Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1917-08-28
His Eyes Didn't once Seek Her FACE.

when 1 found out L would be recog-
nizable, it was too late to stop-or at
least it seemed so. Besides thought
you knew. l saw Jimmy Wallace out
there the opening night, and saw he
recognized me, and-I thought he'd
tell you. And then 1 kept seeing other
people out in front after that, people
we knew, who'd come to see for them
selves, and 1 thought, of course, you
knew. And-I suppose was a cow
ard waited for you to come. l
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.
Il can't forgive myself" he said at
last. 81 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.
"Pve come to ask favor of you,
though, and that is that you'll let me
let US all-help you. l 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, l know, but do.
ask you to take your own name again
Rose Aldrich. And l want you to
let us help you to get better posi-
ton than this, that is, if you haven't
changed your mind about being on the
stage; position that will have more
hope and promise in it. I want you to
feel that we're-with you"
"Who are 'wer" She accompanied
that question with straight look into
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 1 did"
The first flash of real feeling she
had shown, was the one that broke
through on hes repetition of the name
Harriet"
"Yes," he said, and he had, for about
ten seconds, the misguided sense of di-
alectical triumph. 81 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 chance to help you. She'll be
only too glad TO help"
During the short while she let eIapse
before she spoke, his conviction-car-
rying power of this statement ebbed
somewhat, though he hadn't seen yet
what was wrong with it.
'YeS," 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,
for the Aldriches, and, in a way, what
you deserved for marrying a person
like that. Still, that was no reason for
not putting the best face on it you
could And that's why you came TO
find mel'
'No, it isn't" he said furiously. His
deliberately assumed manner had brok-
en- down anyway. 81 wanted you TO
know that I'd assent to anything, any
sort of terms you wanted to make that
didn't involve-this. If it's the stage,
all right. Or il you'd come home-to
the babies. / wouldn't ask anything
for myself. You could be as independ-
emit of me as you are here.
He'd have gone on celebrating this
further, but that the look of
blank incredulity in her face stopped
him.
Il say things wrong" he co. = aded
with a sudden humility that Quencned
the spark of anger In her eyes. 81