Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1919-12-13
"When a Girl h1drrieS"
by
New, Romantic Serial Dealing With tie Absorbing
Problem of a Girl Wife
BY ANN Isle

Jim and | were worried about you,
so in spite of orders we are here"
I With amazing force the covers
| heaved back and Val bounced
around to. face me. Her face was
distorted by tears, and she was still
| in the throes of great, surging sobs.
| She stared at me for u moment
blinking back her tears and gulp-
/ ing down the emotion that shook
her Then a strange look came over
! her twisting face. 1t was something
like triumph. Malice at the least.
And now are you satisfied she
demanded" Has your spying
! shown you one thing you're better
off for knowing? Are you any hap
pier for making me so much more
miserable than | need to be? jim
JIM" she cried, raising her voice.
Jim strobe into the room. She
held out her hand to him with the
air of poor frightened child wan
derlng in the dark. The change in
her manner was astounding. She
clung to Jim desperately, and l
could see that the trust and the af-
tection she suggested were pleas
ing to him. Everything in her sug-
gestion of helplessness and faith
were calculated to flatter any man
most of all my jim.
"Oh, Jimmie-boy. Jimmie boy.
If you've any pity at all. if your
friendship for Lane prompts any
tenderness for his wife, won't you
make Anne leave me alone ?" she
moaned." She hates me and sus-
poets me of all the despicable
things in the world. And she Games
prying in here all the time under
the guise of friendship. IT'S driving
me mad! It's more than I can bear
Won't YOU keep her out of here?
Won't YOU make her understand
that I'm going to be free of her sur
veillance if l have to insult her in
front of the nurse. For your sake. !
don't want to do that. But she's
driving-she's driving me to it,"
EIumiliated and outraged I
shrank from the woman I'd been
trying to protect. | wanted to cry
out that I hadn't suspicion that
would by now have been clear fact
to everyone. if | had not done all
in my power to cover her tracks.
| wanted to defend myself from the
missiles that were being hurled at
me before the eyes of my Jim. |
felt sick at what he must think of
me and the face Val was putting on
the matter.
There was q breathless moment
of tense silence. Then ! started
toward the door, too hurt, too cow
ed to saw u word. \ great surge of
bitterness rose in my heart against
Jim, who had forced me into the
room where now | was insulted, and
who permitted Val to play injured
innocence and to paint me as an
eVil-minded harpy who was hound
ing her in her sick and helpless
state
Il told her yesterday never to
darken my door again." screamed
Val. I'm not in q condition to en-
dure her prosecutions. jim. jim,
don't let her take it out on me!
Don't let her ruin my whole life,
There seems nothing at which she'n
stop
1 closed the door. ; could stand
no more. | heard Walls voice going
on and on-hurling invectives and
reproaches at me no doubt. She
was misinterpreting for her own
ends every kindness I'd tried to
render her, reading suspicion into
my desire to protect her. All I'd
wanted knowledge for was to pro
tect Val from the consequences of
her own deed-from ENVY first of
all. And now this. / was shamed
before. jim. And Jim didn't defend
me.
| covered against the door. Hop
ing against hope, | waited for Jim
TO come to me. A minute passed.
Another. Still Jim didn't appear.
l crept down the hall to my room
and flung myself face down on the
bed, fearless but utterly miserable.
ITO Be COntinucd)