Bogalusa enterprise and American. (Bogalusa, La.) 1918-19??, 1920-01-01

avenue met ANDERSON boulevard hars
a. an Obtuse angle. and the removal oe
the pillars made the boulevard seem q
cross street Of no overpowering IEns
portance certainly Il did not seem 90
be q boulevardl
George walked BY the Manslon hur-
riedly, and came home to his mothers
house for the last time.
Emptiness was there, too, and the
closing Of the door resounded through
bare rooms; for downstairs there was
no furniture in the house except q
kitchen table In the dining room, which
Fanny had kept .for dinner" she said.
though as she was to cook and serve
that meal herself George had his
doubts about her name forit. Upstairs.
she had retained her own furniture,
and George had been living In his
mothers room, having sent everything
from his own to the auction. Isabel's
room was stin as II had been, but the
furniture would be moved with
Fanny's to new quarters In the morn
Ing. Fanny had made plans for her
nephew as well as herself; she had
found a "three-room kitchenette apart
ment" In an apartment house where
several old friends Of hers had estab.
llshed themselves elderly widows OF
citizens once prominent" and other
retired gentry. People used their own
.kltchenettes" for breakfast and lunch,
but there was a tabIe-d'hote arrange
ment for dinner on the ground floor:
and after dinner bridge was played
all evening, an attraction powerful
with Fanny. She had made ali the
arrangements, she reported, and ner-
vousIy appealed for approval. asking IL
she hadn't shown herself pretty prae-
tiealn Ia such matters. George acquf.
eseed absent-mindedly, not thinking Of
what she said and not realizing to
what It committed him.
he began to realize 1t now. as he
wandered about the dismantled house;
he was far from sure that he WIS
willing to live IN a "three-room apart
ment' with Fanny and eat breakfast
and lunch with her (prepared by her
self in the 'kitchenette'') and dinner
at the table d'hote n ''such a pretty
Colonial dining room" $50 Fanny de-
scribed IT'D at a little round table they
would have all to themselves in the
midst OF dozen little round tables
which other relics Of disrupted FAM
lies would have all to themselves. For
the first time, now that the change
was Imminent, George began to deyel-
up before his minds eye pictures of
what he was in for; and they appalled,
lin. he decided that such life
vcrged upon the sheerly unbearable,
and that after all there were sons
things left that he Just couldn't stand.
SO he made up his mind to speak to
his aunt about it at dinner" and tell
her that he preferred to ask Bronson
10 let him put sOfa-bed. trunk End
folding rubber bathtuh behind
screen 10 the dark rear room Os ~ o.
dce.
But at adlnner' Fanny was negy-
Gus. and so distressed about the fail.
ure Of her efforts with sweetbreads
and macaroni; and she was so eager
Ia her talk Of how comfortable they
would be "by this time tomorrow
night"
After sdinner'' he went upstairs,
moving his hand slowly along tbs
smooth walnut railing Of the balus.
trade. Half way to the landing he
stopped, turned, and stood looking
down at the heavy doors masking the
black emptiness that had been the
library. Here he had stood on what
he now knew was the worst day Of his
Lire; here he had stood when his moth.
er passed through that doorway. hand.
INLAND with her brother, to learn what
Der son had done.
BE went on more heavily, more slow
Is; and, more heavily and slowly still
entered Isabel's room and shut the
door. he did not come forth again.
and babe Fanny goodnight through
the closed door when she stopped OUT
side 1t later.
eve put all the lights out. George
she said. "Eyerything's all right"
every we'll he called. "Good night
Aunt Fanny" s-.f
His voice had strangled sound 10
spite Of him; but she seemed not to
notice II, and he heard her 90 to her
own room and lock herself IL with
bolt and key against burglars. She
had said the one thing she should not
have said just then: I'm sure your
mothers watching over you, George"
She had meant to be kind, but it de-
stroyed his last chance for sleep that
night. He would have slept little Il
she had not said It. but since she had
said it he did not sleep at all. For be
knew that It was true-lf II could be
true-that his mother. If she stll lived
in spirit, would be weeping on the
other side Of the wall Of silence. weeps
ing and seeking for some gate to let
her through 50 that she could cons
and watch over him.
BE felt that If there were such gates
tg,sv, ,,yara o4rral.e ha~~oa thox rvnpA