Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-09-09
A SWEETHEART AT THIRTY
The Story ofa Woman's Ttanssbrmatjon.
BY MARION RUBINCAM.
MORE Suspicious.
Chapter LXXVI.

MORE SUSPICIOUS.
Chapter LXXVI.
Violet was studying hard, and she
was trying to play hard too. With such
combination, something had to suffer
her pleasures or her studies, or her health.
But in some way she managed to pull
through we'll enough. She passed the
examinations and she told often of the
commendation of her professors.
Il should not 60 out 30 much, know, "
she said, coming in around midnight
once. "But if don't go with Bud when he
wants to go out he feels badly, and if he
happens to be in one of his stubborn
moods, he goes anyway-with Pete and
that crowd"
"Are you tired7" l asked, noticing
that her face was rather pale.
"No, not very" she said. Anyway,
row. It's the first lecture, or I'd wait till
morning"
She slipped out of her evening gown,
which she had worn that night to dance
somewhere, and began loosening her hair.
| always liked to watch her shake down
that golden, flying mass: like all brunettes
| admired blonde types immensely. But
| saw that she looked little tired; even
her youth and vitality could not quite
stand the pace she had set herself this
winter.
''Better 60 to bed and get up early"
mo" she said, shaking her hair all
around her shoulders and putting on
the blue kimono / had made her. "It's
only literature, and that's easy to do.
You go to sleep, and don't worry
But ] did not sleep Immediately, and
half an hour later / smelled coffee boil
ing. got up too, and into kimono and
and went out into the living room.
''Dear child" / protested. "You must
not drink coffee at this hour-it's nearly
oner'
81 know" vi answered, coming in with
a steaming cup on tray. "But my brain
simply wont register. I've read IL pages
without an idea of what it all means. This
viii just stimulate me enough to finish
my work-it won't keep me awake"
Ii smelled wonderfully good, and /
WAS wide awake myself by that time.
So l. too, poured myself some hot coffee
and picked up the paper to read till the
girl was through her lessons. 1t was no
way to preserve my hardly won youthful
LOOKOUT then, / argued, it never hurts to
break rule oncel
vi finished her work, and went out to
get some crackers to eat. She wanted
to talk, something was on her mind
''Did you know that Bud asked me TO
marry him the other night9"
"Yes-that is, i thought So" ] an
swered, glad she had brought up the
subject. These thin walls, you know;
it's hard not to hear"
Its all right, I'm glad you did,
vi said settling lower down in the cushion
of the chair and munching the cracker.
Are you really engaged then, and
ar, ,-n,, hanpy7f I acGoI Il hoY,I ~
intrude on her feelings, yet l felt she
wanted TO tell me something.
II don't know whether you'd call it
engaged" she answered slowly. We're
both pretty young, | guess. ] mean,
Mother was married and l think Laura
was born when she WAS my age-but
things are different nowadays, and some
how more complicated. Anyway, Father
had Alarm, and their living was guaranteed
by that. Bud has nothing to gain by
marrying me and everything to lose.
Where dix you pick up that phrase
1t doesn't sound like you?" / asked
her.
Il picked il up from Peter, she said
Il don't like him, but he has lot Of
intelligence, of sort, and tonight he
talked lot to me.
Il mean, I'd marry Bud tomorrow
whether he had any money or any pros
poets or not, l suppose the material things
are important-but somehow they don't
seem to matter to me. I'd 90 take posi-
tion and earn money, and we'd live in
wee place, not nearly as nice as this,
and think we d be awfullyihappy But
"But what" | asked.
"But / know Bud wouldn't be. He
wants everything awfully comfortable,
he likes money and he likes to spend it.
He's earning SIS week, that's ALL |
don't know when he'll get more. He
seems to think the only way to do is
TO speculate, taking the tips Pete gives
him and that he gets in other ways"
Hes been lucky enough to be enoour-
aged"
Beginners luck-fools luck, Pete
calls it. But he's in debt to Pete $500,
and ] think he owes that Mr.. Simons
zoo. He won't tell me. But he has money
ne spent a lot tonight. | saw several
$40 bills in his wallet when he paid this
evening"
Her blue eyes were very troubled as
she looked at me over the tsble.
And that's no basis to begin happy
marriage" she said. 'If it were just his
salary and if he were honestly working
70 make more, If would be different
But this way, / couldn't tell when he
won, and when he lost. He wont tell me
any more. do know this, that Pete or
Mr.. Simons loaned him some more money
and he bought something called c. Y.
Oil. They were talking tonight of it. They
say it's TO 90 up FIVE points tomorrow,
and then Bud will make dollar for every
point IT goes up, on every share he's bought
Next day she came in, holding IN after
noon paper, her face little white Look
here" she said, pointing to the financial
columns. That stock Bud bought, went
down, not up. That means he lost a dol
lar on every share, for every point it
dropped. and it dropped four points /
wonder how many shares he had and
what's he going to do? And where does
he get the monev?"