Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-06-12
HIS SECOND WIFE
By ERNEST POOLE
Author OF "The Harbor," His Famiiv''
Copyright, 1890, bp Public Ledger Co.

mi, Etnei exclaimed, leaning forward
and answered:
Very. I mean Dwight"
Ethel rose abruptly.
"phs pbat vii TIlI be enough, I think"
Ethel wheeled upon her:
yrWhat a-loathsome mind you have
VIII you leave me, please?"
no. ~ show you this. And then
Scsd We get ,s 10 business sn,.,on. and Fanny pro
took out few typewriter pages. "Just
look these over" she advised, "and
then tell me whether shall CO." And as
Ethel hesitated. You'd better. They're
Ethel took them and read them and az
she did so her rage and scorn rra.seu
nrst into bewilderment and then into a
sickening fright. She felt all at once SO
on her ground. She had always heard
OF detectives and their reports OF shad-
owed, wives but that sort of thing had
Just been In the papers and had never
seemed very real. This is about me-
she thought. It told of every meeting
she had had with Dwight, in his studio
and in other places. once at the Ritz
where they had dined and Zone to the
opera, twice in the park where they had
walked. Such clean times, all three OF
them but how cheap and disgusting they
about DwIghts past, his record with
women--two were named. He had been
correspondent once ! And his studio
was described In detail with emphasis
Suddenly It was laughabie And so sne
laughed at Fanny! And Fanny replied :
You mean he won't believe itr'
Ethel went on laughing. Joe wouldn't
believe It,. She wished he would come
and turn this woman out on the street.
She felt relief unspeakable.
m You've forgotten" Fanny added,
that you lied to him about your friend"
How dare you say that?'
so.IaS Because y, I.lsS ! have the facts; On the
TO dine with you. and you acted as
though you'd never met | gathered that
from Joe himself when I saw him ll,u
next day. While the truth of It was
Xou,d SoS, been @n,s seeing Dwight ever since the
Yes? That will be easy enough to
explain" But Ethel felt herself turning
white. She sank down and thought,
Now you'll need all your nerve. Don't
get faint, you've got to think clearly"
But she was not given time.
And all that had been going on while
you were supposed to be home with the
baby" Mrs. Carr leaned forward brisltly.
Now the thing for you to do is exactly
there's just one thing | wish you to
understand about me. II you want to
keep Joe. keep him. l don't want him
l never did; I've laughed at you again
L
trying to do. All l want is to be let
alone to go on with Joe as always have
What ! mean by that you won't
understand, because you don't under
stand my life. A woman like me in
this city needs one man who'll be her
friend-the big brother idea--to help and
advise her. carry her through when
she's down bit. And Joe has always
been like that.
why? Because of Amy. When she
Are al.
II was on visit to me. had known
her back In boarding school. Well, the
visit heightened out. / saw how crazy
she was for the town, and I was fairly
we'll of then: so let her stay and
gave her home-let her meet my
at the time who was in the real estate
business. He knew Joe. So I took Joe
and handed him over to Amy. And
though she would have been glad enough
to forget the debt. Joe wasn't that kind.
So that's my hold on Unexpectedly
clean and above-board. And need him
In my business. There are times when
I'm down and need his money. ether
times when ! need his name. But that
Is all. And II he has been fool enough
10 marry a siddy young girl like you,
that's his own lookout won't inter-
fere. I mean I won't Interfere with
you so long as you don't interfere with
me. You let me &C on with Joe as be-
With sudden fierce impulse, in spite
Of herself, Ethel crumplcd them up in
her hands.
Don't be fool" said Fanny. They're
only copies. Give them back" Ethel
,n1, did 50, So mechanically. S1., Now what will
He may be here any minute now"
She. waited. but got no reply. She
saw the girl shiver little,
What's the use of being so solemn
ana scared?" she impatiently asked.
You're running. no more risk than be-
fore. So far as I'm concerned. my dear.
you can go right on with Dwight IL you
wish; All I'm asking is a square deal"
But she'll ask and ask" thought
Ethel She'll ask OF me anything She
wants. And she'll get me so tangled
n other lies that then I wouldn't have
,yen a chance Of making Joe see how
hings really are" -
This thought cleared her mind little,
M, No she said. you can tell him"
Ethel looked down At her hands in
we're a.s0S SlenGhed' She smiled at them,
You're sure Of that?"
Ethel nodded.
Very well! I"
She's uneasy" thought Ethel. and
1lsappointed-not sure Of herself. I've
lone the right thing"
ih uhioot perfect BlIenC6 tney |
,at- waiting for Joe to come home, her
sion wavered again and again, and !
I TOOK all her courage to hold herself |
y. She made occasional trite remarks,
md received replies of the same kind
IN them both the tension was growing
This means everything to you, too,
amy, dear" Ethel reflected viciously.
I Joe believes me--you're done fori"
AT each slight stir that Fanny made,
ethel hoped she had lost her courage
md WAS Rnftinpr raahv tA or ~ 70 |
tayed And as she sat there motionless,
what a strong figure she grew to be,
moment by moment. in Ethels eyes
trong. in spite OF the life she led OF
lothes. rich feeding drinking, dancing.
I'D age swiftly coming on. Strong
Ievertheless. in an odious way, In the
oathsome point of view OF her world to-
Vard love and marriage. II had set her
0 prying and landed, her herewith
hese 'papers In her hands That was
ler way Of looking at life, and a mighty
trong way 1t appeared