Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-09-14

you'll have to marry sometime,
dissipated o. an
He had resumed his newspaper, to
put It down almost at once.
What's that sayre boy hanging
II think he's in love with her, Wal
ter
"Love? Any Of the sayre tribe? Jim
Sayre crank himself to death, and this
boy is like him. And Jim Sayrs wasn't
faithful to his wife. This boy is---wcll,
he's an heir. That's why he was be-
gotten"
Margaret Wheeler stared at him.
Why. Walter" she said. Hes
nice boy, and he's gentleman"
Why? Because he gets up when
you, come into the room? Why in
men to come here? There's Dick Liv-
ingstone. He's a man."
Margaret hesitated.
Walter, have you ever though. there
was anything queer about Dick Living
stones coming here?"
"Darned good for the town that he
did come"
"But-nobody ever dreamed that
David and Lucy had n nephew. linen
he turns up, and they send MIN to
medical college, and all that"
I've got some relations l haven't
notified the town I possess" he said
grimly
well, there's something odd. I
don't believe Henry Livingstone, the
Wyoming brother, ever had SON."
What possible foundation have you
for statement like that?'
Mrs. Cook Morgan's sister in law
has been visiting her lately. She says
she knew Henry Livingstone well years
ago In the West, and she never heard
he was married. She says positively
he was not married."
"And trust the Morgan woman to
spread the good news" he said with
angry sarcasm. well, suppose that's
true? Suppose Dick is an illegitimate
child? That's the worst that's implied,
l dare say. That's nothing against
Dick himself. III tell the world there's
good blood OH the Livingstone side, any
how"
"You were very particular about
Wallie Sayre's heredity, Walter"
That's different, he retorted, and
retired into gloomy silence behind bis
newspaper. Drat these women, any
how. 1t was like some fool female to
come there and rake up some old and
defunct scandal He'd stand up for
Dick, If it ever came to show down.
He liked Dick. What the devil did his
mother matter, anyhow? If this town
hadn't had enough evidence of Dick
Livingstone's quality the last few years
he'd better go elsewhere. He"
He got up and whistled or the dog.
I'm going to take walk" he said
briefly, and went out. He always took
a walk when things disturbed him. -
On the Sunday afternoon after Dick
room upstairs. On the bed lay the
sort of gown Nina would have called
q dinner dress, and to which Elizabeth
referred as her dark blue. Seen thus,
in the room which was her own ex.
preston, there was a certain nobility
about her very simplicity, steqdi.
ness about her eyes that was almost
disconcerting.
"She's the sanity looking sort that
would 60 on the rocks for some man."
Nina had said once, rather fippantly,
land never know she was shipwrecked.
No man in the world could do that to
me-
But just then Elizabeth looked totally
unlike shipwreck. Nothing seemed
more like safe harbor than the Wheel
er house that afternoon, or all the af-
ternoons.
Life went on, the comfortable life
of an upper middle class household.
Candles and flowers on the table and
neat waitress to serve; little carefully
planned shopping expeditions; fine
hand sewing on dainty undergarments
for rainy days; small tributes of books
and candy invitations and consulta-
tions as to what to wear; choir prac-
tice, class In the Sunday school, a
little work among the poor the volcano
which had been Nina overf1owing else
where In a smart little house with a
butler out on the Ridgely road.
quietly loyal, steady-eyed and serene
full of small unvisualized dreams and
little inarticulate prayers; waiting,
without knowing that she was waiting.
Sometimes she worried. She thought
she ought to ''do something" A good
many Of the girls she knew wanted to do
something, but they were vague as to
what. She felt at those times that
she was not being very useful, and she
had gone so far as to lay the matter
before her father couple Of years
before, when she was just eighteen.
"Just what do you think of doing!"
he had inquired.
THAT'S it, she had said despond-
emily. ~ don't know. haven't any
particular talent, you know. But ]
don't think I ought to 20 on having
you support me in idleness all my
life."
"Well. I don't think 1t likely that I'll
have to-" he had observed. dryly. "But
here's the point, and ! think it's i'm
portant. don't intend to work with
out some compensation, and my family
is my compensation. You just hang
around and make me happy, as you do,
and you're fulfilling your economic place
in the Nation. Don't you forget it,
either
That had comforted her. She had
determined then never to marry. but
to hang around, as he suggested, for
the rest of her life. She was quite
earnest about 1t, and resolved. -
She picked up the blue dress and,
standing before her mirror. held It up
before her. 1t looked rather shabby,
she thought, but the theatre was not
like a dance, and anyhow il would look
better at night. She had been thinking
about next Wednesday evening ever
since Dick Livingstone had gone. 1t
seemed, somehow, frightfully impor-
tant. 1t was frightfully important. For
tha Nrst fine she Acknowledged 10 her.