Middletown transcript., 1917-05-19
CHAPTER x.
A Birthday.


Rodney heard young Craig, who
deviled up law for him, saying good
night to the stenographer. He waited
till he heard them go, then went out
and disconnected his own desk tele-
phone, which the office boy, on going
home, always left plugged through
went back to his inner office again, ana
shut the door after him.
There was more than enough press
ing work on his desk to fill the clear
hour that remained to him before he
had to start for home. But he didn't
mean to do it. He didn't mean to 40
anything except to drink down thirstlly
the sixty minutes of pure solitude that
q were before him. That hour had be-
come a habit with him lately, like
he smiled at the comparisOn-liket tax
ing drug. He was furtive about II,
too. He never corrected Roses as
sumption that the thing which kept
him late at the office so much OF the
time nowadays was press of work.
1t was not that she had faded for
hm-become less the poignant, vivid,
irresistible thing he had first fallen in
love with. Rather the contrary. She
hadn't seemed quite well, lately, nor
altogether happy, and he had not
been able to find out why. He had
attributed it at first to the shock Oc-
casioned by her mothers illness and
her departure with POrtia to CalifOr'
MIA; but this explanation seemed not
to cover the ground. She was all right
she always said. He couldn't force
confidence from her, of course. But hel
pale face and eyes wide with trOu.
BILE in them he could not fathom
stirred something deeper in him than
the former glow and glory had ever
reached.
And there was new thing thai
gripped him in positively terrifying
way-a realization of his import lnce
to her. He had discovered one day-a
fortnight or so ago, in the course OF
q rummage after some article he hat
mslaid, a heap of law books thai
weren't his. He had guessed the eX
PLANTATION of them, but had said moth
ing to Rose about it-had found il
curiously impossible to say anything
If only she had taken up something
of her own! 1t seemed as essential!
law of her being to attempt to alb
sorb herself in him, as it was Law
of his to resist that absorption of him
self in her.
But resistance was difficult. Th'
tendency was, after his perfect.
solid, recognizable duties had beer
given their place in the cubic conten
of his day, that Rose should fill up th
rest. And yet there was a man il
him who was neither the hard-work
ing, successful advocate, nor Rose
husband-a man whose existence Ros
q dn't seem to suspect. (Was there
sponded to him.? That man had t
fight now for chance to breathe.
He got pipe out of a drawer il
his desk, loaded and lighted il
stretched his arms, and sat down il
his desk chair. The thing exactly L
front of his eyes was his desk calendar
There was something familiar abou
the date-some subconScious asSOcia
ton that couldn't quite rise to the SUI
face. Was there something he had t
do today, that he'd forgotten?
Then, with d grunt Of relief and amuSt
ment, he got it. 1t was his birthday
Another milestone.
A year ago! That was the day
had all begun. How did he compare
the man who sat there now-with tn
man who had unhesitatingly jumpe
off the car to follow new adventure
the man who had turned up waite
logged at Frederica's dinner and mac
hay of her plan to marry him off
Hermione Woodruff!
He was increasing his practice no,
making money, getting cautiousvpr
dent: he didn't bolt the track ar
more. And the quality of his wol
was good; he couldn't quarrel wi
that. Only, the old, big free dream
IndI SlOIlhCu IL WIZ 6oAA~'
was in harness, drawing cart; IL
lowing bundle of hay.
The building was pretty well d
serted by now, and against the silen'
he heard the buzzer in his telephol
switchboard proclaiming insistent
that someone was trying to get hi
on the phone. He thought at first
wouldn't answer. He didn't want
talk to anybody. But no one can r
sist the mechanical bell ringers thu
use in exchanges nowadays-the eve
spaced ring and wait, ring and wa
so manifestly incapable of discourag
ment. At the end of forty-five sc
! onds, he snatched open his doc
punched the jack into its sockt
caught up the head piece, and b'
lowed "Hello!" into the danglil
tranSmtter.
And five minutes later he was ca
ing Rose on the wire. Rose, list
to this Barry Lake and his wife a
her He lust called up, They got