The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1915-05-14
HER OWN
AFFAIR
And. Though There Was a Little
Delay, II Was a Success.
By CHARLOTTE TELLER
Copyright by Frank A. Munsey Co.
By CHARLOTTE TELLER
Copyright by Frank A. Munsey Co.

general CONSERVATION in her family
They knew her.
She was pink and white and stub
born. and she had never been known
to hesitate. Once she had wavered
but that was when she was yer,
young. After she made up her mind
however. she was always willing t.
talk things over.
They had been discussing the ques
ton OF her marriage for an hour ant
Il half when her mother inquired who
he was.
| "Hs Is the one man in the world
care for" said Mrs. Halbert But thai
threw little light on the subject, since
she and her mother never knew the
same people.
what is his name" asked hel
| father.
"Redding Garwood," said Mrs. Hal
bert with pride.
II have never heard of him." said
Mrs. Gilroy.
"Of course not" said Mrs. Halbert
''He Is very busy man."
"Busy?" said Mr.. Gilroy. "Busy-a,
what?"
Hes a social worker" replied Mrs
Halbert.
"A-whatr doomed her father
"He is working to better conditions
And may ask why?" queried Mrs.
Gilroy.
what conditIons?" stormed her IA
Their.
Lets not get excited" said Mrs.
Halbert. ''To do what he Is doing
takes great deal of time and money
"Whose?" asked Mr.. Gilroy.
"Has he any?" demanded Mrs. Gil
roy.
"Of course not" said Mrs. Halbert
"He is very interesting man."
"Can any one tell me-" asked Mrs.
Gilroy, "how have been given a
child so totally unlike myself-so i'm
practical, so improvident and-unsus-
pecting?"
Mrs. Halbert always knew the be-
ginning Of the end. 1t was upon them
at this query.
She trailed her pink negligee out Of
the room and up the broad staircase
which was photographed once a year
by either an arts and crafts or an
architectural magazine-usually for a
frontispiece on "millionaires' homes"
When she reached her room she took
of a.
plest Of her tailor suits. 1t was the
simplicity Of it that made 1t so expen.
sive.
She left her rings and her jeweled
hand bag with Zenaide. her maid. and
took u car-not her car but street
car at the corner-and went over into
part Of town quite unknown to her
family, which had become her region
Of romance.
WheE she entered an old house. once
inhabited by the rich she was in a
long. dim drawing room. There were
filing cases along one side Of the room,
where Redding Garwood put all the in
formation he could get about the poor.
He was very much In earnest and
rather shy and-many people thought
quite unsuited to settlement work.
He was not at all pink and white, but
rather dark. with Il gray tinge at the
edge of his hair, and his clothes were
far from new, and he wore very or
binary, everyday sort of necktie. which
counted against him with the girls
clubs.
He just nodded In kindly, social
flung her arms about his neck as he sat
bending over some statistics about real
estate values and births per acre In
New York city.
"It is all arranged. my dear" she
said gayly.
"Ah!" He took a deep breath Of con.
tentment. Then we can have four
teen children. although some Of them
will have to be In perambulators."
you are too absentminded. my dear
Redding." said Mrs. Halbert. II am
not speaking Of the parade"
And then she told him that she had
announced their approaching marriage
10 neT Ianliv.
"Oh. seev' he said. I'm glad it's
all right" And be picked up the list
Of new contributors to the uplift work
she put in front Of him. what an in
fluence for good you arer' he added.
81 have decided not to elope this
time" she said. although 1t does ap-
peal to me as precedent. 1t would be
nm easy way out Of the difficulty. too:
you must admit that. my dear"
What difficulty?" asked Garwood.
"The family" said Mrs. Halbert.
Garwood got to his feet
Although as n social worker he some
times sat all day long bumped over In
his chair while he gave advice to the
neighborhood or studied statistics.
when he did rise to his feet he was tall
and broad and energetic.
Mrs. Halbert jumped and tried to
push him back into his chair.
"You do startlo me so when you get
up like that" she said.
But he kept his feet.
"You mean that you are marrying
me against your family's wishesY' he
asked.