The Tucumcari news and Tucumcari times. [volume] (Tucumcari, N.M.) 1907-1921, 1918-03-21

looked like that"
lie said quickly: you're not &
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-nbout being dis
graced and all. l was angry over not
having known when the other people
did. 1t wasn't your being on the stage.
We're not as blgoted as that.
"Ive come to ask II favor Of you,
though, and that Is that you'll let me
let us %all-help you. ] can't-bcar
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 II favor, / know, but I do.
l ask you to take your W name again
Hose Aldrich. And | want you to
let us help you to get n better posi-.
ton than this, that is, IL you haven't
changed your mind about being on the
stage; II position that will have more
hope and promise In 1t. ! want you to
feel that we're-with you"
"Who are WEI" She accompanied
that question with d straight look into
his eyes.
"Why," he said, "the only two pco.
pie I've talked with about it-Fred.
erica and Harriet. / thought you'd he
glad to know that they felt as | did"
The first flash of real feeling she
had shown, was the one that broke
through on her repetition Of the name
Harriet -
"Ycs," he said, and he had, for about
ten seconds, the misguided sense of di.
alectical triumph. ~ know n little
how you feel toward her, AID maybe
she's justified II. But not In this case.
Because 1t was Harriet who made me
see that there wasn't anything-dls.
graceful about your going on the
stage. II was her W 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 conviction.car-
rying power Of this statement ebbed
somewhat, though he hadn't seen yet
what was wrong with II.
"Yes," she said at last, "I thirk I
can see Harriet's view of II. AS long
ms Rose had run AWAY and Joined a
ffth-rate musical comedy In order to
be on the stage, and ms long as every
body knew It, the only thing to do was
to get her into something respectable
50 that you could all pretend you liked
1t. 1t was all pretty shabby. of course,
for the Aldriches, and, In n way. what
you deserved for marrying a person
like that. Still, that was no renson for
not putting the best face on Ii you
could And that's why you came to
find me
mo, II isn't" he said furiously. His
deliberately assumed manner had brok-
en- down anyway. II wanted you 10
know that r. assent to anything, any
sort of terms you wanted to make that
didn't involve-thls. II it's the stage,
all right. Or If you'd come home-to
the babies. l wouldn't ask anything
for myself. You could be as indcpend-
cnt of me as you are here. . . :"
He'd have gone on celebrating this
program further, but that the look of
blank in%credulity in her face stopped
him.
Il say things wrong" he concluded
with n sudden humility that quenched
the spark Of anger in her eyes. II
was Il fool 10 quote Harriet, and /
haven't done much better In speaking
for myself. l can't make you see.
"Oh, I can see plainly enough,
Roddy," she said with n tired little
Grimace that was n sorry reminder Of
her old smile. II guess / see too well.
I'm sorry to have hurt you and made
you miserable, | knew i was going TO
do that, of course, when / went away,
but | hoped that, after n while, you'd
come To see my side of Il. You can't
~ uil' i'u CpulAil | DtiltNt luuI l WIS
happy, that ! thought l was doing
something worth doing; something
that was making me more nearly a
person you could respect and be
friends with.
$ | guess" she concluded after n
silence, that the only thing for you
TO do Is to 90 home and forget about
me rs well as you can and be ms little
miserable about me as possible. I'll
tell you this, that may make II a little
easlcr: you're not 10 think of me us
starving or miserable, or even un.
comfortable for want OF money. I'm
earning plenty 10 live on, and re got
over " hundred dollars In the bank
There was n long silence while he
sat there twisting the newspaper In
his hands, his eyes ~downcast. his face
duh with the look OF defeat that had
settled owe II.
In The security of his averted gaze,
she took u long look ut him. Then,
with n wrench, she looked away.
"iuu will let me go now, won't
your she asked. This iS-hard for
us both, and it isn't getting us any.
where. Aud-and I've got TO ask you
not to come back. Because It's impos-
NtllA No. f.. 49,. A. o.. IL 1t