The Washington herald., 1907-11-08
CHAPTER x.



So the home was arranged. the mar
riage made. And so far as Jacob Ro-
mer was concerned the success OF the
venture was immediate and complete
He encountered the little house at Wood
Green. the neat garden, the weIl-planned
meals, and the kindly face Of mis- young
wife every night with certain fresh
surprise. They were a recently acquired
part of his estate. Somewhat riskily he
had invested in them, and ne meant that
they should yield him a certain definite
return. Nor was he deceived.
In month he could pass a race course.
or an array OF swathed horses going out
to the exercise paddock, without a quick
ening Of the pulses. He even paid for
admission one day to the grand stand
At the Thorsby Spring Races, and came
away without betting. lie did this as
test case. Having won, he could Ger
tainly win all along the line. His pur-
pose with Caroline. his wife, was, there
fore. served.
On, OF course, Jacob ROmer would do
what was right by his wife. Small fear
Of that-only, she must in al matters.
great and small, submit herself TO his
imperial judgment as 10 what was best
And this Caroline did. And not only
for herself, but she 50 worked upon her
father. the feeble, retired postmaster, and
her mother, the silent housemistress, that
from their lips came no murmur Of COM
plant. Their daughter was married
well married they told their friends.
She lived at some distance, but came reg
ulaTly 10 see them. No, Il was not a
rich marriage The young man was
well-doing lad, and in time would do bet
ter. But for the present-well, no doubt
it took the young folk all their time to
make both ends meet.
All the while Caroline knew no more
Of her husbands affairs than If she had
been the spaniel that yapped at his ap-
proach, and then hid from his uplifted
cane under the red currant bushes lust
now bursting into leaf. Some wives
there are who do not wish to know such
things-whO take bite and sup. hearth
fire and clothing. purse and payment as
their right, without for a moment caring
to know aught of the struggles, disap-
pOintments, anguishes. and the long
working hours which have produced for
them these necessities and luxuries.
Caroline was not one Of these. She
would have sympathized with infinite
zeal. though with little knowledge il
Jacob had deigned to tell her ANYTHING
But. as he did not, she was quite con-
tent to accept everything as lust ia
cobs' goodness" Her world, like the
original one after the SIX days creation.
was very good
Specially was Caroline happy when little
Vida Romer began to grow from a baby
into child She had, Of course, always
loved her daughter-always given her the
first place. But she had not let her hus-
band see Cor hear too much Of the small
elf-like thing who cried but seldom-but
when she did, almost so as TO rend the
ceiling. screaming out her baby angers
with clenched battering fists and features
wiredrawn into a myriad Fuckers
Now, like her parents IN Thorsby. Mrs
Jacob Romer in the little house out at
Wood Green, kept herself to herself"
More than that, so far as in her lay. she
kept her baby to herself. She had a sub
tie sense that men like her husband did
not care TO be troubled with little red
mottled morsels, liable TO perform shrilIv
unrehearsed vocal music at quite uncer-
tain intervals. So If Jacob Romer saw
little of his wife. coming home late in the
spring gloaminBs and going forth early
in the keen. easterly blowing spring morn
ing, he saw still less Of his daughter
Vida
Afterward he meant (of coursel TO do
something for them. But i'm reality. their
role was played out when Jacob could
deny himself a race course and the pleas
ure of stalking more money than he could
afford upon favorite horse For the
woman and the child personally he cared
nothlng-at least no more than he did
Tor the cheap workman's watch which
enabled him to get TO the Office in proper