Middletown transcript., 1917-01-20

| fast. One thought ObSeSSed Sidney. |
She repeated it over and over. 1t came |
as cry from the depths Of the girls |
new experience.
"She has had so little of life," she
said. over and over. $50 little! Just
this Street. She never knew anything
else"
And finally X. took it up.
"After all. Sidney" he said. "the
Street is life; the world is only many
streets. She had great deal. She
had love and content. and she had
YOU"
Anna died q little after midnight. a
quiet passing, so that only Sidney and
the two men knw when she went
away. It was Harriet who collapsed.
During all that long evening she had
sat looking back over years Of small
unkindnesses. The thorn of Annals in
efficiency had always ranked in her
flesh. She had been hard, uncompro-
missing. thwarted. And now 1t was for
ever too late.
X. had watched Sidney carefully.
Once he thought she was fainting, and
. went to her. But she shook her head.
81 am all right. Do you think you
could get them all out of the room
and let me have her alone for just a
few minutes?"
, He cleared the room and took his
vigil outside the door. And. as he
stood there, he thought of what he had
said to Sidney about the Street. 1t was
, Il world of it's own. Here in this very
, house were death and separation; Har-
) riers starved life; Christine and
Palmer beginning long and doubtful
future together; himself, failure, and
7 an impOstOr.
f When he opened the door again, Sid
ney was standing by her mothers bed.
He went to her, and she turned and
put her head against his shoulder like
/, a tired child.
"Take me away, X" she said pitt
fully.
And, with his arm around her, he led
: her out of the room.
u
e Outside of her small immediate
= circle Annals death was hardly felt.
The little house went on much as be-
= fore. Harriet carried back to her busi-
ness q heaviness of spirit that made it
l. difficult to bear with the small irrita-
, tiOns of her day. On Sidney-and in
II less measure, of course. on K.-fell the
. real brunt Of the disaster. Sidney kept
up well until after the funeral, bu:
= went down the next day with low
fever.
: "Overwork and grief" Doctor Ed
said, and sternly forbade the hospital
- again until Christmas. Morning and
L. evening X. stopped at her door and
= inquired for her, and morning and eve
a ming came Sidney's reply:
/ much better. I'll surely be nD to
Is morrow"
10 But the days dragged on and she did
le not get about.
er Downstairs, Christine and Palmer
o. had entered on the round of midwintel
g. gayeties. Palmer's "crowd' was :
It lively one. There were dinners ant
er dances, weekend excursions to coun
Il try houses. The Street grew accus
III toned to seeing automobiles stop be
Dt fore the little house at all hours of the
III night. Johnny Rosenfeld, driving
IN Palmer's car, took to falling asleep a
the wheel in broad daylight, and voiced
!, his discomfort to his mother.
H. "You never know where you are will
them guys" he said briefly. "We star
lie, out for half an hours run in the eve
I'd ming, and get home with the milk wag
Sc onS And the more some of them hav'
as had to drink, the more they want t
drive the machine. If l get chance
It. I'm going to beat 1t while the wind
N. my way"
But, talk as he might. in Johnn
,c- Rosenfelds' loyal heart there was n
n, thought of desertiOn. Palmer had Civ
et en- him mans job. and he would site
ne by it, no matter what came.
One such night Christine put il
l." living wakefullv in her bed, while tn
no clock on the mantel tolled hour afte
,st hour into the night. Palmer did nc
come home at all. He sent note frOr
en- the office in the morning:
~ hope you are not worried. DARLING
|
of club last night, and there was nothing
do but to spend the night there | woui
ID, have sent you word, but did not want
rouse you. What do you say to the the
ater tonight and supper afterward!
he Christine was learning. She tell
ed phoned the Country club that mornini
tie and found that Palmer had not bee
wi there. But. although she knew no
er that he was deceiv!I:g her, as he a
y;i ways had deceived her. as probably
nd always would. she hesitated to col
Ter front him with what she knew. Si
de shrank, as many woman has shrun
or before, from confronting him with ri
zee lie.
lily But the second time it happened sf
was reused. 1t was almost Christma
or then, and Sidney was well on the wa
he to recovery. thinner and very whit
ne but going slowly up and down the stal
We case on KS arm, and sitting wit
Harriet and K. at the dinner taDl
'or She was begging to be back on dui
for Christmas, and X. felt that u
ne would have to give her up soon.