New Britain herald., 1922-04-06
How Madge Found Dicky


 With my heart pounding violently against my side l reached picky's car and steadied myself against IL, while a dozen wild coniectures flashed through my brain, In imagination l saw him killed in divers fashions, and was visualizinG his body hidden in the forest nearby, when from the other side Of the car, beneath which he evidently had been lying, Dicky rose with an air of helligerence that would not have deceived Junior,
 Well What do you think you're doing now?" he clustered.
 paid no attention to his words, noting only the flash of unutterable relief in his eyes and the hoarseness of his voice with a touch of tremuo in it. The next second l was round the car, wildly clinging to him,
 Oh, Dicky You're alive You're alive !" l csroled thankfully
 At the first touch of my hands he made a slight movement as if to thrust me away from him-patently the last flaring of his furious wrath but the next instant his arms went round me roughly, crushing me in so tight an embrace that could scarcely breathe.
 You're alive .' ] murmured again banally. but so obsessed had 1 been with the thought of possible accident to his car that l could think of noth- ing else.
 well! So are you." Dicky growled, Then he held me off by the shoulders. looking at me for q second or two with an expression that I had seen only few times upon his face, and then only when he was greatly moved.
 Dicky's Indictment.
 Let me tell you something, my dear" he said slowly. "Of course ] realize that l was an unpa rdonable. abysmal brute, and all the rest of if when I got out of the car and yelled to you. but. bad as it was, it wasn't one, two, three to that insane per formance of yours. Why didn't you get out of the car and knock me for a goal with the starting crank If you had to let off steam? Why did yon drive recklessly, dangerously away"
 He shut his eyes. drawing a deep breath, and then:
 I'm not talking about any effect OH myself or even you now" he went on. 'but I've never known you to go com pletely off your trolley before you've always had marvellous amount ol elf-control-but I want you to stop and think hard right now what it would have meant to Junior if any thing had happened 10 you. It would have meant not only the loss of his mother, but possible disgrace"
 "Oh |! I know had walled con- tritely before he uttered the last three words, and I stopped, gazing at him in openmouthed astonishment.
 Why, what do you mean?" l stam- mered.
 His voice and gaze grew sterner, colder. ..-
 Just stop and reflect minute.' he said judicially. We leave the house, presumably for a pleasant little drive together. I return unhurt. without a scratch, with no idea of where you are, pass out some plausible yarn about, a breakdown somewhere, get my car. and start out after you, and find you dead beside the road. Do you suppose people would have believed that had nothing to do with the ac- cident? It might, of course, never have come to any public trial all though there are men in prison today on less evidence-but it would always have been an ugly scandal about nc. Nice inheritance for Junior, don't you think so?"
 'Let's Forget It.
 That Dicky was absolutely right in his indictment I knew and was crushed with remorseful humiliation at the remembrance of my own folly. Yet. deep within my heart-too deep for drawing forth--was little barb of resentment against Dicky for the manner in which he was ma magnlfylng my offense and minimizing his own.
 He had referred to my marvellous self-control." and had said that he had never known me to 'go complete ly off my trolley before.' Could he not see. asked myself hotly, that my poise where he was concerned had been well night worn out by his eS plosions of temper. and that while ] was greatly to blame for what had But if I read his attitude alright, he held his explosion 10 be no excuse or reason whatever for mine. He had -