The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1918-03-21
Caroline
Thinks It Out
@1
By Mona Cowles
Copyright. 1915. by the Mcclure Newspa
per Syndica;e.)

your own coffee and boil your own
egg and make toast for yourself is all
very well and good for a girl when
she Is single. but to have to do that
sort Of thing is quite different when
one Is married." Caroline had said
with a very definite air five years ago
on the memorable afternoon when
Horace Blair had proposed to her. II
don't In the least mind living here In
this two-room apartment now and 1
suppose you are quite comfortable In
the boarding house, but to have to live
In three or four rooms or to have to
90 to boarding after we are married
would be really quite impossible"
Horace fondled the hand he held and
looked dejectedly at the graceful finger
that Caroline had just permitted him
to measure for the engagement ring.
You are very sensible girl, Car
oline," he said, "and suppose you are
right"
"Of course, I'm right" she agreed.
AT twenty might have been foolish
and romantic. Then might have sup
posed that could be happy and make
you happy on my thousand-dollar-a
year income and your salary of three
thousand"
''Twenty-eight hundred" Horace
corrected with a sigh.
with an occasional picture could
sell that would come to no more than
forty-five hundred" She sighed and
shook her head.
I'm sorry. Horace, but 1t can't be
done. I've seen other girls try TO do 1t
and-well, perhaps they are happy
but we couldn't live the way we do.
You wouldn't want to try. It would
mean living In suburb somewhere
with an incompetent maid and wear
ing ready-made clothes-yes, know
have to now, but won't always be
young. At thirty would look mess
In ready-made suit-and we would
have to keep eternally counting the
money, and IL we went to the theater
we'd have to sit I'm the gallery"
"We've had rather good fun that
way, haven't weT' Horace murmured.
"Yes, Horace dear, but doing it now
is one thing and doing 1t then is quite
another matter. You'll thank me some
time for the stand am taking"
'Then-you mean you won't marry
me?"
mot in the least. simply mean
that can't marry you till our income
is doubled at leastl"
Horace took out an envelope and
pencil from his pocket and began to
figure.
mine thousand-that means that I
must have about seventy-five hundred"
'Tll relent llttle," smiled Caroline. |
"Fll marry you when you are making
six thousand. You can work up to |
that"
at may take five years." sighed the !
unhappy sultor.
''What If 1t does? We love each |
other, and we can 90 on quite nicely |
this way. You know marriage isn't |
something to be entered into emotion
ally"
you are very sensible girl" said |
Horace accepting his sentence grimiy. |
II think see your point Of view."
And so 1t was settled and Horace
and Caroline began their long engage
ment. There were never any quarrels
Caroline was too sensible for that |
and never once did she weaken from
her wise decision that to make toast
for yourself was one thing, but to have
to do 1t for two was another. Even
in his most impatient moods Horace
had to admire the lofty ideal that
Caroline maintained toward marriage.
1t was something that had to be under
taken on dlgnifled, rather grand scale
or not at all.
And day or so ago Caroline was
still making her own toast and draw
ing an occasional picture that sold,
quite content on her small income and
Horace was working on patiently with
the concern with which he had begun
ten years ago, grimly waiting for an
other chance ahead that would bring
him the coveted six-thousand dollar
income. II did not seem then that
there would be long to wait, for al
ready he had reached the fifty-five hun
dred mark and he had saved enough
to make possible the prospects of
starting in life with rather more pre-
tentious abode than the suburban cot
tage that Caroline had held In such
contempt.
Caroline worked at her drawing
board as patiently and eagerly as ever
and her ability as an illustrator had
not become impaired but owing to war
conditions, as the editors told her, there
was less. demand for her particular
kind OF talent than in years gone by.
When she did get an order II meant
a smaller check than formerly. She
did not finch at the economies this
necessitated. Single poverty was one
thing, she insisted, and married pow
erty another.
Then q day or so ago Horace came
to spend his usual Sunday afternoon