The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-11-03
CHAPTER ".

CHAPTER ".
Ten days later Philip received
a letter from Wilbur. postmarked
New York city.
my dear old Philip: You know
by this time what course Of action
decided to take. / hesitated q
long time before making up my
mind. and my indecision was
solely on your account. faced
the choice Of breaking with you
or the woman I love, and it was
the certainty that some day you
win again feel kindly toward me
that led me to believe the best
course was for me to go away.
I couldn't find the nerve to talk
to you, or even to say goodby.
As | saw it-and still see lit
would have been a tough prOpo-
sitso1 to put up to you; you
would have to side with either
Lucy. your sister. or with me.
I know you're awfully sore at me,
and certainly feel rotten to
think about it. But please re-
member. old boy, that what I've
done hasn't been merely to crafty
my own desires. I've saved the
woman who has come to mean
% much to me from an intoler-
able situation. I couldn't stand
By any longer and see it go on.
The last offense' was when he
was beastly drunk he twisted the
little girls arm and struck her.
was the only one F1ossie had
to turn to. and just had to help
her out.
1--WE tried to do what / think
is the square thing by everyone.
I leave my share Of the business
to you and Lucy. If either the
Henderson ranch or the Douglas
Tract turn out right, you'll clean
up IL the neighborhood of half
Ambition at the closest calcula-
tons AS we've never incorpo-
rated, you need no legal authority
from me to go ahead. but I've left
O full power-of-attorney for you
with Termini. He also has the
key to my safe deposit box, and
I've written him to turn it over
to you when you ask for it.
You'll find in the box a deed Of
the home for Lucy, and some s.
p. stock. which I'd like you to
hand over to her as well. want
the Berkeley apartments to be
given to her, too. There's $4,000
due on this property, for which
the Bank Of Italy has my note
on a deed of trust It's easily
worth $4,000. You'll find a lot
of other stock in the box, but
most of it's worthless, unless the
oil turns out o. K. I've taken
with me only what I had in the
bank after sold out my interest
In the Tonopah mine to Cliff
White. It was worth lot more
than got for It, but Il was the
easiest money I could lay my
hands on. The rest IL Lucy's
and feel certain I couldn't leave
her interests in better hands.
81 want you to try and forget
me, Philip. I want San Fran
cisco to forget me- I'm thirty
three years old, and figure I've
got the best part Of my life
ahead Of me. Flossie and I are
not going to make the mistake Of
trying to settle down in some
other city in the United States,
and be forever afraid of some old
Friscoite turning up and telling
the neighborhood we're not legally
married. wouldn't care, but it
would make F1ossie suffer. Let
Lucy stand on her rights. Don't
be offended IL I say hope it
does her a lot Of good. She can't
marry again, herself, unless she
obtains a divorce, and somehow I
can't see her staying single. II
she had had the sense TO agree
to separation. as I urged, she
wouldn't have driven F1ossie and
me away. 1t was herAnflexibilfty
about this that forced us to take
matters into our own hands.