The Tomahawk., 1919-12-11

avenue met ANDERSON boulevard hero
q: an obtuse angle, and the removal OF
the pillars made the boulevard seem
cross street Of no overpowering Inn
portance-certainly it did not seem to
be boulevard!
. George walked by the Mansion hur-
riedly and came home to his mother's
house for the last time.
Emptiness was there, too, and the
closing Of the door resounded through
bare rooms; for downstairs there was
no furniture in the house except
kitchen table In the dining room, which
Fanny had kept "for dinner" she said,
though as she was to cook and serve
that meal herself George had, his
doubts about her name for it. Upstairs,
she had retained her own furniture.
and George had been living in his
mothers room, having sent everything
from his own to the auction. lsaberS
room was still as it had been, but the
furniture would be moved with
Fanny's to new quarters in the morn
ing. Fanny had made plans for her
nephew as we'll as herself; she had
found q 'three-room kitchenette apart
ment" in an apartment house where
several old friends of hers had estab-
ltshed themselves-elderly widows OF
citizens once "prominent' and other
retired gentry. People used their own
"kitchenettes" for breakfast and lunch,
but there was table-d'hote arrange
a.. &I,n rvponn1 f10nN
and after dinner bridge was played
all evening, an attraction powerful
with Fanny. She had made all the
arrangements" she reported, and ner.
vously appealed for approval, asking II
she hadn't shown herself "pretty prac-
tical" in such matters. George acqui-
esced absent-mindedly not thinking OF
what she said and not realizing to
what it committed him. ..
He began to realize it now. as he
wandered about the dismantled house;
he was far from sure that he was
willing to live in "three-room apart
ment" with Fanny and eat breakfast
and lunch with her (prepared by her
self in the 'kitchenette') and dinner
at the table d'hote IN "such pretty
Colonial dining room" ESQ Fanny de-
scribed it) at a little round table they
would have all ito themselves IN the
midst of a dozen little round tables
which other relics of disrupted fam
lilies would have all to themselves. For
the first time, now that the change
was imminent, George began to devel-
op before his minds eye pictures or
v lat he was in for; and they appalled,
Lin. He decided that such lie
verged upon the sheerly unbearable,
and that after all there were some
things left that he Just couldn't stand.
So he made up his mind to speak to
his aunt about it at dinner" and tell
her that he preferred to ask Bronson
TO let him put sofa-bed, trunk and
folding rubber bathtub behind
screen in the dark rear room OF the OF"
fee. ..- -.E
But at "dinner" Fanny was nerv-
ous, and so distressed about the fall
ure of her efforts with sweetbreads
and macaroni; and she was SO eager
Ia her talk Of how comfortable they
would be ''by this time tomorrow
night ...'s u.s..
After dinner he went upstairs,
moving his hand slowly along the
smooth walnut railing Of the bafus-
trade. Half way to the landing he
stopped, turned, and stood looking
down at the heavy doors masking tho
black emptiness that had been tho
library. Here he had stood on what
he now knew was the worst day OF his
life; here he had stood when his moth
er passed through that doorway, hand
finland with her brother, to learn whae
her son had done. 4... .r-a!
He went on more heavily, more slow.
"; and. more heavily and slowly stll.
entered Isabels room and shat the
door. He did not come forth again.
aud bade Fanny goodnight through
the closed door when she stopped oqt'
side It later. ...... ....s 49,
1--WE put all the lights ont, George"
she said. "Everything's oil right"
"very well," he called. "Good night,
Aunt Fanny" =. ....... III.
His voice had q strangled sound IN
spite of him; but she seemed not to
notice It, and he heard her 60 to her
own room and lock herself In with
bolt and key against burglars. She
had said the one thing she should not
have said just then: 'rm sure your
mothers watching over you. Georgie."
She had meant to be kind, but 1t dee
stroyed his last chance for sleep that
night. He would have slept little II
she had not said It, but since she had
said 1t he did not sleep ut oil. For he
knew that 1t was true-if 1t could be
true-that his mother. II she still lived
in spirit, would be weeping on the
other side Of the wall Of silence, weep
ing and seeking for some gate to let
her through SO that she could come
and watch over him"
He felt that II there were such gates
they were surely barred: they were