New Britain herald., 1918-02-07
What Madgc Did to Safeguard Her
 Room


 Room.
 1 Glad to sec mo, sWeetheart?' ! Dicky drew me close to him when l the front door closed after us- tip into my eyes with the love light in his l own that l had missed sorely during l the week following our removal from i the old Brennan house into the one ! We had bought on Chase avenue. l The intangible estrangemcnt be- 1 tween us had it's roots in somethinr which l feared to acknowledge cycp 1 to myself, and that I was sure Dickv 1 did not realize. Beginning with my dis | covery of Grace Draper's photograph 1 in carefully secluded box belonging to my husband, the sinister thought of 1 her had run like a black twisted thread through my growing uneasi- ness as to Diclly's real attitude to- | ward the war.
 had been torn with shamed re- morse that the shadow of such | thought concerning my husband X could Ind harbor in my mind, but INelther my remOrse nor my regret ] Nad availed to keep the thermometer 1 ok my respect for Dicl1y at the normal 1 mark.
 But all doubts fled abashed at the 1 light in Dicky's eyes, They might re- l turn, but for the present I rested con- 1 tent in the knowledge that he was home again safe, sound and happy.
 You will never know. how glad!" I said fervently, and Dicky laughed contenedly as he kissed me. l Flows mOthcr?' was his next i question.
 I i,,J o.J,.1 +o iety in his tone Dicky dearly loves his mother and he had worried much over her broken arm.
 "I'll Be Ready
 'I think she's very comfortable, in- dced," I returned. She Is" I was just about to say "as1eep" when I suddenly stopped myself I 1 couldn't disclose my knowledge of her slumber and that of Cousin Agatha without revealing the fact that I had entered their room in an endeavor to prove Cousin Agatha guilty of peer ing through the keyhole of my room. and had withdrawn without awaken ing them.
 Asleep a great deal of the time, which is good for her" I finished rather lamely. Fortunately, Dicky didn't notice my awkWardness II Just run up ana DTuSn some or the dust off," he said, "and then after l have seen mother, suppose we go for little tramp? It's a perfectly bully spring morning, you'U love it! And I have lot of things to tell you.'
 'I'll be rcady,' I promised him smil- ing, and after a few words of instruc- ton to Katie concerning a, belated luncheon. I went upstairs to my own room to put on my own outer gaT1n CntS
 A Tilt With Agatha.
 As I dressed my eyes kept turning to my Chinese vase with the important secret paper contained within it. The l remembrance of the scratching noise i outside my door troubled me greatly l althought I had proved that neither Katie nor Cousin Agatha, the only persons in the house who could have been at the door, were not guilty of | the espionage.
 made a sudden resolution to set another trap for these two who had ! passed so successfully the surprise test I had given them but a few | moments before. 1 moiStened the surface of the vase and then dusted it all over with talcum powder, being careful to do the dusting over a newspaper on the floor that no tell tale powder should betray me.
 I knew that if any one touched the l vase while I was gone I should be able to detect the fact. And I was very sure that neither Katie nor Cousin Agatha would dare to examine it closely once the powder was dis l covered upon it.
 As I locked my room door behind me and put my key into my purse, I told myself that my precaution was a foolish one. But an instant later, l when Cousin Agatha's sly, hateful voice spoke behind me, I was in ] stinctively glad that I had done so. You are very wise to lock your