Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-04-17

SSNC tAoL6hb " ~
he was going to flare up and let me
have 1t. But he laughed as II / was
. foo and said, 'Oh, good Lord. man.
that's utterly ridiculous. Man alive.
with all my faults, my wife knows
me-"
CHAPTER III
On . day a month later-in May
Hapgood said:
Now, I'll tell you Old Sabre
BY Jove. it's frightful. He's crash
Look here, it's in two parts. this
sudden development. Two parts
morning and afternoon yesterday
and a bit today. And Of all extraor-
binary places to happen at
"Yes. Brighton. I was down
there for q Saturday to Monday with
my Missus. Monday morning we
were summing on the pier. she and I.
well, all of a sudden h began.
oh, what q frightfulling interesting
face that mans got!'
~ looked across. Old Sabre!
II went YER to him. His face was
like a shout on a sunny morning.
Yes, he was pleased. ] like to think
how jolly pleased the old chap was.
II got old Sabre on to a secluded
bench and started in on him. What
on earth was he doing down at
Brighton. and how were things?
He said Things . -? Things are
happening with me. Hapgood. Net
to me-with me. I had to get away
from them for a bit. I'm going back
tomorrow. Efie was right-with her
A-h.~ Oh -I-l &
glad for me. l mean. Top of her W
what she says she's let me in for.
She's always crying about it. She's
torn between knowing my house is
the only place where she can have
her baby, between that and seems
what her coming into the place has
caused. She spends her time trying
to do any little thing she can to
make me comfortable. It's pathetic,
you know. Jumped at this sudden
idea of mine of getting away for a
couple of days. Fused over me
packing up and all that, you know.
Look. list to show you how she
me-satd my old straw hat was
much too shabby for Brighton and
would I get her some stuff, oxalic
acid, and let her clean 1t up for me.
AS a matter Of fact she made such a
shocking mess Of the hat that I
hardly liked to wear it. Couldn't
hurt her feelings. though. Chucked
It into the sea when I got here and
bought this one. Make a funny
story for her when I get back about
how it blew of. That's the sort OF
life we lead together. Hapgood. Give
you another example. Just when 1
had brought her the stuff for my
hat. Met me with, Had I lost any
thing? Said ! was to guess. Guessed
ut hast that 1t must be my cigaret
ease. It was. She'd found 1t lying
about and took me to show where
of he clock in my room. Said I was
valuables / might miss, and wanted
careful of my things like that. Fuss
ing over me. d'you see?
"That's the r Of life we lead
together. Hapgood-together; but
the life I'm caught up in, the things
that are happening with me. that
I'm right in the middle of, that I
felt ! had to get away from for a bit
astounding. Hapgood. astounding,
amazing -.
"'Hapgood, IL I kept forty women
In different parts OF London and
made no secret of it nothing would
be said. People would know I wasl
rather a shameless lot, my little
ways would be an open secret. but
nothing would be said. I should be
received everywhere. But I'm
thought to have brought one woman
into my house and I'm banned. I'm
u~napeakable.
"Do you see. Hapgood? Do You
see? The conventions are all right,
moral, sound. excellent. admirable.
but to rave their own face there's a
blind side to them, a shut-eye side.
Keep that side of them and you're
all right. They'll let you alone.
They'll pretend they don't see you.
But come out and stand in front of
them and they'll devour you. They'll
smash and grind and devour you.
Hapgood. They're d~evouring ms.
""That's where they've got me In
their jaws. Hapgood; and where
got Efie in their jaws is
just precisely again on a blind. SHUT
eye side . They're rightly based.
they're absolutely just, you, can't
them but to save their face. 4