Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1923-03-31
AWOMAN'OBSESSED
BY CAROLYN BEECHER

! What has gone before: Bruce Con-
| ways wealthy father cuts him off be-
| cause of his elopement with Muriel Dan
gerfeld before finishing college. The
! young couple set up housekeeping in
| Westfeld. Muriel not only is a poor
| housewife, but is intensely jealous, and
! is unsympathetic with the light-hearted
nature of her husband. She opens a let
ter addressed in feminine handwriting to
Bruce. 1t is from his fathers old house
! keeper urging him to visit his father,
who is ILL., Muriel destroys it. She be-
comes moody and insulting to her hus-
bands friends. Her mother comes in an
swer to Bruce's telegram and warns
Muriel she is about to lose her husbands
| love by her unreasonable jealousy. Their
child is born, but dies. Now go on with
the story.
CHAPTER XII
" RUCE had done we'll at the office. AT
X first he had taken on the insurance end
| ~ only AS the heads of the firm saw his
adaptability, his tactfulness, his laughing
good nature that made him popular with
everyone in the office, they shrewdly shifted
him to the real estate department. This de-
lighted Bruce as it meant a greater opportu-
nifty to make good-to show his father. Mu-
riel wouldn't care he thought with little
bitterness She would even be displeased be-
! cause when he had said he wished he were
in that department she had scowled and said
she preferred him to remain where he was.
| She did not care to have him running In and
out of peoples houses all day.
AS usual he didn't understand. That she
might feel jealous of unknown people, people
whom one saw only in the course of bust
ness transaction, he never dreamed. With
| his open nature he did not even guess her
first thought was that he would be thrown
where there were women, that they would
show him their houses look at others.
That her love for him was selfish obsessfon
he, stupid man, had no idea. He thought it
Just love and tried to be the more tender as
he grew disillusioned.
! Everyone has something to put up with,
| I guess, he would say to himself when his dis
appointment with his home life grew intense
| l will have to make the best OF 1T.
| Bruce was sorry for Muriel. At times
dreadfully sorry. Her almost clustered life,
although of her own choosing, her lack of the
spirit of youth, her refusal to engage in any
\ sport or join him in visiting the wives OF his
| friends and her refusal to entertain them was
constant irritation. Yet he was Infinitely
sorry for her, for what she missed He, too,
missed much that made life worth living, ana
| it began to annoy him. 1t was her right TO
choose what she would do, but he couldn
stand her demand that he should do only the
Things she wished. Yet in the two years ne
seldom had really done anything in contradlc-
/ ton to her expressed wishes.
| Her wishes were purely Selfish, although he
never thought of them in that way, but &C
cepted her own definition of love for him.
| "Well, Muriel, I'm getting on at last!" he
told her joyously the day he had been put into
the real estate end of the office. "Im to buy
and sell houses. Rent them, too L snail
have to work harder, may not be able 10 pe
so regular to my meals. When fellow gets
| to talking house I can't run away. But III
make more money, and I like it better. seems
more digniied than the insurance end' ne
added with boyish laugh.
| IT think you were all right Where you
WERE" was all she said, as usual dampenlng
his ardor Had she explained her reasons
he might have laughed and explained them
away, at least in part. But that she never
did She objected, her mind worked along
mathis he could not understand, but seldom
! explained why she objected.
! Bruce entered upon this new phase of his
work with enthusiasm. He had written a
| long letter to the still disappointed but for
giving father telling of his advancement, of
his hope of making good and had received q
long, encouraging letter in return. But IL
was typical of the relations now existing De
| tween him and Muriel that he neither men
| toned his own letter nor that of his father.
| Not that he wanted to be secretive lie
hated to keep silent about the letters. lie
wanted to discuss them, his hopes, with MI
riel. But he couldn't. Her silence seemed 10
| hold him aloof. Her condolences died upon
his lips Her unresponsiveness chilled him.
He also wrote Mother Dangerfeld, as ne
| called her always. She wrote him prlght.
| encouraging letter, wishing him the pest OF
| luck and aVowing her faith in him, also thaG
of her husband, who, annoyed at first hao
| gradually come to feel his son-1n-laW was
man of whom he could be rather proud, de-
spite the fact that he had eloped with Murlel.
Mr. Dangerfeld was so stra1ghttorWard
himself that it had been bit hard Tor MIN
to forgive the clandestine action. But after
his wife's return from her visit to Murlel her
anpreciation of how Bruce was trying to 40
all he could to make Muriel happy, Mur1els
continued selfshness-which the father had
ALWAYS felt but condoned as do most parents
he had felt more kindly toward Bruce. ana
his frank, delight in his business promotion
| had done the rest. He wasn't as 1rresponsl-
HE as he had seemed. Mr.. Dangerfeld might
he right and it was MurieIs fault as much as
his that they had been married IN the way
| they had. $500
''She's the only one who seems not TO care
about my success" Bruce said to himself as
he thought of Muriel's reception OF his news
II wonder why"
| "Conway's in his element now" one of the
men in the office said. Hes sold that NOR
! ton estate when we've all failed to get rio CT
| it. He'll have whacking commission. But
| he could sell anything with that boylsh en-
thusiastic manner of his. I expect hell put
| us all out of business if we don't look out.
1t was said without rancOr. The oapy, as
| they called him, was very popular IN the OIL
! fee the place where he was his real selL De-
cause he was appreciated and at ease.
Continued Tuesday. Renew your SUD-
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