Grand Forks herald., 1917-01-25

drink. Learn their tricks very nicely.
But. good heavens. Aldrich, think Of
him as man Think what our Amer
lean married women are up against.
when they want somebody to play off
against their husbands and have to
fall back on tired little beasts like
that. Eleanor doesn't mean anything.
She's trying to make me Jealous.
That's her newest experiment. But
(! it's downright pitiful. I say"
Rodney got up out of his chair. 1t
wasn't a possible conversation. I'll
be running along, I think" he said
i've lot Of proof to correct tonight,
and you've got work of your own, I
expect
"Sit down again." said Randolph
sharply. I'm just getting drunk. But
that can wait. I'm going to talk. I've
got to talk. And II you go, swear
III call up Eleanor's butler and talk
to him. You'll keep it to yourself
anyway" He added. as Rodney hesi-
tated. II want to tell you about Rose
saw her In New York, you know"
Rodney sat down again. YES" he
said, 80 she wrote. Tell me how she
looked. She's been working tremen-
dously hard, and I'm a little afraid
she's overriding it,
She looks Randolph said very
| y
He laughed at the sharp contraction
of Rodney's brows. "Oh. not like that!
She's as beautiful as ever. Her skins
still got that bloom on it. and she
still fiushes up when she smiles. She's
lost five pounds, perhaps, but that's S
just condition. And vitality! But a
thousand years old, just the same"
I'D like to know what you mean
by that" said Rodney.
Why. look. here" Randolph said.
you know what kid she was when
you married her. School girl! I used
to tell her things and she'd listen, all
eyes-holding her breath Until I felt
almost as wise as she thought l was
She was always game, even then. If
she started a thing, she saw it through.
If she said, tell it to me straight,
why. she took it, whatever it might
be. standing up. She wasn't afraid of
anything. Courage OF innocence. Be
cause she didn't know. Well. she's
courageous now. because she knows.
She understands tell you-every-
thing.
into each other on the corner, there,
on Broadway and Forty-second street.
shook hands, said howdy-do. If 1 had
a spare half-hour, would come and
have tea with her at the Knicker-
booker? She'd nodded at two or three
passing people while we stood there.
And then somebody said, hello, Dane,
and stopped. A miserable. shabby,
shiverlng little painted thing. Rose
said hello and asked how she was
getting along. Was she working now /?
She said no: did Rose know Of any
thing? Rose said, give me your ad-
dress. and II can find anything III
let you know The horrid little beast
told her where she lived and went
away. Rose didn't say anything to me,
! except that she was somebody who'd
been out in road company with her
But there was look in her eyes :,
Oh. she knew-everything. Knew
what the kid was headed for. Knew
there was nothing to be done about it.
She had no nutters about it, didnt
pull long face. didn't, as 1 told you.
say word. But there was look in
her eyes, somehow, that understood
and faced-everything. Ana then we
went in and had our tea.
L had thousand curiosities about
her. I'd have found out anything /
could. But 1t was she who did the find
Ing out Beyond inquiring about you,
how lately I'd seen you, and so on.
she hardly asked a question: but pref
| ty soon saw that she understood me.
me; knew what I'd made of myself
And she didn't even despise me-
II came back here to kick this
damned thing to pieces, give myself q
fresh start. And when 1 got here, 1
hadn't the sand. got drunk instead"
He poured himself another long drink
and slipped slowly.
that prostitutes almost invariably
take to drugs or drink. But 1 know.
why they do"
That remark stung Rodney out of
his long silence. During the whole
of Randolph's recital of his encounter
with Rose he'd never once lifted his
eyes from the gray ash of his cigar.
nor think about him. Just wanted to
remember every word he said, so that
he could carry the picture away in
tact
There was something peculiarly hor-
rifying to HIM in the exhibition Ran
dolph was making of himself. He'd
never in his life taken a drink eX-
cept convivially, and then ne took as
little as would pass muster. Going off
alone and deliberately fuddltng one
self, as means of escaping unpleas-
ant realities, struck him as an act of
the basest cowardice. But for that
picture of Rose he'd have gone long
ago and left Randolph to his bemused
|
for a visit. Did she mean she wanted
him to try to help?
He tried. though not very success
fully, to conceal his violent disrelish
of the task, when he said: Look
here. Jim! What the devil is the mat
ter with you? Are you sober enough
to tell me?"
Randolph put down his glass. "I
have told you" he said. ITS a thing
that can be told in one word Tn, a
prostitute. I'm Eleanor's kept man.
Well kept, oh, yes! Beautifully kept.
I'm nothing in Gods world but a pos
session Of hers! A trophy Of sorts, an
ornament. I'm something she's made.
I have a hell Of a big practice. I'm
the most fashionable doctor in Chica-
go. They come here, the women, in
shoals. That's Eleanors doing I'm
a faker. fraud, a damned actor
them what they want. And that's her
doing. They go silly about me: fancy
they're in love with me. That's what
she wants them to do. 1t increases
my value for her as possession.
| II haven't done lick of honest
work in the last year. can't work.
She won't let me work.-She-smoth-
ers me. Wherever I turn, there she
is, smoothing things out, trying to
make it easy, trying to anticipate my
wants. I've only one want. That's to
Unsuitable. There's always something
more she's trying to get, and I'm al
ways trying to keep something away
from her, and failing"
And why? Do you want to know
why, Aldrich? That's the cream of
the thing. Because were so damnably
in love with each other. She wants