South Bend news-times., 1915-02-16
THEIR MARRIED LIFE
By MABEL HERBERT URNER
HELEN MEETS STEAMER ACQUAINTANCE WHO Is IN
MOST UNFORTUNATE POSITION
By MABEL HERBERT Urn

"Oh. it's that evening gown from
Ardman's," carelessly.
Then seeing Helen's look OF sur
prise. she added hastily:
Il shouldn't have ordered it but it
was week before last, when Frank felt
sure he was putting through a big
deal We saw it in the window and
! liked it. You see" plaintively, 'he
wants me 10 have everything, he told
me TO have it charged. OF course
didn't know things were going TO be
SO bad"
Cant you return it?" suggested,
gently. IF you'd explain. wouldn't
they take it back"
Mono. they've altered it now
That's why we've kept il so long. oh,
l suppose. il won't matter" reckless
ly. when the crash comes. a hundred
dollars or more won't make any diff
ference"
With sudden impulse she took a
knife from the tea tray and cut the
string of the box.
Her sad story.
do you want to see the dress ?"
with harsh little laugh. "Tll wear it
down TO dinner tonight, and we'n look
so prosperous that the hotel won't
send us a bill for another week. oh,
I've learned to pretend, to act, to
sham" bitterly. It's part Of Frank s
business assets to have me expensive
ly gOwned. 1t gives people confidence
in his schemes. Oh, yes, I'm an ideal
promoters wife"
Helen shrank from this bitterness
almost more than from her tears.
There" as she shook out the fra
gile evening gown, cleaning with
pearl trimmings. Doesn't that look
like we couldn't pay our hotel bill ?"
Then she turned to Helen almost
fercely.
But you mustn't mistunderstand
me. You mustn't think Frank isn't
honest in his schemes. He is Some
how he always believes in them. He's
always sure he's going to make a for
| tune for himself and for everybody
else. But when I think of all the peo-
| pie that have invested I'm his promo
tions and have lost, it almost drives
me mad. And yet" defantly, its
their fault too. They shouldn't be so
anxious to make something for moth
| ing. I've grown TO hate them. too!
! oh, I hate 1t all, this feverish, uncer-
| tain, scheming life is killing me"
There was so little that Helen could
| say to comfort her. This was a life
of which she knew nothing, this living
on a vulcanO, as 1t were, and never
knowing when the upheaval would
come.
It was almost six before she had the
heart to leave.
I'm afraid I can't stay any longer.
| / hate to leave you alone. but Mr..
Curtiss always gets home at half past
and | must be there then"
"Oh, yes. don't want to keep YOU -
helplessly. 81 suppose Frank will be
here some time this evening. If he
doesn't come, I'll go down to dinner
alone. I feel that everybody knows
we owe that bill. Oh. the humiliation
of it-you don't know-you don't
know"
1t was quite dark when Helen
reached the street She hurried home
filed with brOoding anxious thoughts
Of the woman she had just left.
Above everything else Helen had a
innate horror of debt. To owe a hotel
bill and to be compelled to live on at
that hotel seemed to her an intoler-
able situation.
A Blank Future.
And what would be the outcome
Would Mr.. Merwin be able to get the
money? Or would they stay on until
they were asked to leave?
Huh, you're wasting q lot OF SYM
pathy," was Warren's comment, when
she told him about it at dinner.
| Those promoters are used to being or
their uppers. And they've all got % Al
get-rich-quick scheme that's moe o..
less shady"
| But dear, I really believe he means
to be honest. She says
"Oh, he may hoodwink her, but
when a man makes a business OF try
ing TO put over these wildcat schemes
well. he deserves all that's coming
to him"
But Helen was unconvinced. Her
sympathy and anxiety for Mrs. Mer-
win were not lessened by Warren s
cynicism. And even though he warn
I ed her against getting mixed up
with such people, she was still deter
mined to call up Mrs Merwin in the
morning and to do what she could to
| help or comfort her