Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-08-02
TODAY'S INSTALLMENT.

He paused, and the servant with a pre-
liminary cough broke into the silence
If you please, sir" he said, "the lady
has already called several times without
en appointment, and has never been able
to see you.
As a rule, DR.. Merton was somewhat
intolerant of interruption, a fact of which
experience had made the servant aware.
though II had not succeeded in breaking
what was an inveterate habit. This
morning, however the doctor looked up at
the man with interest.
''Is that So indeed?" he said, and his
tone was reflective rather than inter
rogatory.
Then almost as though he had forgot
ten his previous words he added:
Will See Her.
Il shall see no one after Mrs. Bar
rington this morning. Tyson"
The servant left the room. For an in
slant the master stood staring at the fire.
Then. with an abrupt change of manner.
he went quickly out of the study, and,
humming tune, ran up the stairs three
at a time, with the agility of a school
boy and knocked at the door of his wife's
room.
The woman, who was writing letters at
a little oak bureau. set in the angle be
sprang up to meet him.
"Oh. Bob, I was afraid you had for
gotten, she said, and there was just
touch of righteousness in her voice,
despite its sweetness.
"Forgotten?" The doctor bent over her
and took her in his arms. Forgotten
my SQUIRREL" His lips rested for an
instant on her hair Robert Merton and
his wife had been married for nearly
year, and they were lovers still.
81 have been writing to father" Mrs
Merton said. "He is coming to town
isn't it delightful? OF course l have
asked him tc come here"
There was a faint movement. as though
she raised her head to glance at her
husbands face but Mertons head was
stlll bent over hers.
"Of course he murmured, quickly, and
the tone, though lacking nothing in cor
duality, would have sounded forced to
any other listeners ears. "Of course you
did, Squirrel"
But even while he spoke, over his wife's
head his eyes sought out and rested on
one of the photographs on the mantel-
piece beyond-a panel length photograph
in a silver frame representing a cleric
In fun canonicals. a man hard featured
and self satisfied looking in whose un-
pleasing face there was yet an unmis-
taxable resemblance to the woman at his
side
"oh Bob how dear you are! And I
can say you would write. only-well, of
course, I'm here to write for you, But
you understand don't you, how sensitive
he is?r
"of course" said Merton again But he
felt a grim desire to laugh. lie disliked
his father-in-aw almost as much as he
loved his wife. and that was saying
a good deal, and in his unbiased opinion
the Rev. Harold Beauchamp was as SEN
sltive in disposition as was an elephant
in its skin,
He was almost glad when the striking
of the clock warned him he must go
downstairs. The thought of Canon Beau
champs approaching visit had added to
the depression that seemed this morning
to hang about him like a cloud.
Run away, now, beloved. l wouldn't
keep you here a moment from your Won
derful work. Healer-peace bringer!
Loving Wife.
She repeated the last words under her
breath as she stood alone. then went
back to her desk The mirror that
hung above it reflected her face for a
monent. wrapt in ineffable content, dark
eyes radiant with love and trust Then
the small head bent over the paper again
and the flying hand wrote:
My husband is a ever, dear father,
the most wonderful gift God ever gave to
a woman-st strong, gentle in the fullest
and truest sense Of the words; l can say
a man without fear and without re
preach
Yet even at that moment, downstairs in
the pleasant consulting room, the man Of
whom she wrote was listening with a less
than perfunctory interest to the com
plants and symptoms of his first patient,
a hypo- chroudriac of the first water, see
ing all the time on the horizon of the flu
ture that little cloud of fear no bigger
than a mans hand which had started up
at the sight of a womans name written
in his consulting book, growing momen-
tarily greater.
you must positively promise to give up
doctoring yourself, Miss Greve, if you
expect me to attend to your case
he said THAT, in fact, is my advice in
a nutshell a rigid abstinence from the
an ul joys of the local chemist and his
sugar coated pills that our paternal gov
eminent makes it SO easy for the nervous