New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1921-12-22

emotion she abruptly turned toward
the door as she finished speaking.
ana | saw her dash her hand against
her eyes as she crossed the lawn.
| That she had comprehendcd with
no eyes Of ststerly love the incident
OF l.tllian's drive with Col. Traycrs
and its effect upon Robert Sayarin !
Of course, surmised. | guessed also
Tor Mrs Cosgrove is usually a rather
sIlent, poised woman--that her con-
0dence to me had been Simply
an emotional explosion which she had
found it impossible to suppress.
knew that she would kcenly regret
having mentioned the matter to me
when she had rcgainod her usual
calm ness.
| For several minutes after Mrs. Cos
grove left me | sat still, going over
| the incident OF the morning, wonder
| ING whether or not Robert Savarin
would hetray to Lillian the absurd
jealousy and the disapproval Of her
work which he had shown to me.
Then l firmly put aside all coniec-
lures. and resumed my sorting and
| packing, determined that no matter
what minute Dicky should decide to
start on the homeward journey I
would be as prepared for the Journey
as 1t was humanity possible to be.
A Difficult Task.
But l quailed before the task which
found awaiting me in Dicky's room.
All through our stay I had taken care
| of Dicky's room myself, for ] did not
IA c NJ
one else to see the disorder in which
he persistently keeps his possessions.
Every morning | 'straghtened up"
ln housewifely parlance. | kept
things out Of sight as much as Il
could without arousing Dicky's wrath
a very possible occurrence if he
missed any Of his belongings from the
corners where he was accustomed to
fling them | have often marvelled at
Dicky'S ability to fish out his things
from the seemingly hopeless confusion
in which they are usually piled. And
by dint of careful study | have evolved
a plan by which | reduce each heap
TO order without misplacing any of
the things.
Sorting the things, however, so that
|
suitcase and bag without his demand
ing room in my own luggage recepta-
Cles was something else altogether"
| smiled at the remembrance of Lii |
Iians old colored housekceper, Betty |
as | m entaly uttered her familiar
phrase. For my husband had pur-
chased all sorts of articles during his
stay, souvenirs, books, magazines,
every one Of which | knew must be
carted home, | heaved a hopeless sigh
as realized how much Dicky had col
lected.'
There was but one thing to be done,
of course if we did not expect the
two cars to be SO crowded with lug
gage that there would be no comfort
in the motor trip home. / must make.
parcel post packages. But some of his
clothing / could manage to send ahead
Of us without his knowing it, or | at
least hoped so.
'When Can We Go?"
] attacked the task with feverish
vgor, fearing that DiclIy would return
and discover what ! was doing. TO
forestall so disastrous an Interrupt
and pulled down the shades, hoping
that Dicky would believe me to be
taking a nap.
My ruse was needless, however, for
neither Dicky nor any one else came
near the bungalow during an hour of
the most strenuous activity | had
given m yself for a long time. And
when l had finished, | bathed and
dressed, and came out on my little
veranda to find the premises apparent
ly deserted. There was no one in
sight
From the bank of the brook, how
ever, sa me the sound of Juniors pratt
tie, and Marion's laughter, mingled
with DiCky's lazy teasing. clatter
in the kitchen told me that Mrs. Cos
grove was busy with the approaching
dinner. and even as with a mind
at ease about my family-settled my
self in a porch chair for rest be-
fore the meal the door of Lillian's
bungalow opened and she stood
framed in it for an uncertain minute
before crossing the lawn to me.
"Madge," she said, in low voice
as she took the chair I pulled for
ward for her have you named any
definite day-do you know-When can
we go homer?
1t took all my self-contrOl TO con-
ceal my amazement at her hesitating
manner, as unlike her usual poise as
was the impetuous cry of her last
question But even before she spoke
l had seen the gray look in her face,
the pain in her eyes, and had known
that she was going through some
emotional crisis, and had nerved my
self to appear as unconscious as pos
sible of her feeling.
bent TO the blouse | was mending
as if a misplaced stitch would ruin it, -.
and sent my casual answer from above
It's folds.
I'm packing now. Dicky wants 10
70 almost at once. We're only wait
ny for TSess Dean to announce her
Ienartrre Thcn we'll start"