, 1910-05-19

new wife was a prominent member of
the smart set, a oma full of aristo-
cratic notions, who recoiled with hor.
ror at having anything to do with a
girl guilty of the enormity of earning
her own living. Individual merit. in.
herent nobility of character. amiabili-
ty of disposition, and a personal repu-
tation untouched by scandal-all this
went for nothing-because unaccomr
panied by wealth or social position.
Annie had neither wealth nor position,
She had not even education. They
considered her common. impossible.
They were yer ready to lend an ear
to certain ugly stories regarding her
past. non of which were true. After
their marriage. Mr.. Jeffries. Sr., and
his wife absolutely refused to receive
her or have any communication with
her whatsoever. AS long. therefore,
as Howard remained faithful to her,
the breach with his family could never
be healed.
Have some more stew. dear" she
said. extending her hand for her hus-
bands plate.
Howard shook his head and threw
down MS Knlfe and FORK.
I've had enough" he said despond-
emily. II haven't much appetite"
She looked at him with concern.
Poor boy, you're tired OUT"
As she noted how pale and detected
he appeared, her eyes filled with
sympathetic tears. She forgot the
appalling number of cigarettes he
smoked a day, nor did she realize
how abuse of alcohol rad spoiled his
stomach for solid food.
81 wish | knew where to go and get
that $4,000" muttered Howard, his
mind still preoccupied with Coxe's
proposition. Lighting another ciga-
rette. he leaned back in his chair and
lapsed into silence.
Annie sat and watched him, wish
ing she could suggest some way to
solve the problem that troubled him.
She loved her husband with all her
heart and soul. His very weakness
of character endeared him the more
to her. h was not blind to his
faults. but h excused them. His
vices. his drinking, cigarette smoking
and general shiftlessness were. she.
~ Sh'u. lH' 'SNa VI Ddt dSSpCldl'Cs
He was s~elf-indulgent. He made many
good resolutions and broke them. But
he was not really vicious. He had a
good heart. With some one to watch
him and keep him in the straight path
he would still give a good account of
himself to the world. She was con
fident OF that. She recognized many
excellen. qualities in him. They only
wanted fostering and bringing out.
That was why she married him. She
was a few years his senior: she felt
hat she was the stronger mentally.
She considered 1t was her duty to
devote her life to him. to protect him
from himself and MAKE a man of him.
1t was not her fault, she unused, if
she was not a lady. Literally brought
up in the gutter. what advantages had
she had? Her mother died in child
birth and her father, a professional
gambler, abandoned the little girl to
the tender mercies of an Indifferent
neighbor. When she was about eight
years old her father was arrested. He
refused to pay police blackmail, was
indicted. r~ailroaded to prison n die
soon after in convict stripes. There
was no provision for Annie's main
%tenance, so at the g of nine she
found herself toiling in a factory, a
helpless victim OF the brutalizing sys-
TEN of child slavery. which in spite
of prohibiting laws still disgraces h
United States. Ever since that time
she had earned her own living. The
road had often been hard, there were
times when she thought she would
have to give up the fight; other girls
she had met had limited at an easier
way of earning ones living, but she
had kept her courage, refused to listen
to evil counsel and always managed
to keep her name unsullied. She left
the factory to work behind the coun-
ter in a New York dry goods store.
Then about a year ago she drifted to
New Haven and took the position of
waitress at the restaurant which the
college boys p~atrontzed.
Robert Underwood was among the
students who came almost every day.
He made Low to her from the start.
and n day attempted liberties which
she was prompt to resent in a way
he did not relish. After that he let
her alone. She never liked the man.
She knew him to be ~unprincipled as
well as vicious. One night he brought
Howard Jeffries to the restaurant.
They seemed the closest OF cronies
and she was sorry to see what bad
Influence the elder sophomore had
over the young freshman, to whom
she was at once attracted. Every
time they came she watched them and
she noticed how under his mentor
Howard became more hardened. lie
drank more II more and bpame a
reckless gambler. Underwood seemed
TO exercise a baneful spell over him
She saw that he would soon be ruined
with such a man as Underwood for a
constant Communion. Her interest in