Evening star., 1920-02-29

But say. when 1t comes to usin, n p,i.
vate sec. free and careless he .urs 4,
an ace of aces.
Maybe you don't remember. bnt
almost picked out his wife for him
and when she'd set the data he turn.
over all the rest OF the details to me.
eve" TO providin' minister and ar
rahgln' his bridal tour. Honest, ex-
pect when the time comes for him to
step up and be measured for set
or wings and halo he'll look around
FOR me TO hold his place in the line
"ht,' his turn comes And he won't
be quite satisfied with the arrange
mcnts unless I'm on hand.
So ought to be prepared for most
any old assignment to bc hung on the
hook. l must say, though. that in the
case OF this domestic mix-up Of Mrs.
Bruce Mackey's l was caught gawpin'
on and unsuspectin'. In fact, 1 was
smotherin's mild snickler at the stu
alton. not dreamin' that I'd ever get
any nearer to 1t than you would to
some fool movie plot you might be
watchin' worked out on the screen.
We happens to crash right into the
middle of 1t. Wee and me, when we
drops in for our usual Sunday after
noon call on the Ellinses and finds
these week end guests Of theirs putin
it up to Mr.. and Mrs. Robert to tell
'em what they ought to do. Course.
this Mrs. Mackey is an old friend OF
Mrs. Roberts and we'd seen 'em both
out there before; in fact. we'd met 'em
when she was Mrs. Richard Harring-
ton and Bruce was just a sympathetic
bachelor sort Of danglin' around and
maxim himself useful. So it wasn't
quite as il they'd sprung the thing on
total strangers.
And, anyway, It don't rate very rank
as scandal. Not as scandals run.
This No. l hubby, Harrington, had
simply got what was coming to him,
only q little late. Never was cut out
to play the lead in a quiet domestic
sketch. Not with his temperament
and habits. Hardly. Besides. he was
we'll along in his sporty career when
he discovered this 19-year-old pippin
with the trustin' blue eyes and the
fascinatin' check dimples. But you
can't tell bad egg Just by glancin'
at the SHE'LL and she didn't stop to
hold him In front OF candle. Lucky
for the suspender wearin sex there
amt any such prenuptial test as that.
eh? She simply tucked her head down
Just above the top pearl stud. sup
pose. and said she would be his'n with
out inQuirin' II that cocktail breath of
his was q regular thing or Just an acci-
dent.
But she wasn't long in nndin out
that it was chronic. Oh, yes. He wasn't
known along Brodway ~ Dick Harry for
nothing. He might bs more or less Of
success az a corporation lawyer between
1880 and pm. in the daytime. but
after the shades OF night was we'll tied
down and the cabarets begun takin' the
lid of he was apt to be missin' from
tho family nreside. Wine, women and
the deuces wild was his specialties, and
when little wiflA tried to read the riot
act to him at am. he Just naturally
told her where she got of. And on oc-
ca siors, when the deuces hadn't been
runnin' his way. or the night had been
wilder than usual, he was quite rough
about 1t.
Yet she'd stood for that sort OF thing
nine long years before appiyin' for
decree. She got it. Of course, with the
custody Of the little girl ana a mod
crate alImony allowance He didn't even
file an answer, so 1t was all done quiet
with no stories in the newspapers. Ana
then for eight or ten years shed lived
by herself, Just dsvotin' all her time to
little Polly. sendin' her to school. chunn-
min with her durin' vacations. and try
in TO make her forget that she had
daddy In the discards.
Must have been several tender-heart-
ed male parties who was sorry for a
lonely grass widow who was perfect
80 and showed dimples when she laugh
Cd, but none Of 'em seemed to have the
stayln' qualities Of Bruce Mackey. He
had a little the edge OH the others, too.
because hs was all old family friend,
havin' known Dick Harry both before
and after he got the domestic dump. At
that, though. he didn't win out until
he'd almost broken the long distance
record as patient waiter, and under
stand 1t was only when little Miss Polly
got old enough to hint to Monmer that
Uncle Bruce would suit her hrst rate rs
4 ntyh nA