moreland seeking for a moment of forgetful-ness." forgetful-ness." "But could ho not have that for-gctfulness for-gctfulness with you?" asked Alice. "No, dear, I do n.ot think ho could, because when he Is with mo all tho llltlo annoyances that he remembers In connection with his life with mc como up before him. Ho wants to got away. He knows that ho has done wrong and ho wants to get away from the thought of It." Easy Thing for John. Alico sighed. "I think perhaps that I should bo in sympathy with John, but, dear, It seems to mo such an easy thlpg for him. to inako you happy u he would only reallzo the sensitiveness sensitive-ness of your nature and not play fast and looso with you all the time." "Ho Is evidently playing fast with mo now," I said, Indicating the roses, "but I wonder if thesq flowers would have come If ho had gono back with my power of attorney In his pocket Instead of knowing that all this money that has been left to mc la still under my own control." ''Well I think you have done right," snld Alice reluctantly as sho rose to go. I .started to my feet as she said, "Then yqu will not come to see Ruth With mp?" "No, I am going to write my letter to John and say good-by " and everything grew black and, as if from a far distance, I heard Alice's excited exclamation. (To Be Continued.) |