The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1917-08-10

ard waited for you to come.
wasn't, as you thought, trying to hurt
you. But l can see how it must have
looked like that"
He said quickly: you're not to
blame at all. remember how you Of
fered to tell me what you intended to
do before you went away, and that /
wouldn't let YOU"
Silence froze down upon them
again.
II can't forgive myself" he said at
last Il want to take back the things
said that night-about being dis
graced and all. / was angry over not
having known when the other people
did. 1t wasn't your being on the stage.
We're not as bigoted as that.
1--WE come to ask a favor of you, |
though, and that is that you'll let me |
let us all-help you. / can't-bear |
having you live like this, knocking |
about like this, where all sorts of |
things can happen to you. And going |
under an assumed name. I've no
right to ask favor, know, but do.
l ask you to take your own name again
Rose Aldrich. And l want you to
let us help you to get a better posi-
ton than this, that is If you haven't
| changed your mind about being on the
stage; a position that will have more
hope and promise in it. ! want you to
| feel that we're-with YOU
who are 'weY" She accompanied
/ II
his eyes.
"Why," he said, "the only two peo-
pie I've talked with about TIRED
erica and Harriet. thought you'd be
glad to know that they felt as l did"
The first flash of real feeling she
had shown, was the one that broke
through on her repetition of the name
Harriet
Eyes" he said, and he had, for about
ten seconds, the misguided sense of d.
alectical triumph. II know a little
how you feel toward her, and maybe
she's justified it. But not in this case.
Because it was Harriet who made me
see that there wasn't anything-dis-
graceful about your going on the
stage. 1t was her own idea that you
ought to use your own name and give
us a chance to help you. She'll be
only too glad to help"
During the short while she let elapse
before she spoke, his CONFECTIONERY
rying power of this statement ebbed
somewhat, though he hadn't seen yet
what was wrong with it.
Eyes" she said at last, 81 think
can see Harriet's view of it. AS long
as Rose had run away and joined a
, fifth-rate musical comedy in order to
, be on the stage, and as long as every
body knew it, the only thing to do was
= to get her into something respectable
so that you could all pretend you liked
it. 1t was all pretty shabby, of course
a for the Aldriches, and, in u way, wha
! you deserved for marrying a person
"A like that. Still, that was no reason TO
q not putting the best face on it 20
"a could. And that's why you came
II find mer'
"a "No, it isn't" he said furiously. ii
~ deliberately assumed manner had bro
,is en- down anyway. II wanted you
nc know that I'd assent to anything, al
IL sort of terms you wanted to make tn
q didn't involve-this. If it's the staa
all right. Or if you'd come home
the babies. l wouldn't ask anythil
>, for myself. You could be as indepen
7 ent of me as you are here. :"
n He'd have gone on celebrating tn
ar program further, but that the look {
~ blank incredulity in her face stoppe
IL him.
n Il say things wrong" he conclude
n with a sudden humility that quenche
n the spark of anger in her eyes. I
= was a fool to quote Harriet, and
: haven't done much better in speaking
o for myself. I can't make you see
n :"
n "Oh, 1 can see plainly enough
" .Roddy," she said with a tired littl
h grimace that was sorry reminder o
her old smile. Il guess 1 see too well
;e I'm sorry to have hurt you and mad
!" you miserable. / knew was going t
d do that, of course, when l went away
but / hoped that, after while, you
is come to see my side of 1t. You can
n at all. You couldn't believe that wa
o. happy, that l thought l was doin
something worth doing; somethin
" that was making me more nearly
a pereOn you could respect and b
IN friends with.
at $50 1 guess" she concluded after
al silence, that the only thing for 20
w to do is to go home and forget abou
me as well as you can and be as littl
is miserable about me as possible. /
es tell you this, that may make it littl
ey easier; you're not to think of me q
y, starving or miserable, or even Ill
lis comfortable for want of money. II
~ earning plenty to live on, and I've g
over two hundred dollars in the bank
,r- There was a long silence while
* sat there twisting the newspaper
lie his hands, his eyes downcast, his fat
IS, dull with the look of defeat that hG
IL