Show E Q n e e aarne as L aft e by frances 1 he keys heyes yes frances Park lacon beyes NV service SYNOPSIS disappointed through her fier inability to put finishing touches to her costume for a dance anne anna chamberlain Is I 1 irritated by the stolidity ol of her escort george hildreth Hildre tb at the dance a visitor in the community neal conrad young lawyer ta is impressed Impre sned by anne ins ing her fine fin character A few days day later the accompanies him bim and his hostess boi teia mrs mr griffin Criff in on in a picnic at the end of the day neal declares his hia love and they become engaged the marriage Is I 1 solemnized at we washington abington on their honeymoon the conrads meet clarence hathaway friend of neals neala young diplomat the young couple tart start housekeeping annet annes health begins to tall fail neal engrossed eng in poll pa tic bics tics dots doe not net notice CHAPTER VI 14 ne he had not seen the next morning when earlier than usual be left for ills office ile he still had not seen three weeks later when the duty duly registered voters of the district signified at th polls their willingness to have him rep resent them in the legislature at bel ford that winter and he came home in the gray dawn following election day to tell her so during the intervening time gling striving to keep on her feet and do her work anne had wilted waited at first hopefully then despairingly for the ca confidences which she had expected he would pour into her ear the advice which he would seek from her womanly intuition she was sure there must be principles at stake great principles by which he must either stand or fall instead she heard when he had time to talk to her at all about rallies about advertising space in newsy newspapers apers about quantities of cigars and dozens of bottle of whisky sick as she felt she longed to have him ask her to go with him to some of the public meetings but bill he never did ile he had a secretary at his office pow now miss lillie letts who chewed gum and wore transparent flesh colored shirtwaists shirt waists but she was eff efficient lelent she did everything for neal benl that anne had pictured herself doing some day anne sat fit at home coughing her head off for her cold had settled in her chest and ach ing all over mentally as well as physically there were no evenings together in the morris chair her head on his shoulder his arms about her she tried to wait up for him night after night hut but she was so tired and he was so late nearly always after midnight she was never whan he camp came in but bill whether he hesitated hesitate to risk disturbing her or whether he was too tired himself to crave for her companionship anne never knew which it was he tumbled inte bed bf b side her without a 0 sign that hp he was wn aware of her presence in n the morn ing ng he never wakened until she shook him gently telling him that he had overslept over slept or the telephone hell bell jan inn aled across his blurred senses then theis lip lie bolted his breakfast and was gone then finally he came to her and told her that he had won so that was what a campaign camp agn was like the legislature met in janti january ary still two months away in the mp antim neal felt that he must as afaf far as pos sible catch up tip with his neg neglected lectA pro bession fes slon sion it had been neglected of couise but it had not suffered he had gained prestige as a successful candidate and new cases poured in upon him he decided to keep an extra room and miss bliss letts ile HP really needed both at last he talked to anne nhouy his plans for going to belford bel ford 1 I 1 shall have to be there at least from monday to thursday every week and it seems to me that it would be better for you to stay right on here the sessions will be over in april of course it as if you were in a house all alone I 1 know mrs sim mons Is right here and you can call on her if you need anything this time had any reply been expected of her anne could not have made it he meant to leave her behind the idea had bad never occurred to her and here it was all mapped out in orderly fashion in his mind ile he would miss her so little with his new interests that he be could face with resignation with approval the thought of being separated from her more than half the time for several months and she would not have left him for any known bribe to spend a few days during the torrid summer among the moun mountains bains that were so dear to li her er she had slaved for tits ills comfort for his well being and she had insured both a at t the cost of her own radiant health for try as she might she could not seem to pull herself up physically mercifully she did not doubt either tits his love or his sincerity as indeed she had no reason to do he was looking at uie the situation in the reasonable logical way the way he always looked at everything the way that enabled him to get ahead so fast in the flush of his victory neals dormant passion for her awakened again and burned more hotly than ever before but it had a different quality if it was more intense