Evening star., 1922-04-28

I" floor of her room in dis
traction. The afternoon
was fair and lovely. August
clouds in a blue sky drifted idly in
gentle August breeze. In the gar
den beneath her window larkspur
and lilies lifted their regal heads.
But to Merry's excited fancy the
whole world was hideous
She could not eat and she could
not rest. Susan Sue watched her
compassionately.
Land sakes! Miss Lindsay" she
admonished the nervous woman,
you hain't had one Of your witchety
days in i don't know when. What
on earth has come. over you? Why
don't you dress yourself in something
cool and set yourself down in the
west porch? You'll be all wore out
If you keep on this way. And what
with your being asleep when Mr..
Lindsay come in last night and still
asleep when he went out this morn
ing, 4 should think you'd want to
feel pretty good when he gets home
Ito dinner tonight-rve fixed up
specially nice dinner. too"
1t didn't seem to Merriam that she
could ever feel pretty good" again.
ioi tcF dcneu lOT Her
OF friends. Nan Blaisdell. and her
guilty conscience smote her. She
felt that had she not been the cow
ardliest OF women the evening previ-
Gus today's misery might have been
| prevented. She blamed herself bit
terly that she had not communicated
with Nan before it was too late.
For when she had tried during the
morning to reach Mrs. Blaisdell she
found that that lady had hastily de-
| parted for Connecticut. 1t seemed to
| her highly probable that some other
inkling that something was wrong.
Putting horrid twos and twos to-
gether. Merriam had arrived at
suspiciously ugly four. Scraps of
Thorne Blaisdelfs ecstatic murmur-
i ings the evening previous about the
| "sauciest beauty" he'd ever seen,
| coupled with fatuous hope that he
would avoid unpleasant publicity,
had given her grave forebodings: and
! when she recalled that that pretty
musical comedy star named Phyllis
p! Furman had actually had the audac-
| ity. to. telephone Merriam's own house
| to leave a message. Merriam felt that
| she had been criminally negligent
| not to have advised Nan of all these
I warnings.
The afternoon dragged itself away
| somehow. Toward dinner time she
! listlessly dressed herself and trailed
down to the porch. where she waited
unhappily for John to arrive. For
days past. he had been home very
little. She was ashamed to think that
he would have allowed himself to be
used as a messenger boy in SO shock
ing an affair. She meant to have the
| whole matter out with him at once.
She was going to demand a complete
! explanation of his actions.
But the dinner hour came and went
coaxed Merriam to eat bit and tried
TO comfort her. Eight O'Clock. 9
o'clock-Merriam went out into her
dew-sweet garden to pace up and
down with clenched fists, blaming
herself that she had not had the
courage to interfere. She was still
| in the garden when she heard joyous
cries of "Cheerio.' from Thorne and
Nan Blaisdell and her own John. In
the gayest OF spirits all three dragged
her from the wet garden.
Merriam slumped weakly against
Mans side as that person cried:
wed no idea it was so late. We
tried to telephone, but could not get
you. Do forgive us for keeping John.
He said he knew he ought to take
the train, but We overpersuaded
stared at her friend. For Nan was
dressed in the odd@t frock. blue
linen, cut rather liks an elongated
MILDLY blouse. with a pretty insignia
embroidered on the sleeve. Her gray
hair was tumbIed; she was sun
burned and beaming. And through
the screen door came her ruddy-
checked. white haired husband. gayly
waving a resplendent new yachting
cap.
about gallon of lemonade with
pecks of ice in it, Susan" he called.
grandly. Il never was SO thirsty in
all my life
Merriam's thoughts were reeling.
She sat down Imply. John sat be-