The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-01-02

against the young man. On the con
tTary. they knew him to be steady and
honest But their objections were well
/ founded and had reason 20 back them.
why Helen" her father remon-
| strated, you ara too young 10 think
( Of marriage You are little more than
/ a girl. when you are twenty there
/ will be- plenty Of time to think of be
coming a wife, and you are only eight
cen now. Listen TO reason Helen"
But she shook her head determin-
| eddy.
Then, another thing her mother
. broke I'm. "Jphn is not earning enough
at present to support you properly.
What is fifteen dollars a week when
il has TO be divided between two
people?"
"A great deal. when they truly love
each other" Helen replied. warmly
/ Whole families have been brought up
I on that amount, and even less
wait two years-thats all We
ask" her mother urged BY Jhen
Johns income viii undoubtedly have
/ increased ana you Will be or a more
suitable age to marry
But Helen was firm, and at length
her parents, realizing that opposition
/ was useless. gave their consent ana
} re young couple embarked upon the
sea Of matrimouy.
For over a year their little, plainly
furnished four-room fat seemed TO
/ them a complete paradise. True, they
were forced to struggle sometimes to
make ends meet, but just before their
/ little daughter was born, Johns firm
/ increased his salary to eighteen dol
/ lars a week, and the three dollars
extra seemed almost a fortune In their
eyes
But the additional expense Of Baby
ate I'D the increase in salary and
many weeks bit deeply into the bal
/ auce, forcing them TO economic more
/ than ever. Neither complained al
though Mrs. Davidson quickly noted
( the lines around the mouths OF each
| deepen as the weeks grew into
months.
Then came the new hope that buoy
} ed up the young couple.
Iaugdou came home one evening quite
/ excited over his meeting with an OLD
/ school friend Horace Fanshaw, and an
/ invitation from him TO accompany Miss
NIiUward-the girl Fanshaw hoped some
! 5av to r7arrv-aud himself 10 one OF the
new plays.
/ They had not been TO the theater since
/ their rnaIriage-aud they hastily decided
/ to leave baby with Mrs. Davidson for
! the evening. AS to what TO wear, this
/ question was not so easily disposed OF
/ by Mrs. Laugdou, But by going over
/ what clothes she had a suitable appear
ance was found possible.
! The eveutfuI evening came. The play
/ was by a new author. and Fanshaw
/ had only that morning clipped from q
/ paper an account Of the large royalties
+ this fortunate young man was draw
ing
/ During the hrst intermission he hand
ed the ite-l 10 Langdon, who read Il
/ thoughtfUily.
AS the curtain fell upon the last act.
L.angdOn said Horace, wish could
write play"
well, I know I could write one If
7 had a suitable plot the other re-
Piled confidently. LAS a lawyer, 7 am
forced to have good command Of the
English Ianguage-it is essential in pre-
pairing a brief you know"
Nothing further was said upon the
matter but a seed had been sowu ia
IangdOn's brain. For some days Ia
seemed preoccupied and not entirely
himself. The result was that one day
no called Fanshaw up on the telephone
and invited him and Miss Millward to
/ come around the next evening saying
that he had something important to talk
over with him.
This was nothing less than a plot for
2 play, and on hearing it. Fanshaw i'm
mediateIy became very enthusiastic over
I .H
was reached that he and Laugdon write
the play together.
For many evenings the two men la
bored and hope beat high IN Langdou'
breast as he saw the play slowly round
into shape. And Fanshaw's confidence
in It helped to such an extent that when
ever tie LaugdoH pOCketb0Ok was
pressed together a little tighter than
usual, Laugd0n would place his arm
around his wife and say cheriIy: Never
I mind. HeIen-Wlen the play goes on
we'u make Up for what We are deprived
Of now
|. But when It was finished, sent out
and three managers had rejected IT,
the two men realized for the first time
/. that it IS one thing 70 write a play and
quite another TO market II. And now
tbs postman had Just brought back an
other copy. No wonder Mrs. Laugdon's
heart was heavy.
/ Suddenly the doorbelI gave two short
/ rings.
Here is Papa, Baby,'' she exclaimed
. taking the child ia her arms Let IA
run 10 meet him"
CHAPTER IT.
THE DOCTORS WARNING.
1 - T4I- Easr av-4ua oUau and T.sTo-8av