The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1917-04-11

| 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 K. took it up.
after all, Sidney" he said, ''the
Street is life; the world is only many
streets. She had a great deal She
had love and content, and she had
| you"
| Anna died little after midnight, a
quiet passing, so that only Sidney and
! the two men knew when she went
away. 1t 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.
K. had watched Sidney carefully.
Once he thought she was fainting, and
went to her. But she shook her head.
Il am all right. Do you think you
could get them all out of the room
and let me have her alone for just q
| 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
world of it's own. Here in this very
house were death and separation; Har-
riets starved life; Christine and
Palmer beginning long and doubtful
future together; himself, failure, and
an impoStOr.,
| 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
tired child
Take me away, k" she said pitt
fully.
And, with his arm around her, he led
her out of the room.
Outside of her small immediate
| lLs
The little house went on much as be-
| fore. Harriet carried back to her bust
| ness heavineSs of spirit that made it
| difficult to bear with the small irrita-
| tons of her day. On Sidney-and in
less measure, of course, on K.-fell the
real brunt of the disaster. Sidney kept
up well until after the funeral, but
hn
fever.
"Overwork and grief" Doctor Ed
said, and sternly forbade the hospital
again until Christmas. Morning and
evening X. stopped at her door and
inquired for her, and morning and eve
ming came Sidney's reply:
Much better. I'll surely be up to-
morrow"
But the days dragged on and she did
not get about.
Downstairs, Christine and Palmer
had entered on the round of midwinter
gayeties. Palmer's crowd" was q
| lively one. There were dinners and
dances, weekend excursions to coun-
try houses, The Street grew accus-
toned TO seeing automobiles stop be-
fore the little house at all hours of the
night. Johnny Rosenfeld, driving
Palmer's car, took to falling asleep at
the wheel in broad daylight, and voiced
his discomfort TO his mother.
you never know where you are with
them guys" he said briefly. 1--WE start
out for half an hours run in the eve
ming. and get home with the milk wag-
ons. And the more some of them have
had to drink, the more they want to
drive the machine. If 1 get chance,
I'm going to beat it while the winds
my way"
But, talk as he might, in Johnny
RoSenfelds' loyal heart there was no
| thought of desertion. Palmer had CIV
en- him mans job, and he would stick
by it, no matter what came.
One such night Christine put In,
lying wakefully in her bed, while the
clock on the mantel tolled hour after
hour into the night. Palmer did not
come home at all. He sent q note from
the office in the morning:
l hope you are not worried, darling
club last night, and there was nothing to
do but to spend the night there. l would
nave sent you word, but did not want 20
rouse you. What do you say TO the the
a1er tonight and supper afterward?
Christine was learning. She tele-
phoned the Country club that morning,
and found that Palmer had not been
there. But, although she knew now
that he was deceiving her, as he al
ways had deceived her, as probably he
always would, she hesitated TO con-
front him with what she knew She
shrank. as many a woman has shrunk
before, fsaE confronting him with his
lie.
But tn. second time it happened she
was reused. 1t was almost Christmas
then, end Sidney was well on the way
to recovery, thinner and very white.
but going slowly up and down the stair
care on KS arm, and sitting with
Harriet and K. at the dinner table.
She was begging to be back on duty
for Christmas, and X. felt that he
would have TO give her up soon.