Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1921-10-13
MRS. BAKER WARNS NAN.
CHAPTER Ill.

CHAPTER Ill.
Was love like mine an insanity ?
All l asked was a little affection
in return for a life of service. But
had sinned so in those first years
that I was receiving only deserved
punishment?
when, in response to my question,
Dick told me that Juanita had
decided not to go on the yachting
trip and SO could play at my bridge
party.
"Of course, she wouldn't go un-
less you did" I remarked In a
careless voice. mo one else un-
derstands her as you do. and just
now she naturally feels you are
partners in disappointment"
What do you mean-no one
understands her as / do?"
"Why, / heard her say 50 one
day. and really you have been to-
gether a lot while you have been
collaborating"
"Well, what of IT,"
"Oh, nothing! only I was trying
to explain why it was perfectly
natural for Juanita to refuse to go
yachting unless you were going"
kept all trace Of jealousy or sar-
casm out of my voice. I knew
Dick was puzzled at my attitude,
and so was watchful of my facial
expression. This was not easy,
Nothing, it seemed to me, was
easy now that l feared Dicks dis
loyalty.
Yet T could not bring myself to
humiliate either myself or him. In
some way, without letting him
know l suspected him, or that I
knew I had lost his love--I must
win him back.
], like most women, had read In
newspapers, in books, had seen in
plays, how the wife tried to win
back the careless husbands by
making him jealous. In books and
plays it never fails, yet I couldn't
bring myself to carry on a flirta-
ton with any man. It seemed to
me as if 1t made common the
woman who did it; made her worse
than the disloyal husband whom
she was trying to hold.
Then there was always---Junior
I knew that l was Dicks woman,
he my man. But it is one thing
to be convinced of this yourself,
and quite another to convince a
man that 1t is so-especially a
man who is fascinated by another
And added to this was the love of
home. The word had become
daily sweeter and dearer to me-
a home with Dick and Junior--our
home, the one we had planned so
joyously together and in which ]
had experienced little save sorrow,
but which I loved with an inten-
sity hard, perhaps, for the ordl-
nary wife to understand
In my heart / could not feel that
Dick had done anything wicked,
anything worse than ] had seen
the love-words and the kisses,
took this small and dreary COM
fort with me to my room at night
while Dick sat in his study until
nearly morning, writing, or think
ing of Juanita-which?
The days dragged by, Juanita
coming less and less often, but
Dick going more often to her. /
had not changed my tactics. !
talked of her to Dick, of Dick to
her. I wondered in way at Dick,
his going so often to her, until one
day ] found a scrubbed note from
her on the floor of the study where
he had dropped it.
II am lonely and shall think you
have ceased to care if you do not
come often. / am not quite well,
so you MUST come to me-"
She was playing on Dicks SYM
pathies.
Mrs. Baker had become very
friendly with me and said one day:
Don't trust Juanita too far,
Mrs. Williams. She may make you
unhappy" Then. Forgive me If
I seem meddlesome, but / like you
and would hate to see her spoil
your life as she has spoiled that of
at least two other women. She is
fascinatfng-and rather unscrup-
ulous."
81 am not afraid" I answered.
II often go to see her. too. That