Omaha daily bee., 1920-01-26
The Reason Madge Told Harry Un-
derwood She Must Hurry"
Along"

IVA VoSN SAsS AsS~Ss ~AS
Along"
When Harry Underwood took of
his coat, rolled up his sleeves ant
went to work upon the tire ovei
which ] had labored SO fruitlessly Il
was as if l. watched another person.
atty enter his corporal body.
A heaven born mechanic
though entirely an amateur-there
Is nothing on sea or land or in the
air that he cannot either repair OF
furnish some definite, helpful idea
toward reconstruction. Lillian used
to say that he approached any
broken mechanism with the sure rev.
crcntial touch of a great surgeon in
,he presence of a wounded body,
while Dicky's drawing comment !
s,ad heard many times
Don't ever speak to old Harry or
go near him when he's fixing up
some to.tering thing that couldn't
get house room in respectable rab-
Bit hutch. The bats that flock to his
bcliry at such times would beat you
to death with their wings"
The Same Harry.
The comment came back to me
forcibly as watched the mans tall,
powerful frame bending over the
tire, his face absorbed as il the prob
lcm before him were most intri-
cate one instead OF the simple thing
Il no doubt was TO his experience.
VIVA. magnificent animal he was!
could not withhold the mental trib-
Ute, much as | dislikcd him. With
his coat off and bending over the
tire, | could sec that either his con-
iilcnlent in the war prison or his
army lie had taken from him every
race of Nthe grossness, the hint OF
coming obesity with which his in
drlgenecc in good food and wines
had threatened him. His face, too,
had lost the high color, the sugges-
ton Of fabbiness which had MARRIED
il in the last months that l had
seen him.
He was evidently in splendid phys
ical trim. his mentality unimpaired,
but his moral sense? | realized as
I looked at him. reviewed his mock
ing comments, his utter lack Of re-
morse upon facing me-when he
knew that l was aware Of his infa-
NOUS attempt upon Dicky's life
that he was the same selfish, I'M
scrupuious. devil-may-care chap he
had always been.
And Lillian, usually SO sane. with
so balanced a viewpoint. had put
happiness out of her life because
this man, once her husband, in the
emotional remorse for the awful
thing which even he would not have
attempted unblinded by liquor. had
sent an appeal to her saying he
wanted to begin over again"
Lost in Work.
"!Ie needs me-" she had said to
me.
l looked at the man bending over
The tire. and gritted my teeth in flu
tile exasperation. For this splendid
specimen Of physical manhood,
housing a reckless. selfish soul,
needed nobody. Good impulses.
generous impulses he often had
without question; but close associa-
ton with him was only a crucifxion
y woman possessing ideals and a
conscience.
A picture flashed before my eyes
with Photographic fdelity-that of
Robert Savarin, falling almost life
less at Lillian's feet after his quest
Of the man before me. She had
nursed him back to life and then
had made Il worthless by sending
him away from her because OF her
sancied duty to the man whose only
bond to her was the empty legal
enc.
A sob rose in my throat as ]
thought of the contrast between the
almost invaded artist, spent in Lii
lian's service, whom | knew. she
loved with her whole royal heart,
and this physically magnificent
wastrel whom she loathed, but to
whom she felt quixotically bound.
I bent closer over my knitting that
my face might not betray my dis
gust il Mr.. Underwood should look
at me.
need not have feared. He
neither looked at me nor uttered
word until he had repaired. the in
ner tube and had adjusted the shoe.
Then he examined the whole ma
chine with the air of an expert, and
when he evidently had decided that
II would do he rolled down his
sleeves, put on his coat and saun-
tered over to me.
Haven't any cold cream and
powder in your knitting bag, have
you, Lady Fair?" he asked mocking-
". "I'm afraid my complexion is
nearly ruined, and as for me deli
cate hands-hevings!
Despite my disgust and anger.
lad hard work to repress a smile:
/ knew that he had had months OF
the hardest kind of ambulance serv-
ice in France, and he managed to
make his demand for cosmetics
evhirnsically humorous. | felt subtly
the old conviction stcamlng over
me that there was no use wasting
tine in being angry at Harry I'm
Sderwood. One could only take him
as he was and keep out Of his way
as much as possible.
II am sorry" I said quietly, deter
mined to keep out of my answer
anything save the most matter-of-
fact air, "but l have nothing of the
kind with me. Thank you so much
Tor fixing the tire. / must hurry
along
made a movement as i to rise as
I thanked Mr.. Underwood for re-
pairing the tire. AS ! did so, he
stopped. and before | could prevent
him had taken my hands,. knitting
and all, into his powerful ones, and