Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1920-07-16
MAN AND A MAID
BY ETHEL I. STETSoN.


ana was walking leisurely up Main
street when 1 met Bill Kingston Bill
Is the finest fellow l know. He saw
me first. but didn't speak. 1 stepped
over and grabbed him and said:
"Bill, have you been in this town
all day without showing up at my
placer"
Eyes, Frank, came in this morn
ing"
l was about to say "Well, you're a
right subject for a nut house." but by
this time I could see that he was in
some kind of trouble. q hate to see
old Bill in trouble.)
You're going in the wrong direc-
ton. man." tried to face him about,
but he seemed disinclined to 20 home
with me. Here was trouble indeed.
Bill always made my home his head
quarters when he came to our town on
business trips.
What is 1t. old man?" I asked.
1.-THE thing feared-it's finally
come, Frank. My wife has gone away
left me.
Our home has been like a machine
run by unseen hands, no friction to be
sure. but lifeless, soulless, with wealth
the power which fed it. It needed
the touch Of a woman's hand and
Marian didn't give it. She got bored
to death-I got bored to death, so we
agreed to live apart indefinitely"
"Just now you need something good
to eat" said I. and tried to pull him
along.
Cant do 1t, Frank" he said. Cant
stand 1t right now to go into real
home and see your wife all done up
In n big apron frying fritters for
you"
my wife won't be home till along
toward midnight-big suffrage meet
Ing, dinner, speeches, etc. You and
I'll be all to ourselves"
Considering that, Bill came along
with me. The home windows were
allght and when I opened the front
door something smelled mighty good.
Bill started back.
Your wife has returned. I must
20, Frank. Your domestic happiness
Is going to unnerve me tonight"
domestic happiness nothing"
"Bill, you've been mighty careful
to conceal your ideas about n real
home from your wife for fear you'd
hurt her feelings; well, how do you
know that she hasn't been concealing
that same thing from you for the same
reason?"
That was new thought to Bill and
1t seemed to give him good deal Of
courage, so that we went in to dinner
In pretty good spirits. Before we sat
down l went to the pantry and said
to our new maid:
~, Il don't know what you've got for
dinner, but serve some Of those dough,
nuts, anyway. My guest thinks there's
nothing like doughnuts, and If YOU
happen to have made any beef stew
while my wife was away. give us some
Of that, too; he's especially fond of It,"
AS I've said, Bill's spirits were i'm
proved, but I could think of nothing
to account for his unusual behavior
during our dinner. He was unnatural,
IN a state Of suppressed and, what
appeared to me, happy agitation. I'd
seldom seen him like that before. 1t
commenced when the maid came in
for the first time carrying two plates
OF soup, or, rather, stew. I was talk
Ing to him when she entered, and
saw the queereSt expression come
over his face, then he started up as
If he were going to speak, then there
was big crash-the maid had dropped
both plates. At that he began to
laugh. The girl was embarrassed at
first, then she looked at me, then at
/, Bill, a kind of long, queer look, and
then she began to laugh, and so then
l laughed. and we oil laughed.
Such happiness possessed them both
and there was such an evidence of
mutual understanding between them
that I began to have suspicious Of
good old Bill. His wife had gone away
left him-could 1t be for any reason
other than what he had told me?
II say, Bill, have those doughnuts
gone to your head, or what the deuce
alls you?" I finally lost my temper.
mo, not my head, but straight to
my heart" he answered; and 1 was
pretty worried
AS we were TiSlnS from the table
the maid tripped in from the Kitchen
rather saucily, I thought, and said
to me:
'Mr. DightOn, am leaving your en-
ployment very soon-as soon as you
can find q substitute"
Then she looked straight ut Bill
and Bill looked straight at her; in fact
he hadn't looked anywhere else since
she entered the dining room. My
heart sank away down. My old Bill
the world was getting topsy-turvy.
managed to say: