Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-09-04
THE OLD, OLD STORY.

no one Oh cdIIu COulu tcll. f1llu ~ vas
all the more exasperating because John
had just generously put into her little
shapely hand a brand-new $40 bill. And
here began the trouble.
whats the matter?" he said, his
face falling at the faint sound, and his
mouth clapping together in what those
who knew him but little called an sob
stinate pucker''-'now what is it?''
Betty, who had just begun to change
the sigh into a merry little laugh, rip
pling all over the corners of the red
lips, stopped suddenly, tossed her head,
and, with small jerk, no ways concili-
ating, sent out the words: ''You needn't
insinuate that I'm always trouble
some"
81 didn't insinuate-who is talking
of insinuating?' cried John, incensed at
the very idea, and, backing away few
steps, he glared down from his tre-
mendous height in extreme irritation.
"It's you yourself that's forever insinu-
ating, and all that, and trying to put it
on me. It's abominable.' ~
The voice was harsh, and the eyes
that looked down into hers were not
pleasant to behold.
land if you think, John Peabody,
that I'll stand and have such things
said to me, you miss your guess-that's
allr' cried Betty, with two big red spots
coming in her cheeks as she tried to
draw her little, erect figure up to its
utmost dimensions. Forever insinuat-
ing! l guess you wouldn't have said
that before I married you! Oh, now
you can, of counsel"
Didn't you say it first, I'd like to
know?" cried John in great excitement,
drawing nearer to the small creature he
called s'wife," who was gazing at him
with blazing eyes of indignation-T
can't endure everything"
"And if you hear more than I do"
cried Betty, wholly beyond control
now, "why then I'll give up" and she
gave a bitter little laugh, and tossed
her head again.
And here they were in the midst OF q
quarrel! These two, who but a year
before had promised to love and pro-
tect and help each other through life.
"Now," said John, and he brought
his hand down with such bang on the
table before him that Betty nearly skip
ped out of her little shoes, only she con-
rolled the start, for she would have
died before she let John see it, 1--WE
will have no more of this nonsense!"
His face was very pale, and the lines
around his mouth were so drawn that
itwould have gone to ones heart to have
seen their expression.
81 don't know how you will change
it or help it," said Betty, lightly, to
conceal her dismay at the turn affairs
had taken, "Tm sure" and she pushed
back, with saucy, Indifferent gesture,
the light waving hair from her fore
head.
That hair that John always smoothed
when he petted her, when tired or dis
heartened, and called her ''childie. "
Her gesture struck to his heart, as he
glanced at the sunny hair, and the cool,
Indifferent face underneath, and, before
he knew it, he was saying: "There ls
no help for it now, suppose"
"Oh, yes, there u.s." said Betty, still
in the cool, calm way that ought not to
have deceived him. But men know so
little of women's hearts, although they
may live with them for years in closest
friendship "You needn't try to en-
dure it, John Peabody. if you don't
want to. Pm sure don't care
what do you mean?" Her husband
srasped her arms and compelled the
merry brown eyes to look up to him.
a can 90 back to mother's,'' said
Betty provokingly. "She wants me any
day, and then you can live quietly and
live to suit yourself, and it will be better
all around"
Instead of bringing out violent pro-
testation of fond affection and remorse,
which she fully expected, John drew
himself up, looked at her fxedly for a
long, long minute, then dropped her
arm, and said through white lips very
slowly: :.
Eyes, it may be as you say better all
around. You know best" and was
gone from the room before she could
recover from her establishment enough
to utter a sound.
With wild cry Betty rushed across
the room, first tossing the $40 savagely
as far as she could throw it, and fling
ing herself on the comfortable sofa,
broke into a flood of bitter tears-the
first she had shed during her married
life.
"How could he have done it-oh,
what have l said-oh, John, John"'
The bird twittered in his little cage
over the window among the plants.
Betty remembered like flash how John
and she filed the seed-cup that very
morning, how he laughed when she
tried to put it between the bars, and
when she couldn't reach without getting
Rpon chair, he took her in his great
arms and held her up just like child,
that she might fix it to suit herself. And
the ''bits'' that he said in his tender
way, why they had gone down to the
depths of her foolish little heart, sending
her about her work singing for very
gladness of spirit. And now!
Betty stuffed her fingers hard into
her rosy ears to shut out the birds
chipping.
eff he knew why I sighed" she
moaned. ''Oh, my 'husband!' Birth
days-nothing will make any difference
now. Oh, why can't die?'
How long she stayed there, couched
down on the old sofa. she never knew