The Washington herald., 1922-01-08

ing drove her frantic: she demanded. yes, de-
manded, that another doctor be called in
that they operate at once, that they have
two nurses instead OF one, that they do every
thing, everything, TO give her first born back
TO her arms.
But John had listened to Frank Mercer,
and John had decided to wait. OF course
Alan got well, Of course the operation did
not, after all, prove necessary; yet what she
could never forget was the stand John had
taken. There was no need, he had insisted
OF letting their fears rush them into wild
extravagance, and the fact that the case
had proven him right had never helped her
to forget that he was willing to deny his
boy anything. any least thing. in his hour
OF danger. Then, when Alan was old enough
for school. she had-of course, OF course
wanted him to go to the private school where
their friends children went: had they not
always planned to give the children the best
in education? Not that she had anything
against the public school; only, she wanted
the best the very best, for Alan.
To be sure, John had yielded in Betty's
case, but only after a struggle And she had
never been able to dress Betty, her lovely
Betty, the way the other little girls were
dressed
Then, there had been the question of a
car; other women ran their own cars, and
a small one would cost but little to main
tain: hadn't she worked as hard as she could,
skimped and saved and made over long
enough for them to afford that much at
least? John had explained that the eight
hundred she wanted to spend for a car would
make just enough. added to the sum already
in the detestable little brown book. to buy
another bond with-a ridiculous 4 per cent
bond.
She had yielded because she had to- but
the struggle over the new house was TO
come. She made up her mind that she would
not would not, yield on that; yet she had, as
on all else; and that was the time when she
discovered that John had secretly cleared
of the mortgage, after all he had said in
earlier years about its being a good thing
to have a mortgage. that the house would
sell more readily because OF 1t, when the
time should come for them to sell it,
When she first discovered the other house
it seemed to her that her wanting it was the
greatest thing. next to John and the chill
dren. that had ever come into her life. How
she wanted il! On one Of their Sunday aft
ernoon walks she had led John and the chill
dren in that direction, led them-apparently
without intent-into and through it. The
lovely large living room with its open fire
place, the three baths, the rooms just made
for Alan and Betty. the convenient kitchen
with its electric connections already installed
and the price not prohibitive, in those days
before the war when real estate was still
at its normal value-she had shown it all
to John as they went from room to room.
already feeling sense Of proprietorship in
it; she let the children plan out which room
should belong to eech, where they would
put their things. what good times they would
have in 1t.
Then. after supper. she had said, John,
I want to buy that house"
At that time John had already become pc
nurious about his smoking even; he actually
limited himself to one cigar a day, he who
had. always loved tobacco. But this evening
he went beyond his self-imposed limit and
lighted another cigar before he answered
Then he said, quietly. But we already
have one house, my dear. What's the mat.
ter with this house7"
Well. she had told him. They had all but
outgrown 1t; the neighborhood had gone
down; the children's friends and the new
ones she had been making lived farther out;