Evening star., 1919-03-30
BY EDNA FERBER.

with Il dull glow in her leathery
cheeks and her eyes alight with re-
solve. They had what she called a
plain talk.
Listen. 10. They've offered me the
Job of first assistant resident worker.
And I'm going to take 1t, Take It!
7 know fifty other girls who'd give
their ears for 1t. l go in next month"
away? Away from here, you mean
to liVe?' Carrie laid down her fork.
well, really Jo! After all that ex-
planation."
But to go over there to live! Why.
that neighborhood's full of dirt, and
disease, and crime, and the Lord
knows what all. l can't let you do
that, Carrie"
Carries chin came down. She laugh
cd u short little laugh. Let me!
That's eighteenth century talk, 10.
MY 'fe,s my own to live. I'm going"
And she went.
10 Hertz was his own master. Free
to marry. Free to come and go. And
he found he didn't even think. Of mar
rying. He didn't even want to come
or go, particularly A rather frumpy
thickening neck Much has been writ
ten about the unwed, mlddle-aged
woman; her fussiness, her primness,
her angularity of mind and body. IN
the male that same fussiness devel-
ops. and certain primness, too. But
Every Thursday evening he took
dinner at Eva's, and on Sunday noon
at StelIs. He tucked his napkin under
his chin and openly enjoyed the home-
made soup and the we'll cooked meats.
After dinner he tried to talk business
with Eva's husband. or Stelrs. HIS
business tufks We're the old-fashioned
kind. beginning:
well, now, looka here. Take,
frinstance your raw hides and leath-
ers."
But Ben and George didn't want to
and leathcrs," at all. They would
always listen. restively, and say, "Uh-
huh" at intervals, and at the first
chance they would sort of fade out
of the room, with meaning glance
at their wives. Eva had two chill
10 with good-natured tolei ance.
Stell had no children. Uncle 10 de-
generated, by almost imperceptble
degrees. from the position of hon.
ored guest. who is served with white
meat, to that Of one who is content
with leg and one of those obscure
and bony sections which, after much
turning with a bewildered and. in
vestigating knife and fork, leave ono
baff1ed and unsatisfed.
Eva and Stell got together and de-
cided that Jo ought to marry.
ut isn't natural" Eva told him. II
never saw man who took so little
interest in women"
So they had In for dinner certain
friends and acquaintances Of fitting
age They spoke of them as splendid
girls" Between thirty-six and forty
The following Thursday Eva would
say: How did YOU like her. Jo?"
Like who?' 10 would spar feebly.
Miss Matthew'S"
who's she?"
Nov. don't be funny, 10. You
know very we'll I mean the girl who
was here for dinner The one who
talked SO well on the emigration
"oh, her. Why, she was all right.
Seems to be a smart woman"
But didn't you like her?"
can't say l did. Eva. And can't
say didn't. She made me think
lot of a teacher ] had in the fifth
reader. Name of Hines AS I recall
her, she must have been a fine wom-
an. But / never thought of her as
a woman at all. She was just
You make me tired" snapped Eva
lmpatiently "A man of your age.
You don't expect to marry q girl, do
you? A childm
Il don't expect to marry anybody"
10 had answered.
And that was the truth, lonely
though he often was. Any one who
eoS tio meaning VI luc Loop huOWS
the significance of q move to north
shore suburb. and a house. Eva's
daughter. Ethel, was growing up, and
her mother had an eye on society.
That did away with JOS Thursday
dinner. Then Stells husband bought
a car. They went out in the country
Sunday. Stell said it was getting SO
that maids objected to Sunday din
ners. anyway. Besides. they were un-
healthy. old-fashioned things. They
always meant to ask 10 to come
along, but by the time their friends
were placed, and the lunch. and the
boxes, and sweaters and Georges
camera, and everything, there seemed
to be no room for n man OF JOS bulk.
So that eliminated the Sunday din
ners.
Just drop in any time during the
week." stell said. for dinner. Ex-
cept Wednesday--that's our bridge
highland Saturday. And, of course.
Thursday. Cook is out that night.
Don't wait for me to phone"
And so Jo drifted into that sad-eyed.
dyspeptic family made up OF those
you see dinings In second-rate res
taurant.
And then came the war. The war
that spelled death and destruction to
millions. - The war that brought
fortune to 10 Hertz and transformed
him, over night, from a baggy-kneed
old bachelor, whose business was
failure, to q prosperous manufacturer