The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-06-13


 hundred and twenty-five dollars a week if he remained long enough to pay it.
 Accordingly, he packed his kit bag and boarded the first train for New Haven. If she went there, he could have her arrested.
 En route, he summarized the situa- ton.
 ''She has robbed me of my last cent, which is trif1ing compared with the loss of my seIf-respect, plunged me into debt, devasted my home, sep arated me from my relatives, branded me with an equivoca1 social position, exiled me from my State, decimated my business opportunities. disgraced my family, stigmatized my name with the imputation that I am not fit to live with, assured herself of support from me until I can secure a divorce, made fool of me generally and given me rotten past and ditto future She made a good job of 1t, concluded Freddie gr1nly.
 At that moment, he did not know that by removing herself she had made man of him. Had he realized it, he would have counted the rest well lost.
 At the Heub1ein one evening he en- countered Shfr1ey's father and mother who bade him spend the next evening with them. He made no reference to his domestic affairs, confining his statements to his commercial posi- ton.
 In his pocket Freddie carried tel egram from B. J.-FForbearance is not a virtue, but softening of the brain. Put her behind the bars"
 He left it behind when he started for Shirley's home.
 Freddie arrived early and sat in nounce his presence. He felt assured that Shirley would be disgusted with him, and yet
 She entered alone, explaining that her parents had been called out to spend an hour with a friend just re- turned from abroad. The universe spun around as che took his hand. All the good that had ever lain dormant within him awoke, never again to be repressed.
 To her inquiries for Anastasia he related his situation.
 Why didn't you come before?s' was all she said.
 ''L hated to face you and tell you what damn fool had made of my se1f-O, beg your pardon a. million times T didn't mean to use that awful expression, but I've thought the word so persistently for so long a time that it came unconscious1y. I'm afraid to look at you yet; I've been dodg1ng all my acQuaintances. It paints me rath- CT black at best when confess that my wife fled home to her parents be- cause she couldn't put up with me any longer. Even now don't know how you're going to take it.
 Shirley grasped both his hands.
 'fIf that is all you wanted to know-'' she said simply.
 .sIt's to good of you.'. he cried. .I haven't deserved it. I can't tell you how happy you make me by believing me-"
 T know that you are incapable of wrong doing,'' she replied. 'sBut, O Freddie, there is something else must say to you. You've arrived. You are what I wanted you to be once upon a time, and 1t is not attributable to her influence, but to your appreciation of things different since you escaped from her. Was it trial by hre?''
 Freddie failed absolutely to repress the reminiscent g1eam in his eyes. eff I had been like this the last time we were alone together" he said.
 eff you had been1'
 Ten days later she introduced Ar hurt terribly. but Freddie bravely kissed her and wished her a world of happiness. He cared too much to wish her anything else.
 All this was some time ago. Anasta- siat lives In luxury in the mansion which she erected for her doting fa- ther and mother. With careful regu- lartty Freddie forwarded her a too liberal weekly stipend until he ob- tained his divorce. She could afford to marry Tommy Hayes now, and she feels confident of trapping him, if Freddie would only be considerate enough to die. She has recently been seriously alarmed by a report from B. J. that her ex-husband is the pie ture of health. He used to look diff ferent under her regime and she had had hopes of his entering into a de- cline. With his money she is assured that she and Tommy Hayes could ex- ist in a style which would suit both. She does not know that Tommy is quite as foxy as herself and that her dream will never be realized.
 Freddie lives in peace and the hope of brighter days. He Is enjoying the freedom accorded him sby the law. but he warns every young man he meets not to undertake anything vital at the age of twenty-three.
 '-The fellow who invented that mum Der for a hoodoo,'' he says, ''knew what he was about. Incipient mad ness deYelopes if you attempt anything serious. There ought to be a. law against it."
 He has a rather noticeable habit of drawing long breaths of relief and