Tombstone epitaph. (Tombstone, Ariz.) 1887-current, 1917-09-23


study II with all her might!
The other step was to 60 and hear
Rodney's argument In court that day.
She was successful In slipping into the
rear of the courtroom-up on the
eighth floor Of the Federal building
without attracting her husbands at
tention; and for two hours and a half
she listened. with mingled feelings. to
his argument. There was no use pre-
tending that she could follow her hus-
bands reasoning. Listening to it had
something the same effect upon her
as watching some enormous, com
plicated. smooth-running mass of ma
chinery. She was conscious of the
power of il, though ignorant of what
made it go, a.,i of what 1t was ac-
complishing.
The three stolid figures behind the
high mahogany bench seemed TO be
following 1t attentively, though they
irritated her bitterly. sometimes, by in
dulging in whispered conversations.
And, presently. he just stopped talk
ing and began stacking up his notes.
The oldest judge mumbled something
everybody stood ny. and the three stiff,
formidable figures filed out by a side
door. 1t was all over
But nothing had happened!
Rose had expected to leave the
courtroom in the blissful knowledge
of Rodney's victory or the acceptance
of his defeat. In her surprise over the
failure of this climax to materialiZe,
she almost neglected to make her es-
,ap- ueiore he disco. eI eI inca ;nv1S.
One practical advantage she had
gained out Of what was, on the whole
MISUNDERSTANDING afternoon. When
she had gone home and changed into
the sort of frock she thought he'd like
and come downstairs in answer TO his
shouted greeting from the lower hall.
she didn't say, as otherwise she would
have done, "How did it come out
Roddy? Did you win?
In the light of her newly acquired
knowledge she could see how question
of that sort would irritate him. In
stead of that. she said: You dear old
W, l4ON tfs- A4Eti YOU 4Du>l bt iioN
do you think it went? Do you think
you impressed them: l bet you did :"
And, not having been rubbed the
wrong way by foolish question, he
held her off with both hands for a
moment. then Rugged her up and told
her she was a trump. II had sort
Of uneasy feeling" he confessed, that
after last night-the way / threy you
out of my office, fairly. I'd find you
tragic. / might have known l could
count on you. Is there anywhere
we have got TO go? Or can we JUS,
stay homer
He didn't want to founder through
an emotional mOrass. And the as
sumption that she couldn't walk beside
him on the main path of his life was
just and sensible. But it wasn't gooc
enough for Rose.
So the very next morning she strip
ped the cover off the first of the law.
books she had bought, and really went
to work. She bit down, an-rily, the
yawns that blinded her eyes with tears
she made desperate efforts to fog her
mind into graphing with the endless
succession of meaningless pages
spread out before her, TO find q germ
of meaning somewhere in it that wOulc
bring the dead verbiage TO life. She
was very secretive about it; developed
an almost morbid fear that Rodney
would discover what she was doing
I'D Inr,uh hts Iiy lant.h or Nor Sh.
resisted innumerable questions she
wanted TO PROFOUND 10 him, from {
fear that they'd betray her secret.
She even forbo-e TO ask him about
the case; IL was The Case in her mint
the one she knew about.
She discovered in the newspaper
one day, column summary of court
decisions that had been handed down
and though The Case wasn't in 1t, she
kept, from that day forward, a careful
watch. discovered where the legal new:
was printed, and never overlooked Q
paragraph. And at last she founC
it-just the bare statement: "Judg-
ment affirmed" Rodney, she knew
had represented the appellant. He
was beaten.
For moment the thing had bruised
her like blow. And then, all at once
in the indrawing of single breath
she saw ii differently. She saw she
couldn't help him out Of his intellec
tual quandaries-yet. But under the
encouragement and lassitude of de
fear cou15n'f Sha holm hi-nS She ra