Omaha daily bee., 1920-03-15
My HEART and
| NV HUSBAND
How Madge Faced Jack Beckett at
Last.
BY ADELE GARRISON

/ BY ADELE GARRISON
How Madge Faced Jack Beckett a
! Last.
| II was not until the last day of tn
visit Jack and Katherine were max
ing us that ! found, or rather made
the opportunity to talk to Jack con
corning Ills attitude toward his wife
They were with us over a week, ant
during this time / watched my
brother-cousln carefully aud gath
cred very good idea of the thing
which / was persuaded was sappine
Katherine's happiness.
1t was not anything deliberate.
acquitted Jack of that early in tn,
week. 1t was simply habit o1
speech and action which had insens'
lilly grown upon him until I knew
that he, himself, had no realization
Of the suffering he was causing the
wife who loved him so dcvotedly
and with such utter sacrifice of sell
to his welfare. J..,
That this icy gruffness had its or.
igin in the unhappy jealous obses-
sion concerning DR.. Braithwaite
which Jack had cherised even before
their marriage I knew. Rooted in
his own suffering, no less real to
him because utterly unfounded, the
habit had so attached its parasitic
tcndrils to his nature that when its
original cause, jealousy of the big
physician. had been removed by
Harriet Braithwaite's interview with
him he had been unable to make
other reparation than his apology to
DR.. Braithwaite. To Katherine he
simply had been a 'littlc kinder"
and l was sure that, blinded to the
suffering he had caused her, he had
offered her no heart-cleansing plea
for forgiveness. such as was due the
royal heart Of her.
Mother Graham Speaks.
1t was a trying week for all of us
those days nf their visit. Jack was
the soul of punctilious courtesy to-
ward us. and in all the outward
forms he was as courteous toward
Katherine as toward Mother Crab
am and me.
Seating her at the table, picking
up anything she had dropped, all
the little niceties of manners he OBJ
served. But almost everything she
said seemed to irritate him, although
TO my eyes Katherine was most tact
tul, and | saw that she was exercis-
ing all .he poise and diplomacy her
profession haG taught her in trying
to avoid subjects he disliked.
Mother Graham summed up the
thing tersely one evening in her
room when I was rubbing her back,
in which size had developed a slight
lameness.
Whats the matter with that
cousin Of yours" she demanded.
Goodness knows I believe in hav-
ing all the patience in the world with
war heroes. But he's going 1t lit
tie too strong with that wife OF his.
II were in her place I'd teach him
manners with the business end of
rolling-pin."
I repressed smile at my mother
in.law's turbulence, and could not
help drawing a catty little COMPARE
son between her attitude toward
Jacks discourtcsy and that which
she had sometimes heard Dicky give
me. The next minute / was
ashamed of my thought, for, after
all, Mother Graham has more than
once taken my part against Dicky
when she thought he was in the
wrong.
"To do him justice, I don't believe
he realizes what he is doing" ] said.
''He fancied a grievance long ago,
which became an obsession with
him, and which has only recently
been removed"
"You don't need to beat about the
BUSH" my mother-in-law rejoined
tartly. "You mean he was jealous
of Edwin. Any fool could see that
But I imagine Harriet settled his
hash about that. And il this thing
is just habit growing out of that,
which he doesn't realize himself, it's
time somebody jo1ted him into real
ization. You're his nearest relative.
Why don't you read the riot act to
him?" :.
II intend to before he goes away"
said, as the quickest way OF end
ing the discussion. :,
After many trials ! finally found
Jack smoking in the little summer
house across the brook the morning
before their visit was scheduled to
end, and plunged into the subject
with very much the feeling OF taking
a dive into unexplored depths OF wa
ter. I rather expected, hguratively,
to dash my head against a rock.
Cold Reply.
Slack, DEAR" I began rather tre-
you're the nearest to a
brother or any other kin have, and
it would mean great sorrow to me
if you were angry at me. But
simply must say something to you,
even If it means that you never
speak to me again as long as you
i've"
He took the cigar from his mouth
and looked at me hxedly. l saw
that l had startled him. l also saw
in his eyes.
II cannot imagine anything you
might have to say to me that would
anger me. Margaret, unless it might
one subject" he said slowly,
coldly. That was buried a few
days ago. ! cannot permit even you
10 discuss it."
The nhsnluie hn lit,r Of his tone