The Meridian times. (Meridian, Idaho) 1909-1938, 1917-06-22
CHATTER x.
A birthday.


Rodney heard young Craig, who
deyiled up law for him. saying good
night TO the stenographer He waited
tiII he heard them 60, then went out
and disconnected his own desk tele-
phone. which the Office boy, on going
home. always left plugged through ;
went back 10 his Inner office again, aud
shut the door after him.
There wns more than enough press
ing work on HIS desk 70 flll the clear
hour that remained TO him before he
had TO start for home. But he didn't
mean 10 do ii He didn't mean to do
anything except to drink down thirstlly
the sixty minutes OF pure solitude that
were before him. That hour had be-
Come a habit with him lately, like
a. smiled at the comparlson--lik tak.
ing drug. He WINS furtive about 1t,
too. He never corrected Roses as
sumption that the thing which kept
him late at the Office so much Of the
time nowadays was a press OF work.
Ii was not that she had faded for
hIm--hecome less the poignant, vivid,
Irresistible thing he had first fallen In
ioye with. Rather the contrary. She
hadn't seemed quite we'll. lately, nor
altogether happy. and he had not
been able to find out why. He had
attributed II at first 70 the shock oc
casioned by her mothers illness ant
her departure with Portia to Callfor
MIA; but this explanation seemed mo-
10 cover the ground. She WINS all right
she always said. He couldn't forcs
confidence from her. of course. But hel
pale face and eyes wide with trou
BILE ia them he could not fathom
stirred something deeper In him than
the former glow and glory had ever
reached.
And there was new thing that
gripped him In a positively terrifying
way-a realization Of his importance
60 her. He had discovered one dny--a
fortnight or so ago. In the course Of
rummage after some article he had
misiald, a heap of law books that
weren't hls. He had guessed the ex-
PLANTATION of them, but had said moth
ing 10 Rose about it--had found II
curiously impossible to say anything.
II only she had taken up something
Of her owni II seemed as essentially
a law of her being TO attempt to alb
sorh herself In him, as II was a law
Of his to resist that absorption Of him
self In her.
But resistance was difficult. The
tendency was. after his perfectly
solid. recognizable duties had beer
given their place IN the cubic content
Of his day. that Rose should III up the
rest. And yet there was man Il
him who was neither the hard-worx
Ing. successful advocate, nor Rose
husband-a man whose existence RIOS,
didn't seem 70 suspect. tNyas there
then. In her no woman that CORE
sponded 10 him?l That man had Il
tight now for chance to breathe.
He got pipe out of drawer Il
his desk. loaded and lighted II
stretched his arms, and sat down Il
his desk chair. The thing exactly 4
front of his eyes was his desk calendar
There was something familiar abou
the date--some subeonscious associS
ton that couldn't quite rise to the sun
face. Was there something he had /
do today. that he'd forgotten?
Then with grnnt OF relief and amus'
tnent, he got 1t. 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 III
nlan who had unhesltatingly jumpe
of the car to follow d new adventure
the man who had turned up waite
logged at Frederica's dinner and mao
hay Of her plan to marry him OF
Hermione Woodruff
He was increasing his practice nol
making money. getting cautious-pr
dent; he didn't bolt the track al
more. And the quality of his wol
was good: he couldn't quarrel wi
that Only, the old, big free drear
that had glorified it were gone. I
was in harness, drawing a cart; f,
lowing bundle Of hay.
The building was pretty we'll {
serted by now, and against the silen
be heard the buzzer In his telepho
switchboard proclaiming insisten
that someone was trying to get h
on the phone. He thought at first