Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-09-03

ness is all right; it's our life I'm meanin'.
It's been on my mind sight, but I've
been keepin' my mouth shut about it. l
could keep right on keepin' it shut if
was wilin' to let things go. But l amt
goin to do it. It's somethin' that's got
to be worked out, and can't work it out
alone Nobody could. It's got to be be-
tween you and me--both of u.s.
He took up his restless pacing, while she
watched him, wondering. Until to-day it
was long since their talk had gone beyond
the commonpaces; it was long since Sam
had shown anything more than half
stoid, half whimsical interest in the life
of his family. Now he was genuinely
troubled.
"Listen to me, Molly he said al
turned down your Fosdyke person this
mornin'. | did it on purpose. | told him
he couldn't have his money, and I'm not
goin' to give it to him. | amt goin' to
give away any more money like that, so
us to get it printed in the paper and talked
about. And there's some other things |
amt goin' to do any more, either"
He halted before her, stern, impla-
cable figure, his eyes relentless.
"You know what you said to me at
breakfast-about me hinderin'. WE'LL
got that same thing from Tom at the
Office. He's wantin me to fire Eddie
Brady, and Carey, and the rest of them
od-timers. He says it's hinderin' the
business to keep EN-. I've had that no.
ton dished up to me twice to-day. 1t
don't suit me. You as good as told me
I'm hinderin' by wantin' to be just plain,
old-fashioned friendly with folks; and
Tom told me I'm hinderin' by wantin' to
stay human at the works. 1t amt goin'
to do, Molly
He checked himself, and his thoughts
took a sharp turn.
"Say, cant talk to you the way want
to here I'll be quarrelin' with you in a
minute, like as not. | amt ever got used
to you in these rooms, with all these
fixins. Say, how long is it since you've
been up to my room?"
She smiled vaguely a little uneasily.
"Why, Sam, it's-it's quite while. |
don't get up to the third floor. Isupposed
there was nothing could do"
"Well, come on; let's go up there now
he suggested. Il cant feel right here. |
can say what l mean up there. Come
along"
The upper floor of the big house was as
another domain. Sam had insisted
upon keeping it so. Bits of rag carpeting
lay in the halls; clean white paint covered
the woodwork; homely plainness was
everywhere. Homely plainness found its
fullest expression in Sans own room,
with its low, sloping ceiling and its jutting
dormor windows looking out over the tree
tops in yard and street. A worn rag
carpet was there, too, and worn arm
chairs, and a WIDE old-fashioned bedstead
of black walnut. The walls held a few
shabbily framed pictures of style long
pasta chrome of Mother and Child,
an impossible bit of blue and green and
white mountain scenery, and pair of
setter dogs at work in stubble-field, with
gay-coated huntsmcn in the background.
Odds and ends We're scattered about in
disarray; yet each seemed, somehow, to
have fallen into its fit place.
Clumsily Sam placed chair.
"Set down.. he said, and seated himself
opposite. "This is more like. Ii you had
on a different frock you'd look mighty
natural in that chair. It's quite spell
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