it was less tender he sought to possess her the more completely in the present because the past had bad dispossessed him film and because the future was about to do so fler fiercely cely resentful of a condition for which he had bad only himself to blame there was a lack of spontaneity tan eity a weariness in annes response which changed it from an answering flame to a mere affectionate and dutiful acquiescence still she never failed to respond and neal noticed the change in her far less than she noticed the change in him the holidays brought brough ta a flash of gay ety neal had whipped his affairs into shape and was ready enough to ro join in a few festivities before his departure somewhat tardily he became aware that annes trousseau had grown very shabby and that neither she nor he had suggested that she might like to have some new clothes neal gave her two dress lengths a black satin and a green voile handshe and she made them up dp herself on the superior sewing machine on a visit to boston he bought a long fur trimmed coat with hat to in match aceb and sent them to her ile he never knew how seldom she wore them ills days in Flin which dwindled to one or at the most two a week were spent in feverish activities at the office lie ile gave up tip all pretense 0 of f getting home to supper not even telephoning any more to say that he could not do so from belford he wrote her hurried little notes on scratch paper every day well nearly every day it did not surprise him that her letters were not much longer and not much muc h more communicative than his own lie he did not dream that day after day when he was not at home tind and indeed often when nominally he he was she did not get up tip at all or very little the cold hod and vanished at last leaving her weak and listless but uncontrollable nausea had taken its place she grew steadily worse while the tiny hat flat in which she had taken mich pride and which she had kept so sweet and shining was left to neglect and disorder and still neal guess notice of course he loved her loved her dearly but was hp he blind march came in like a lion roa roaring aln g lustily anne lay in bed listening to the wind howling to the ley icy tapping of sleet against the window panes it was nearly dark by tour four in the afternoon she had not tried to get up op at all since it made her faint with dizziness even to cross the room to her bureau and after all what was waa there to get up for she drew the tumbled sheet up about her head to shut out the sound of the storm As aa she did so the doorbell rang at farst she paid no attention it rang insolently at last she staggered to her feet thrust them into her bed slippers and threw her soiled kimono about her shoulders when she reached the front door some one was pounding on it leaning against the wall she turned the lock before her stood mr goldenburg his kind bind round face beaming with joy at the surprise he had given her she sprang towards him with a cry of happiness the next instant she had fainted away 0 0 is now my tear lidel frient tell old able all abond it oh mr goldenburg I 1 am so glad to see you youl I 1 I 1 never was so glad to see anyone in all my life vel vel you must maist lie still a minute an holt boll my hant I 1 aint goner run awny away feet potter petter bretty soon heln hein lie he had carried her back to bed still unconscious put a hot water bottle at her feet and dashed cold water over her white face when she came to herself she was crying bitterly and clinging to him ns as if she would never let him go so so where Is neal in bel belford ford from monday to ta friday every week and from friday to monday hes in his bis office so so ile he know he noticed oh mr Col goldenburg coldenberg ive read in books about young wives whispering their sweet secret to io their husbands blushing divinely and both rejoicing and the husbands surrounding the wives with the kenderest ten derest care and all that I 1 never read a word about this awful nausea and feeling as 1 if rather die than live and being to lonely nely and forlorn it if I 1 did tell neal held hed probably just say oh aro in an awful hurry just now but ill be glad to hear about it next time I 1 come home now den anne you ou know dat aint fair to neal well has he been fair to me id like to know I 1 have known myself what was the matter with me if mrs conrad told me sho she acts Is as if it were my fault think neal had nothing to do with it at all and as if it were some dreadful crime she had three children herself she dont you realize anne she said severely that you cant afford to have a baby and then she said something about self con arol she never talked to her son about self control 1 and we could afford a baby every year on the money neal turns over to herl and she wont come and take care of me because she thinks I 1 ought to get up and take exercise I 1 exercise I 1 ilaf you seen a doctor no mrs mm conrad said that necessary she said it would be a needless expense that this tats awful feeling had to run its course no matter what you did S so 0 I 1 thought TO BE BB CONTINUED |