The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-02-10
SYNOPSIS,

1reSS, and Mark ROSenthal of the floor above had fallen in love with her.
 But contact with society girls in an amateur play in winch she had pro- fessional part. made her long for the better things of life and when her
 mother left the city to rejoin her di- vorced husband, Julia become an as- sistant to Miss Toland, wealthy but an eccentric philanthropist at her settle ment house.
 Max, meanwhile, had been con- stant1y urging her to marry him, and finally, jealous of pr. Jim Studdiford, the young nephew of Miss Toland, he shot himself, falling dead at her feet in the neighborhood house.
 Julia and Dr. Studdiford, some time later, became engaged but Julia con- fessed that she could not marry him because she had made mistake in her life, before she was ] , years old. Jim was mortified but insisted that she marry him. As young Mrs. Studdi- ford Julia became a great favorite in meeting with one of Marks sisters brought old thoughts to Jim and he demanded to know if Mark were the man 10 whom Julia had given her self. When she admitted it, he brood ed for days over the old memory.
 (Coninued From Yesterday
 For a while they were silent again, then Julia said softly:
 After all, nothing matters as long as we love each other!'
 No, no! You're right, Julie,'' he agreed seriously. That's the only thing that counts. And you do love me, don't your"
 Love you!" Julia said, with a. shalIy laugh.
 q get crazy notions. I nearly go mad, sometimes" Jim confessed q get to brooding-I know how rotten it is." He fell silent, staring into the fire. ''Happy?' he asked presently, glancing down at her as she rested quietly in his arms.
 "Oh, happy!" Julia said, a break in her voice. ''I wish I could die here, Jim I wish I could go to sleep here and never wake up!''
 Like me as much that baby, eh?" he asked in a peculiar tone.
 Julia sat up to face him, her cheeks bright under 1oosening films of hair, her eyes starry in the freight.
 Jimmy, you couldn't be jealous Of your own baby?"
 'Oh, couldn't I? I can be jealous of anything and everything, some times" He fixed troubled eyes on the fire. "rve been unhappy, Julie," he confessed.
 Unhappy? I've just been sick about it." Julia said. "I can't believe that we're talking about it, and it's all over!" She sighed luxuriously. There's no use of my doing anything when you're this way, Jin-I can't even remember that you love me- she went OF after a silence Every thing seems changed and queer. Sometimes I think you hate me, sometimes you give me such cold Iooks-oh, you do Jimmy!-they just make me feel sick and queer all over, if you know what I mean! And oh,'' she sank back again with her head on his shoulder, "oh, if only then I could dare just come down to you here like this. and make you take me fin your arms, and talk to me this wayi"
 "'Don'tr' Jim said briefly, kissing the top of her hair.
 ''It just seems to shoulder in my heart!" Julia said. 'tI can't bear it!''
 "Don'tr' he said again.
 '.Ah, but what makes you do it, | Jim ?'' she asked, sitting erect to rest | both wrists on his shoulders, and bring her blue eyes very near his | own. Jim's glance did not meet hers, | shS looked sombrely past her at the | We. Suddenly she felt his arms | Tighten about her with a force that | almost hurt her
 "Oh, it's thisI" he said harshly, 'fI love you-you're mine! You're the thing I live for, the thing I'm proud est of I can't bear to think there was time when I didn't know you, my little innocent girl! I can't bear my God!-to think that you cared for some one else-!"
 And with swift force he got to his feet, and put her in his chair. Julia sat motionless while he took a rest less brief turn about the room. He snatched a little jade god from the table, examined it closely, and put it down again, to come and stand with his back to the fire, one arm flung across the mantel. and his gloomy eyes fixed on her. Julia met the rush ing, engulfing wave of her own emo $ ton bravely.
 ''Jim," she said bravely, "does it mean nothing to you that there were other women in your life before you knew me?" ,
 Dearest" he answered seriously and quickly, God knows that would cut my hand off to blot that all out of my boyhood. Those things mean nothing to man, Ju, and they , meant less to me than to most men. Women can't understand that, but if you knew how men regard it, you would realize that very few can bring I their wives as clean a record as f miue!"
 He had said this much before, nev- CT anything more Julia looking a him now with all the tragic sorrow Of ! ASi ilS III iiSI ldSilALlSSIil eyes, 1SII l the utter impossibiltiy of convincing him that this accusation on her part, , and bravely boyish and honest con- , fession on his, had any logical or i possible connection with the momen- . tous conversation that they were hay 7 ing tonight. Her heart recoiled in | sick terror from any word that would z hurt or estrange him now. but she I might have found that word, and . might have said it, could she have hoped that it would convey her mean T ing to him. But Jim's standard of morals. for himself. was. like that of most men, still the college standard. It was too bad to have clouded the bright mirror, but it was inevitable. givau youth and red blood. And it , was admirable to regret it all now I Any fresh attempt on Julia's part to i bring to his realization the parallel