The Clio messenger. (Clio, Mich.) 1907-current, 1917-08-24

planning, but Frederick summed Il up
while the others exchanged their cool
ly friendly greetings, with the state
ment:
"Rod's been trying to get me to go
to Rose and say tnat 1t was all his
fault, and won't"
'Why not?" said Harriet. "What
earthly thing does 1t matter whose
fault 1t is2 He can have 1t his fault
If he likes"
"You know 1t isn't" Frederick NUT
tered rebelliously.
Harriet seated herself delicately and
deliberately In one of the curving ends
of little Victorian sofa, and stretched
her slim legs out in front Of her.
Certainly don't care whose fault
1t Is" she said. "You never get any
where by trying to decide question
like that. What I'm interested in is
what can be done about 1t. It's not a
very nice situation. Nobody likes it
at least I should think Rose would
be pretty sick Of 1t by now. She may
have been crazy for a stage career, but
she's probably seen that the chorus Of
third-rate musical comedy won't take
her anywhere. The things simply a
mess, and the only thing to do Is to
clear it up as quickly and as decently
as we can-and 1t can be cleared up If
we go ut 1t right. OF course the thing
to do Is to get her out Of that horrible
place as soon as we can. And sup
pose the best way Of doing 1t will be
to get her into something else-take
her down to New York aud work her
into a small part In some good COM
pany. Almost anything, IL 1t came to
that, so long as it wasn't music. Oh,
and have her use her own name, and
let us make as much of 1t as we can.
Face 1t out. Pretend we like 1t. !
don't say it's ideal, but it's better than
this"
"Her own name" he echoed blank
ly. do you mean she made one up?"
Harriet nodded. Constance men,
toned It," she said, "but that was be-
fore I knew what she was talking
about. And of course I couldn't go
back and ask. Daphne something,
think. 1t sounded exactly like chorus
name, anyhow" And then: swell,
how about IT. Will you play the
gamer
"Oh. yes" he said, with a docility
that surprised Frederick. "I'll play 1t.
It comes to exactly the same thing,
what we both want done. and our rea-
sons for doing it are important to no
body but ourselves"
She turned to Frederick. "You, too,
Freddy" she asked. "Will you give
your moral principles a vacation and
take Rods message to Rose, even
though you may think it's Quixotic
nonsense?"
"rn see Rose myself" said Rodney
quietly.
He was standing near the foot Of the
stairs when she came down, with a
raincoat on and q newspaper twisted
: up in his hand, and at sight of her, he
took off his soft, wet hat, and crushed
1t up along with the newspaper. He
moved over toward her, but stopped
two or three feet away. ''It's very
good Of you to come" he said, his
, voice lacking a little Of the ridiculous
stiffness Of his words, not much. "Is
, there some place where we can talk q
little more-privately than here?
shan't keep you long"
, there's a room here somewhere
she said.
The room she led him to was an ap
propriately preposterous setting fol
the altogether preposterous talk that
ensued between them. It had mosaic
floor with red plush carpet on 1t, two
stained-glass windows In yellow and
green, flanking an oak mantel which
: framed an enormous expanse Of mot
: tied purple tile, with diminutive gas
log In the middle. A glassy-lookinl
oak table occupied most Of the room
I and the chairs that were crowded II
, around 1t were upholstered In highl,
! polished coffee colored horse-hide, will
very ornate nails.
"It's dreadfully hot In here" Ros'
4 said. you'd better take of your coat
She squeezed In between the table ant
!. one Of the chairs and seated herself.
nOuuty tuTcW uOWA iuS WCt hdt, hh'
: newspaper, and then his raincoat, OF
the table, and slid into ".,snair opPe
st%e,t>~r.
Z 81 want to tell you first" Rodne.
said, and his manner was that Of |
. scho0lbOy reciting to his teacher al
+! apology which has been rehearsed a
( home under the sanction Of paterna
I authOrity-"I want to tell you how
r deeply sorry am for :"
He had his newspaper in his hand
t again and was twisting it up. His eye
u didn't once seek her face. But the.
might have done SO In perfect safety
t because her own were fixed on hi
hands and the newspaper they crum
i pied.
He didn't presume to ask her for
q giveness, he told her. He couldn't ex
pect that; at least not at present. III
l went on lamely, in broken sentences
repeating what he'd said already IL