The Whitefish pilot. [volume] (Whitefish, Mont.) 1904-current, 1909-12-30

Easiest Way"
1~-7@.@
feed to make bOth ends meet Sire de-
nrived herself of much needed t.lu,i1
Ing. to say nothing Of tiliery. that Joe
might go properly clad to his office.
but she never tor that reason descend
cd to s!ovenlineSS. never "let herself
go, as so many women in their own
households make the mistake of doing
and never had she allowed one word
OF complaints one Indication of regret
to escape her She had married Joe
for love. for better or for worse. and
resigned herself Dravey and chaerfuliy
to the consequences. however hard to
bear. hoping for the better times that
were so long in coming and encour-
aging her husband to fight on and
win.
joe. for his part lacked his wfe's
grit and energy. and constant disap.
n0intment had undermined his forti
tude. He loved Emma. He hardly
could have done otherwise, though
calculation had entered largely into
his counting of her. Chiva!rorsly
while the sweet bliss Of their early
married life held him in it's spell. he
had done rs much Of the heavier work
Of the menage as he could to spare
her when time and opportunity afford.
ed. but very naturally he had soon
tired Of this where is the man who
does not? and by degrees had left as
49, q
when his moods Of optimism and af.
fectionate solicitude impelled him sto
go to her assistance. At such times he
wanted to do it all.
On The evening following his out.
burst ut the office he was still resent
ful and down In the mouth" when he
let himself into his little fiat. and the
sn.iles OF his wife as she raised her
rosebud lips to receive his kiss of
greeting failed to dispel his gloom
"fou seem ont of sorts tonight,
dear" she said solicitously ANY
thing wrong ut the Officer"
mot hing in particular. I'm tired
and hungry after shaving all day in
this awful heat. that's all"
"\tver mind. supper's all ready. SO
sit down and tuck in"
what did you get?''
'Chops and potatoes'
Joe turned up his nose. but took his
seat ut table and began to eat He
answered his wife's questions In mono
syIlables His thoughts. 1t was plain.
were not on his meal or Enlna's con
versation. and. seeing that he was pre-
occupied and troubled. she ceased to
try to engage his attention.
Il paid the gas bill today" he vouch-
safed ut length. Ninety cents more
than last month";"
Ninety cents more!" she commented
use half as much. And we owe the
butcher four-sixty."
Every month it costs more to live.
don't know what we are going to do.
I'm sure"
Tin sorry. Joe. Goodness knows
Try to be as economical as | cam
II know, but it's all wrong It's all
your hands with those beastly greasy
pans. They weren't meant for such
work l wish we could afford hired
girl"
$50 do l. but we can't, so what's the
use of wishing? Didn't you get the
raise you asked Captain Williams
for?" she inquired.
NO"
: He hung his head and iapsed into
gloomy silence She dropped the NOR
sci she was raising to her mouth and
rose from the table. filled with dis
may. her appetite completely gone.
Tears Of disappointment followed the
realization Of what the failure of their
plans meant. for neither had doubted
that his request would be compiled
with, and she had built many castles
In the air on the strength Of It. A few
dollars more a week added to their
small income would have
meant much to them But. gazing at
her husband sitting there utterly de-
jected and crushed. her heart went out
to him in pity and love. and she moved
over to his chair and put her arm con-
solingly round his neck.
"Never mind. Joe. boy" she urged:
don't look SO solemn. We're no worse
off than we were before, and you'll
win out some day."
She placed her hand under his chin
and raised his head to kiss him. He
saw that she was smiling at him en-
through har taAzA k=4 ~