The Washington herald., 1922-10-12
By r. Scott Fitzgerald

Now see hers, You taken up my
time You followed prop sition.
You agreed TIL reasonin'? Now, all
i want from you is, how many
lb'ty bon's?''
See here" broke in a new voice.
portly man whose face was
adorned with symmetrical scrolls of
yellow hair had come out of a
glass cage in the rear of the store
and was bearing down upon An
thony. See here. your
How many?" repeated the sales
man sternly. You taken up my
time
Hey. your cried the proprietor.
I'll have you taken up by the
police"
You mos cert'nly won't" re-
turned Anthony with fns defiance.
"All want know is how many"
From here and there in the store
went up little clouds OF comment
and expostulation.
How terrIble"'
Hes a raving maniac"
Hes disgracefully drunk"
The proprietor grasped Anthony's
arm sharply.
Get out. or I'll call a policeman"
Some relics OF nationality moved
Anthony to nod and replace his
bonds clumsily in the case.
How many?' he reiterated
Goubtfully.
The whole force II necessary"
Numbered his adversary. his yellow
nustache trembling fercely.
Sell en- all a BON"
With this Anthony turned, bowed
vabbled from the store. He found
taxicab az the corner and rode
home to ths apartment. There he
fell sound asleep on the sofa, and
SO Gloria found him. his breath fll-
Ing the air with an unpleasant
pgngency. his hand still clutching
his open brief case.
Except when Anthony was drink
ing. his range of sensation had be-
come less than that of a healthy
Old man and when prohibition came
In July he found that, among those
Who could afford it. there was more
drinking than ever before. Ones
host now brought out a bottle upon
the slightest pretext. The tend
eucT TO display liquor was a mani
f. tatIon of the same instinct that
led man to deck his wife with
jewels To have liquor was a boast,
almost a badge of responsibility.
In the mornings Anthony awoke
tired, nervous and worried. Hal
Cyon summer twilights and the
purple chill OF morning alike left
ham unresponsive. Only for a brief
E'ment every day in the warmth
aaa renewed life of a first high ball
J his mind turn to those opales-
,.at dreams of future pleasure
tie mutual heritage Of the happy
he damned. But this was only
i.- a little while. As he grew
Dr5uker the dreams faded and he
i..ame a confused spectre. moving
;. odd Craunies of his own mind
fill Of unexpected devices. harshly
CnHtcmptUcUs at best and reaching
sradeH AMI dispirited depths. One
D. M in June he had quarreled vio-
ls--iy with Maury over a matter of
20 utmost triviality. He remem-
red dimly next morning that it
had been about a broken pint bottle
o. -hampagne. Maury had told him
{" sober up and Anthony's feelings
i.I been hurt, so with an attempt
- GESTURE Of dignity he had risen
lrgr- the table and selling Gloria's
arm half led. half shamed her into
raNIcah outside, leaving Maury
With three dinners ordered and
t..Eets for the opera.
This sort of semitragic fasco had
D come so usual that when they oc-
CURED he was no longer stirred
into making amends. IL Gloria pro-
test ed-and of late she was more
likely to sink into a cOntemptuous
s-lcnCe-he would either engage in
n bitter defense Of himself or else
stalk dismally from the apartment.
Naver since the incident on the sta
ton platform at Redgate had he
ri his hands on her in anger
though he was withheld often only
b. some instinct that itself made
him trsmbIe with rage. Just as he
sun cared more for her than for
any other creature. so did he mora
intensely and frequently hate her.
- far. the judges of the Appel
late Division had failed to hand
down a decision, but after another
postponement they finally affirmed
tie decree of the lower court-two
stices dissenting. A notice of ap-
peal was served upon Edward Shut
tIewOrth. The case was going to
the court of last resort. and they
were in for another interminable
wait. Six months. perhaps a year.
II had grown enormously unreal to
them. remote and uncertain as
heaven.
Throughout the previous winter
ono small matter had been a subtle
and omnipresent irritant-the ques-
tiou Of GlOria's gray fur coat At
that time women enveloped in long
squirrel wraps could be seen every
few yards along Fifth avenue. The
women were converted to the shape
O tops They seemed porcine and
obscene. they rasembled kept wom-
e. IN the concealing richness. the
feminine anintality of the garment.
Not-Gloria wanted a gray squirrel
coat.
Discussing the matter-or. rather.
arguing il, for even more than in
the first year of their marriage did
ev2ry discussion take the form of
bitter debate full of such phrases
As most certainly" utterly out
ra=eOus." its so nevertheless" and
the ultra-emphatic ''regardless'-
they concluded that they could not
afford it. And so gradually IL be-
gan to stand as a symbol of their
growing financial anxiety.
To Gloria the shrinkage of their
income was a remarkable phi enome-
non. without explanation or prec-
ed@nt-that 1t could happen at all
within the space OF five years
seemed almost an intended cruelty,
conceived ard executed by a sar-