The Washington times., 1923-10-20
BRASS = A Novel of Marriage : By Charl
A Delightful Narrative of Domestic
Life by a Popular Magazine
Writer.
By Charles G. Norris.

SAASA AS0
<-HIL-it's= up to you!
You can solve this
tangle If you want to-
Il you'll put your mind to it.
II you don't well, you'll have
60 face the consequences, for I'm
not going to sit by and see
woman's happiness wrecked and
her life ruined merely because my
wife chooses to be obstinate"
At Home.
The house was quite dark when
Philip reached home. 1t was after
enc o'clock and he had no latch
key. He tried the front door and
then looked under the mat, hoping
Leila might have forseen this pre-
dicament. Finding nothing, he
placed his finger on the bell and
held it there for moment or two,
then went out by the horse block
on the edge of the sidewalk and
looked up at the front of his new
home with rising resentment.
A fine irritation began to assert
itself; he thought 1t extremely
stupid of his wife not to have
spared him this annoyance. He
tried to find some pebbles to throw
up at the windows, but the street
was bare. Angrily he strode back
up the front steps and pressed the
bell vigorously. He could hear 1t
whirring inside. The prospect Of
spending the night at a hotel con-
fronted him, when the inner hall
was suddenly lighted. Through the
lowered frosting OF the glass
panel door he could vaguely dis
Germ a white figure approaching.
a face was pressed against the
glass, and he recognized Lelia's
voice.
He ratified the doorknob irri-
tabiy. annoyed by her excessive
caution. His head ached; he had
smoked too many cigars or had
inhaled too much Of the fumes Of
Wilbur's cheap nickel weeds. Leila
opened the door q few inches, but
he thrust 1t wider and pushed in.
II don't see the necessity OF be-
ing SO darned cautious" he said
Grossly. You might know it was
l."
His wife blinked at him, rubbing
O cheek and eye.
"What're you so late for?" she
asked. her voice thick with sleep.
Burns sat up for you till mid.
night. :. You didn't take a key"
'I know it." he said shortly.
Upstairs, undressing wearily, his
impatience passed. Leila watched
him. her head upon a plump bent
elbow, occasionally squeezing shut
her eyes, easing the pain of sleep
from them. Her lace boudoir cap
was awry, and Philip. catching a
glimpse of her in his mirror as
he bent forward struggling with
his cravat, thought her particularly
unlovely.
What did Wilbur have to say?'
Her tone was casual, but her hus-
- M efven11faH ha. 0,,a~kso,. ~.xe- -
cue for him to conftde In her. On
his silent walk hcmeward, he had
decided to tell her about wiIbur's
revelations, but now he was tired,
and in no mood for condolences; he
wanted to wait until the morning.
Lucy was here with me until
nearly eleven" Leila stated. Philip
grunted.
Then ! suppose you know well
enough what her husband and 1
talked about" he said, a sarcastic
edge to his tone.
Leila chose to ignore his i'll
temper; she was too much inter-
ested in learning what Wilbur ha1
% say.
"Yes, Lucy told me after
Beckie went"
Philip continued to undress with
out remark. He enjoyed annoying
his wife by his reticence.
"weH. what did Wilbur have to
say?" Leila persisted. Don't oe
90 pig-headed and irritating. Philip,
you know I'm dying to hear about
IT.
He was too tired to continue 10
plague her. Eliminating details,
he informed her briefly, careful not
to indicate the direction Of his
sympathies. He sensed at once
where were his wife's. and a cur
ious opposition to them immed.