The Monmouth inquirer., 1923-07-26
~ CRAVEN

i =
AFTER all, my lear girl" Tom said
triskly as he stirred his coffee. its
q woman's business to choose a flat
what does q nest OF empty rooms
mean to. a mainland | really must
10 and see the match this afternoon.
II youll only see that ! get largo
dressing room where l can exercise
without barking any of my xtrsmi-
ties, and a good sized bath room where
] can, splash about without making a
deluge in the flat underneath. ! shall
be quite content. I'm a most reason
able animal. as you will discover when
Wa are married"
"a reasonable animaif" Zoe repeat
ID rsflectively.
She cast q subtle critical glance at
Aer companion out Of her dark blue
eyes. which. however. he failed to mo-
sics a. he was engaged In a~nxiously
consulting his watch.
"A reasonable animal who is not
particularly interested i9H its kennel.
the kennel In which he and his bride
are going TO start their married life
together. ANY old box with Q hand
fal OF straw. provided 1t Is dry. will do.
Oh. yes: quite reasonable. but not a
quarter IS enthusiastic as you are
about your old football match"
Tom ireland was quite unmoyed by
her sarcasm. He only wished she
would hurry up with her coffee so he
could get off. Whether she spoke sar-
sSstically professionally with a good
deal OF emotion. whether she was
-ssy's and full of gaiety. OF sad and
wistful Tom BADLY labeled these
manifestations "Zoe's moods
They Were to him things that you
had to put up with just a. you put up
With the yagaries Of the English ba-
reDseter. Tom pursued his way
whether through rough breakers or
over delicate egg shells with unmoved
ssoiidity and British matter of fact
ness.
OF course ifyzoe had not been so ex
ceedingly pretty-really she was by
far the most desirable woman in the
whole restaurant and clever as we'll
II might not have been worth a fell
lows while; but Zoe could charm the
leg off q wheelbarrow IL she liked.
And Zoe had desired to charm Tom
Ireland with his athletic six foot four
OF trim sound flesh and muscle. So he
had fallen In love with her.
She had told him what a delightful
contrast he made to her first husband.
the writer Of delicate essays and
Quaint stories that Tom could not be
bothered to read, who had probably
never been to q football match in his
Me, far less taken part In n and
held his own.
She had confided to him how tired
she had been of his impractical,
dfexzny ~waxs-how she had longed fE
. real live man.
And Tom knew himself to be . real
live man.
Was there not . row of hard won
silver cups on the ~sideboard In hts
roomsY He squared his shoulders and
called for the bill.
"My dear Zoe" he said pleasantly
after all n must have allowance
for the frailty OF the fair sex's reason
Ing: "you mustn't expect me to do the
sort Of things your first husband did.
/ dare say he was interested In things
like furnishing and choosing a fiat:
but I'm q different sort of a chap en-
tirely. / shall like anything you like.
Most women would appreciate my
easy-going nature. You car have carte
blanche to buy anything you want.
Doesn't that make you happy?" he
added.
She smiled: but there was some
thing rather wistfui in that smile.
Il wish you took q little more in
tsrest, Tom. II seems as though you
don't care about our life together"
.Rabbish, old girl. you know I do.
Only Tm an athletic sort of a chap
and little details Of life are not SO
much to me as they are to you. Look
hereto please you I'll come back
early and give you some tea AZ
Carlton. How's that. eh?"
The male was magnanimous; but
zos's eyes wore still the same unsat-
isfed look. However. she laughed and
ROSS from the table. Zoe was . little
difficult. Tom reflected. as the waiter
heipea him on With his coat. He o
aArsd en- pAssant II Curtis carewe had
tpupd her 90
zos walked to the house agents and
demanded fats. The agent brought
eorth : ven thsnbsd book and produce
ID some.
~This 0st madam. In Winterton
lnnn1ma RAEticsA4Elxn nice one.