The Benson signal., 1918-03-02

oOAuLcly SOuuu-pIOOAs hSIS . Wuer0
my stenographer sits all day, ready
like fireman. And this" he conclud
ed, leading the way to the other room,
''is the holy of holies."
It had a rubber floor, too, and, Rod
ney supposed. felt ceiling. But its
only furniture was one chair and
canvas cot.
"Sound-proof too," said Randolph.
"But sounding boards or something in
all the walls. press this button, start
a dictaphone, and talk in any direc-
tion, anywhere. It's all taken down.
Here's where I'm supposed to think,
make discoveries and things. tried it
for a WHILE"
They went back into the study.
'Clever beasts, though-pOOdleS," he
remarked, as he nodded Rodney to his
chair and poured himself another
drink. "Learn their tricks very nicely.
But, good heavens, Aldrich, think of
him as man! Think what our Amer
ican married women are up against,
when they want somebody to play off
against their husbands and have to fall
back on tired little beasts like that.
Eleanor doesn't mean anything. She's
trying to make me jealous. That's her
newest experiment. But it's downright
pitiful, I say"
Rodney got up out Of his chair. It
wasn't a possible conversation. 'I'll
be running along, I think" he said.
"Tve lot of proof to correct tonight,
and you've got work of your own,
expect"
"Sit down again." said Randolph
sharply. "Im just getting drunk. But
that can wait. I'm going to talk. I've
got to talk. And if you go, swear
I'll call up Eleanor's butler and talk
to him. You'll keep it to yourself,
anyway" He added, as Rodney hest.
tated, II want to tell you about Rose.
I saw her in New York, you know"
Rodney sat down again. eyes," he
said, $50 she wrote. Tell me how she
looked. She's been working tremen.
dously hard, and I'm little afraid
she's OVERRIDING it,"
"She looks" Randolph said very de-
liberately, "a thousand years old" He
laughed at the sharp contraction of
Rodney's brows. ooh, not like that
She's as beautiful as ever. Her skins
still got that bloom on it, and she still
fiushes up when she smiles. She's lost
five pounds, perhaps, but that's just
condition. And vitality! But a thou.
sand years old, just the same"
"Td like to know what you mean by
that" said Rodney.
"Why, look here" Randolph said.
"You know what kid she was when
you married her. Schoolgirl I used
to tell her things and she'd listen, all
eyes-holding her breath! Until I felt
almost as wise as she thought was.
She was always game, even then. If
she started q thing, she saw it through.
If she said, Tell it to me straight
why, she took it, whatever it might
be, standing up. She wasn't afraid of
anything. Courage Of innocence. Be-
cause she didn't know. Well, she's
courageous now, because she knows.
She understands tell you-every.
thing.
"Why, look here! We all but ran
into each other on the corner, there,
of Broadway and Forty-second street;
shook hands, said howdy-do. If I had
spare half-hour, would I come and
have tea with her here at the Knicker.
booker? She'd nodded at two or three
passing people while we stood there.
And then somebody said, Hello, Dane,'
and stopped. A miserable, shabby,
shivering little painted thing. Rose
said Hello and asked how she was
getting along. Was she working now?
She said no; did Rose know Of any
thing? Rose said, Give me your ad-
dress, and if I can find anything I'll
let you know The horrible little beast
told her where she lived and went
away. Rose didn't say anything to me,
except that she was somebody who'd
been out in road company with her.
But there was look in her eyes -.
Oh, she knew-everything. Knew
what the kid was headed for. Knew
there was nothing to be done about it.
She had no futters about it, didn't
pull long face, didn't, as told you,
say word. But there was look in
her eyes, somehow, that understood
and faced-everything And then we
went in and had our tea.
II had thousand curiosities about
her. I'd have found out anything
could. But it was she who did the find.
ing out. Beyond inquiring about you,
how lately I'd seen you, and so on, she
hardly asked a question; but pretty
soon I saw that she understood me.
She knew what was the matter with
me; knew what I'd made Of myself.
And she didn't even despise me!
'I came back here to kick this
thing to pieces, give myself fresh
start. And when I got here, I hadn't
the sand. I got drunk instead" He
poured himself another long drink and
slipped slowly.
Everybody knows" he said at last,