Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-06-09
DAVID COMES.
Chanter C\.

The rest of the week passed in 3 fever Of
excitement. as far as Alice was concerned.
All the m0notony was gone-the days
dragged. to tie sure but it was only be-
cause they were 50 filled with undesirable
duties, when what she wanted 70 pc doing
was sitting and thinking Of Dayid-who
was coInIngi
Shall | 90 TO the train 70 meet him?
She asked her mother, the day after the
telegram arrived.
Her mother affected ignorance.
What train?' she asked.
"Whv the one David comes on,
Alice answered, as though there could Toe
no other train ID all the world. There
only one train In the afternoon. 1t gets IN
about three and il comes over from the
Junction. Some big Chicago express stops
of at the Junction
You seem to know a lot about the
trains. Mrs Fairbanks remarked.
Alice glanced over st her with q sudden
smile This sarcasm was new ID her very
gentle little mother.
Il went down to the station and asked
about all the Sunday trains she con
fessed demurely.
You seem to have forgotten there
another railroad runs into this town.
1tOh YES, that onel Alice had forgotten
a small line that came across from q
town some nine miles distant, an almost
bankrupt road that ran train or so q day.
"Well, ! might find out about the trains
there Do YOU think he d come on that
IF YOU want TO know what ] think,
and Mrs. Fairbanks almost bit of her
words In her vexation. i think you might
stay at home ike decent, modest woman,
and not go racing off 10 meet him as soon
he chooses IN pornp after Won
Alice sobered at the tone.
''You don't ike David, do YOU, moth
err" she asked gently.
II don't think he had much sense allow
ing Lois 10 run of with him, IN the first
place And in the second ! don I think he
could have been much III love with YOU to
have gotten under her influence. Besides
which, he couldn't appreciate q fine girl
when he saw one.
Alice turned to the window. 1t was all
true-Davld was really a little weak IL
character, otherwise Lois would never
have managed him so cleverly He had
been dissatisfied with her-wIth Alice IN
those old days. He did not appreciate her
love. her entire DEVOTION as much as he
might, since he allowed himself to be IN
fuenced by surface qualities.
A vision Of herself that disastrous
summer came up to her. She remembered
how she had gone about carelessly dressed
Ia ugly, Wrapperike house dresses that
destroyed the youthful lines and the grace
OF her figure. She remembered how she
had let her nails get broken and her hands
SCARED and red from work, how she had
done up her hair IN the quickest way. how
she had good-naturedlv refused to learn to
dance, how careless and how self-satisfied
she had been.
Another vision Of Lois came the dainty
feminine fTilly, soft-yoiced Lois, d delight
10 the eye, but as selfish as any woman
could be- This last vision sent Alice up
stairs to her mirror, where she examined
herself closely.
She was ~ but size didn really look it
Many girls had been married years, some
had several children, at her age Yet
WASH I she just as glad she had waited this
long for love and all it meant Certainly
she did not look now as she did in those
days patted her smooth, shining
hair with its fashionable high knot, and
examined her complexion In spite Of the
work she was doing, she had managed to
keep her skin soft and not allow too much
sunburn to spoil its prettiness. She decided
she would have her nails manicuTed before
Sunday. Then she went To the closet and
brought out the youthful blue organdic
that was a birthday present yes, she
would wear that.
You are the Happy Lady again,
Peppita told her Saturday, when ,Alicc's
laugh rang through the Settlement House
Peppita was curiously sensitive to other
peoples moods-indeed. it was she who