Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-06-04

beating, even as his arms clung
tighter to the one who had come to
him. Perfectly satisfied, Billie was
making a closer study OF this man
creature he had decided to adopt
Unwinkingly his eyes studied the face
that looked down at him with such
herce hungering. And then, slowly,
ever so slowly, his arms moved up
along the great chest and q pair of
rather sticky hands crept along the
cheeks and finally the arms clasped
about the neck, while the eyes closed
gently and Billie slept.
We'll, I never saw the beat-Sam,
wisht you'd look at"
Mary caught the annoyed express
sion on Rita's face as she turned and
spoke TO her husband. He did not
hear hers wrapt in his eager study of
the slurbering baby's face. She felt
. sudden fierce jealousy consuming
her, as she caught the expression of
this man she seemed unacquainted
with, this man who held a child to
his breast so perfectly. with such an
expression of unalloyed happiness
| upon his face. Something dawned
upon her. with that intuition which
seems given women to amend for O
certain lack of logic, which her hus.
band would never have found out
that the perfect happiness that had
been hers through this man was due
to the paternal instinct in him that
made him delight in treating her as
q child, to be humored and pampered
and spoiled.
Come. Jim." she said softly, striv-
ing beautifully to make her voice
sympathetic. I'VE must hurry now"
Reluctantly he returned Billie to
the mother. Rita noticed that for .
few steps he moved on tip-toe, as
though fearful OF waking the child.
Once she met his eyes and, like an
overgrown boy, he flushed TO the very
roots OF his hair and tried to hide
the guilty expression upon his face.
Diffidently, yet with a certain curious
frmness he led her TO the library.
seating her in his favorite chair and
perching himself boyishly upon the
arm of IL, his arms about her.
NO wonder Sans got a good dis
position" he said finally.
She braced herself instinetiveIy
Though he tried to make the conver-
sation appear casual, she hurdled
everything he was about to say. just
as she had once hurdled his en-
barrassed preamble previous to de-
claring his love for her. They are
two subjects all women scent from
aIdr Ous knsWlnS no IrdlI 100 OeSul-
tory but may be brought into their
broad highway. She nodded indiffer-
emily
II sometimes wonder II home can
be home at all without a baby" he
murmured, more to the sympathetic
flames than TO her. II remember how
my mother always thought of me as
her baby, even after I was In coll
lege."
Don't you ever think-+Rita, don't
you ever wish there was q baby in
our house?" His voice was low, his
words a bit stumbling now. as though
he found difficulty expressing himself.
wouldn't it sort of make things
happier and"
She forced a laugh to her lips, a
gay, tender laugh even as her fingers
twined fiercely about his own. She
drew his cheek down to her velvety
ore, wondering that she could be
thus artful when her whole soul was
rising in revolt against this masculine
demand.
But, Jim. I don't want any chill
dren Just now. I want to enjoy my
self, to see something Of happiness.
Sometimes" she tempered the blow,
sometimes I think. Jim. that I'm
little more than a child myself. I've
been Gagged and starved SO long that
hardly seem grown up yet. Don't
you understand, Jim?"