The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1922-12-19

I'm afraid" he replied. after de
Eberating a moment, that you are
going to make yourself uncomfort-
able; you are cutting out a programme
Of unhappiness."
why shouldn't make myself I'M
comfortable for little while? I have
never known anything but comfort. "
but that's your blessing; no matter
how much you want to do it you can't
remove all the unhappiness in the
world-not even by dividing with the
less fortunate. I've never been able
TO follow that philosophy"
Maybe" she said, you have never
tried itg'
Maybe I never have" he replied
slowly. IT didn't have your ad-
vantage OF seeing a place to begin. 4"
But you have the advantage or
every one; you have the thing that
I can never hope to have, that I
don't ask for: you have the power IN
your hands to TO everythingi'
HIS quick. direct glance expressed
curiosity as TO whether she were APP
pealing to his vanity or implying a
sincere belief in his power.
Power is too large a word to apply
TO me Miss Garrison. have had a
good deal of experience In politics. and
in politics you can't do all you like. 3"
Yes erday, when you were able to
make that convention do exactly what
you wanted it to. without even being
there o watch It, It must have been
because OF some ideal you were work
ing for. You thought you were serv-
ing some good purpose; It wasn't just
spite to to show your power. It could
not have been THAR
Il did it. he said doggedly, as
though TO destroy with a single blunt
thrust her tower of illusions-"I did
It to smash a man named Thatcher
There wasn't any ideal nonsense
about It."
He frowned. surprised and dis
pleased hat he had spoken so roughly.
lie rarely let go Of himself in that
fashion. He expected her to take ad-
vantage OF his admission to point a
moral: but she said instantly:
Then, you did It beautifully Thers
vas a certain perfection about It; II
was. oh, immensely funnyr'
She laughed. tossing her head
lightly, q laugh OF real enjoyment.
and he was surprised to find himself
laughing with her. 1t seemed that
the Thatcher incident was not only
funny, but that its full humorous
value had not until that moment been
wholly realized by either Of them.
She rose quickly. One OF her
gloves fell to the floor and he picked
It up. The act OF restoring It brought
them close together, and their talk
had. he felt. justified another search
ing glance into her face. She nodded
her thanks, smiling again, and moved
toward the door. He admired the tact
which had caused her to close the dis
cussion at precisely the safe moment.
He was a master of the art of closing
interviews. and she had placed the pc
Rod at the end of the right sentence;
It was where he would have placed 1t
himself She had laughedt-and the
novelty Of being laughed at was re
freshing. He and Thatcher had
laughed In secret at the confusion OF
their common enemies IN old times;
DAE GAUSA A4G0 ACc@L I'll A44A44H anu &4S AAelA
the reputation Of being a mirthless
person. He had rarely discussed poll
ties with women: he had an idea that
a woman's politics. when she had any,
partook Of the nature Of her religion,
and that Il was something quite emo
tions1, tending toward hyster1a- He
experienced a sense Of guilt at the re-
lief he found in Sylvia's laughter, re-
Numbering that scarcely half an hour
earlier hs had been at pains to Justify
himself before his wife for the very
act which had struck this girl as
funny. He had met Mrs. Bias
sets accusations with evasion and
Discrimination, and he had accom-
pished an escape that was not, in re-
Prospect, wholly creditable. He hated
scenes and tiresome debates as he
hated people who cringed and sided
before him.
He thought Of many things he
might have said to her at the mo-
r7lent; but her period was not to be
changed to comma or semicolon; she
was satisfied with the punctuation and
had. SO to speak, run away with the
pencil! She had tossed his political
aims and strtfes into the air with a
bewildertng dismissal, and he stood
Ike a child whose toy balloon has
slipped away. half pleased at its fight,
halfmourning its loss.
She picked up some books she had
left on q stand in the hall. He stood
with his hands in his pockets. watch
ing her ascent. hearing the swish Of
her skirts on the stairs: but she did
not look back. She was humming
softly to herself as she passed out Of
sight.