The Carlisle independent., 1917-10-18

so.
That night at dinner first impress
Sions were as favorable as first impress
Sions auspiciously may be, and in or
der to prevent the conversation from
taking a personal turn Blackstone
monopolized it TO an unusual extent.
He had made up his mind not to leave
the two women alone and not let them
guide the conversation. So he went
into needless details regarding his lat
est law case, explained the meaning
of professional terms that were quite
beyond the ken or interest of either
of the women, and gave a resume of a
brief in which he had been recently
engrossed.
For a week things went on thus, ant
the only times that Blackstone feare,s
an open expression of opinion was
one night when his mother and Mar
garet Glanced to meet for dinner be-
fore he could get on the scene. But
apparently nothing disconcerting oc-
Cured, aud Immediately after dinner
Margaret excused herself for an i'm
portant engagement that Blackstone
knew to be a meeting of her suffrage
club. The next night Margaret had
another suffrage engagement, and
Blackstone's mother claimed AN en-
gagement, too, so it was not until three
nights later that the three again met
at dinner after Margaret and Black
stone had closed their Office desks.
Following dinner came a play, and
in spite of the fact that Blackstone
had taken his mother and his fiancee
to an especially diverting dining place,
and in spite of the fact that the play
was uncommonly good that night, the
evening hours passed slowly and Black
stone felt the effect of the depressed
spirits of the two usually high-spirited
women.
But he felt even more depressed
when he took Margaret home that
night after they had seen the mother
go TO her downtown hotel.
Blackstone. I'm sorry Margaret
said when they had reached the shell
ter of her apartment. I'm sorry, but
1 can't keep my feelings to myself any
longer. / feel like a traitor. The
meeting night before last made me feel
what Il culprit | have been, and then
last night at the mass meeting, when
| looked around at those women from
all over the world working together
for each other, l wondered how l had
been SO despicable as to promise to
conceal my interest in the cause from
anyone. You don't know how a meet.
ing like that fires and thrills one"
The fact that Blackstone's spirits
had already been depressed made him
especially susceptible to take offense.
"Then If it were a question of suf-
frage or me, [ suppose you would take
suffrage" he said. II simply asked
you to use little tact in order to
prevent my mother being unhappy.
and you don't care enough about Inc
or her to do it. I'm sorry, Margaret,
but it is better for US to find it out
now than later"
Decidedly" replied Margaret, who
could be just as quick to jump at con-
clusions as her fiance. And when, a
few minutes later, Blackstone was out
of Margaret's apartment in the street
it was with the terrible feeling that
Margaret was lost to him forever.
Somehow, unreasonably of course, he
blamed his mother for this breach Of
his happiness.
The next morning he joined his
mother at breakfast at her hotel.
well, ny visit is almost eve.." ths
mother began over hat scts-Doiled
eggs. 81 had hoped TO get better &c
quainted with Margaret, but apparent
ly she does not want to be alone with
me. I haven't said two words to her
alone, Blackstone"
Blackstone made no answer, so his
mother went on. 81 suppose Il is the
eternal barrier that stands between
the two types OF women. TIE One will
never be able TO understand the othe1.
and as the suffrage cause gins moss
and more converts the barrier only be-
comes the higher. But there will al
ways be some women on the other
side-even when our great yictcFS Is
won. / suppose it was foolish Of re
to hope. Blackstone, that your wife
would be on our side of that barrier
If she had been then there would never
have been any of the mother-in 4aw
and daughter-in-law feeling between
US. was foolish to hope it, perhaps.
but, Blackstone, after that wonderful
meeting night before last I felt so
thrilled that It seemed for the time ag
If the barrier might be broken down
and that all women might rally to the
same cause. l wish that you and Mar
garet might have been there"
Blackstone leaned over the table at
which he and his mother were sitting.
''You don't mean you were at the suf-
frage mass meeting, do you, mother?"
'Why, certainly" came quite calmly.