Omaha daily bee., 1919-02-11
VIRTUOUS WIVES s:;' ' Il. s; /: e.: {:
tcopyrigh., 1918, BY Little, Brown 4 Col

nave a second ulSdBIeCdOlS CNpCIl
ence to find you in such a costume,
he said, his eyes running over thu
soft negligee which wrapped hei
little body about as the wreath o
some heavy incense. "If you CHOOSE
to receive men at such hours in.youl
private salon, / object to your dane
ing in a dressing gown"
"Dancing?" she said, startled bacl
into attention.
Exactly" .......
you are out of your senses, An
drewp she cried, and her modesty
was so offended that her cheek;
blushed in indignant reproach
"You don't think that of me! No
no; that is impossible"
Zone momentP He stood staring
at her, his fingers playing like lear
tentacles. DO / understand you tc
say that you have not been dancing
with Mr.. Dawson?"
She drew herself up and faced him
with a flash of anger.
Certainly not"
THAT is rather more serious
then" he seemed to her himself say
ing. Something roared in his tenn
pies; rush of water closing over
him. "Mr. Dawson himself, five
minutes ago, told me that he had
been rehearsing the minuet you are
to dance with himP
"He told you thatP she cried
aghast.
exactly that" He waited, tori
by all the binding forces of jeal-
ousy, his eyes never leaving her
face. After a moment he said inn
periously, "Well?"
She could not assemble her wits
She felt trapped, beating out her
wings against cage, convicted by
appearances.
"But this is awful" she thought,
shrinking before the ugliness of the
situation. He'll believe anything Of
me, and l am innocent"
"Well?" she heard his voice re-
peat.
She glanced down at the card
which was erumpled by the action
of her fingers-her fingers that were
moist with perspiration-and she
said slowly.
IF Mr.. Dawson said such thing,
he told lie, and a very stupid lie" "
The silence seemed endless before
she heard him draw deep breath.
That believe" he said carefully.
cat least you have not forgotten
your dignity and mine to that ex-
tent. Now, may | ask why Mr..
Dawson should have felt it neces-
sary to explain his presence here
with a lie?"
"'A lie'" she repeated weakly,
feeling the forces of circumstance
closing again about her.
Exactly lie"
Before she could meet this new
danger. the telephone bell rang.
Glad of the opportunity to delay,
she made him a sign and took up
the receiver. 1t was Harry Fortes-
cue, Of the Young Guard" as Irma
termed them. Nothing could have
been more opportune.
Impossible, Harry" she said If
ritably, I'm lunching with Irma and
Gladys. Some other time. I'm in
rush now"
She put down the receiver, but
hardly had she taken a step before
the bell rang again. This time, it
was young Pardee, who was to
dance in the minuet-Pardee whose
manner toward her of late had
aroused Mrs. Challoner's combative
instincts
launching with Gladys at Laza-
res" she said hurridly Run in and
and see us there, and we'll make an
appointment. In an awful rush
now, Charlie-can't talk to you
These Interruptions from young
men whom he did not know and
whom Amy already addressed by
their first name were not calculated
to calm Forrester's irritation,
eff your social duties will allow
YOU" he started to say, with cold,
calculated phrase, but his anger
boiling up, he burst out, We'll, come
now; what have you to say?"
She had regained her poise. After
ali, it was quite simple. She would
tell him the truth-everything as it
had happened.
81 should have told YOU" she said,
frowning at the effort this simple
operation suddenly required. Il
have had an unpleasant experience
with Tody Dawson, but l have
handled it in the proper way as
you would have wished me-" She
hesitated, and then continued reso-
lutely: Last night, in the car,
when he was taking me home, the
boy forgot himself. l don't know
why-he may have had too much
to drink" She hesitatdd, and re-
coiling before the whole truth,
said, "He tried to take my hand"
I'm love with you, Of course"
II don't know-he imagined he
was, perhaps" she said reluctantly,
angry at herself that she had pail
ated the offense.
what did you do?"
II stopped the car at once" With
the instinct of a woman to appease
a man who is jealous by the spec
tacle of his rivals humiliation, she
addedi at was raining. | made
him get out and left him there, in
the rain. This morning he came
around and begged me to see him.
| thought it was better to treat him
as boy to end the incident. / saw
him and made him understand my
loyalty to you. He is heartily
ashamed, quite miserable, and ! am
sure that he has now only the pro-
foundest respect for me, your wife" "
She extended her hand abruptly, and
offered the card. This is his card"
He took a long moment to read
it, and then tore it slowly to pieces
with unsteady fingers.
Good GodP he said, leaning sud-
denly against the table. In the last
Aerrihfa 4,,ou1a14e he had faared