OCR Text |
Show fi ill Rested that she vlalt her mother, ll fl f J for a woek or eo, Mr. J. VyXJ frowned. When the diluted rV upon tbe eolemo obligation resting opoo her not to allow ber marriage to moke hersolf und her mother total strangers simply because sho happened to live In one city and her mother tn another soma eighty mllea distant Mr. Joatwed came out fraokly And flatly and stated that be thought tbo whole thine Absurd and a luxury far beyond tbo logical expenditure of tbelr Income. But, when Mra, Justwed suggested that alnco bo felt that way about It, Mom-mcr" Mom-mcr" might Just ns well visit them Mr. Jostwed capitulated so quickly that Mrs. J. was sorely puzzled. And her wonderment grew each day, for Mr. J. boomed tho proponed trip at breakfast, at dinner and even while rood lng tho evening paper around tbelr "ten-forty" "ten-forty" ml&sioQ tublo In the living room. Perhaps It wai merely to cill Mr. J.'s attontlon to an advertisement of something some-thing or other that ehe simply ought to novo for the Journey but pause he did. In bis reading, and explain whereas Mr. J. usually grew hopelessly peovlsb and Jrritablo If Interrupted In bis perusal of tho news. Ho brought homo timetables galore. He wrote to "Mommer" himself, stating exactly what tlmo Mrs. J. woold arrlvo nnd expanded aDd amplified tho utter horror and despair Mrs. J. would ex-pcrlenco ex-pcrlenco should she. by oDy chance, arrive ar-rive at the station aud find no one thero to meet ber. n0 walked to the bank of a morning, got out an old plpo and cut out clgore, nnd Insisted that Mrs. J. provide but tho plainest of food for the week preceding tho Journey In order to Insure tho means to finance tho trip. And Mrs. Jnstwcd's wonder grew each day. Indeed, It seomed thot Homer-dear was anxious for her to go. That would never do! Could It bo that he planned a wild week of hilarity with the boon companions com-panions of his days of elngle blesaed-dcss? blesaed-dcss? Did ho welcome her departure os a glorlons opportunity to kick over tho traces In ono grand, wooicly hooray? Hardly. But it was difficult to understand under-stand Homer-dear's very apparent Joy as the tlmo of departure drew near. Anyone Any-one would odmlt that. At last the eventful day arrived. Mr. J. hurried homo from tbo bank an hour beforo closing time to bo with Mrs. Justwed every moment until ber train left In tho lato afternoon. Mr. J. was Jubilant remembering, however, to mourn the separation every now and then with appropriate remorse. Mrs. J. bad an out-and-out case of cold feet and the blui-s. The trunk had long since been dispatched dis-patched aud tbey were putting tho remaining re-maining odds and ends iDto Mrs. J.'s sultctise. "Oh, I don't believe I want to go nt all. Homer-dear," tdgbod Mrs. J. "I'll Imj so lonely without you." ii "ADd I without you. Blossom-sweet," Mr. J. smiled back. "Will jou miss me very much, Homer, T-c-r-y much?" asked Mrs. Justwed for tho hundredth time In two hours. "Miss youl" Mr. J. exclaimed, for precisely pre-cisely the same number of times, "miss you! Well, I Just guess, yes! Why I II be Uke a fish out of water, a monk away i from his cloister, a-n-a man without a country 1 Miss you! How cun you nsk such, a silly, foolUh question?" Mrs. Justwed stopped short In ber packing, then dropped the whlskbroom nnd band mirror decisively. "I am not goln;;, Uomcrl" Bbe declared. de-clared. "Wbatl" cried Mr. J. "Nol" reiterated Mrs. J., "I am not going. I simply will not leave you for a wbolo week I I'll wlro Mommer right away and tell ber to come on!" Mr. Justwed 6ank on tbo bed In a heap. |