Perth Amboy evening news., 1920-04-10
CHAPTER 43

As the warm weather developed,
Alice found herself really happier
than she had been for a long time.
Looking back through the months.
ehe wondered sometimes how she had
stood IL.
And 1 could not have lone 1t, she
said to her mother. in one of infre-
quent bursts of confidence" except
for the work Nv done. Do you
know. 1 haven't taken half an hour
TO be frivolous, or to do just nothing
ct all. since Lois left-and David"
Ehe stopped with the sentence unfin-
ished. Even now. she could not talk
very much about David.
II know. my dear. Don't you think
you ought tor" Mrs. Fairbanks paus-
ed midway In her work. As usual, she
was ready to accept any suggestion
Alice made. If Alice said she had not
been frivolous. the mother Immediate
~ thought she wanted to be-and that
of course. she should be. II Alice re-
marked that she was tired of the
house. Mrs. Fairbanks at once wanted
her to go off on a trip. 1t never en-
tered her poor little head to consider
She practical details; Alice wanted a
fhing-and wouldn't Alice tax 1t?
Alice, as usual laughed aside her
mothers remark.
How would 1 be frivolous7" she
wanted to know. There are the
movies, but l hate them. they're full
of love stories that end happily, and
ell the love stories / know about In
real life are tragedies. Then there's
a. show now and then. but usually
they're worse than the movies. Occa-
sionally someone gives a party. But
first of all / haven't q nice dress to
wear and secondly the people don't
interest me-"
Mrs. Fairbanks went on mixing the
mid-air and looked slightly d%iscour-
aged. She was mixing a pudding for
supper, and Alice. having come from
the settlement house, had dropped In
TO one of the kitchen chairs to rest.
Mrs. Fairbanks seized upon the n
part of the remark most comprehen-
sible TO her.
Eyes, you must have a new dress.
Now 1 wish you'd go down to Tup-
per's tomorrow. and pick out someI
rice silk. And a pattern. 1 can make
Sc for you, and 1t needn't cost so
ahuch.",
pear mother. I don't want q party
dress, Alice protested. 81 wouldn't
enjoy these silly dances a bit more If
! q the best dress in the room.
Where's my chemistry? / van to
study"
She went into the other room. the
book in her hand. He mother ooked
after her with a slightly worried ex-
preston.
Alice was different these days. Her
laugh was as ready, her optimism
seemed as pronounced-and yet, there
was a difference. She went with al
most feverish haste from n piece
of work to another, even her magnii
cent strength was not equal to the
tasks she set herself. The collegel
books she pored over so faithfully IN
the evenings sometimes were too diff
ficult for her tired brain to concen-
trate upon. Alice a often fallen as
ieep over a subject that ordinarily
Fascinated her.
That one remark the girl had made
that all the low stories she knew
about in real life were tragedies,
showed the difference. Alice had
never before admitted that there was
anything radically wrong with the
world.
Mrs. Fairbanks went on mixing the
pudding then. having made 1t frothy
by much beating, she poured 1t into a
CREASED tin and set in the oven.
I'll get her the dress anyway" she
said to herself, and at once felt that
all the world was rosy again. I'll go
down to Tupper's and pick out some
taffeta In that soft blue she likes ana
make 1t to surprise her"
Mrs. Fairbanks vas perfectly happy
again. She felt too. that Alice would
be-when she was presented with the
dress.
Alice meantime, had thrown her
self on h couch. and picked up her
book. But 1t was hard to e and
comprehend an intricate problem
when her back ached. She had don
the first work on the gardens that
were to adorn the settlement house
neighborhood and to make beautiful