Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1923-04-05

| tasted and gone; and, staring at her
empty place, Redmond's establishment
| grew
The day was one Of vital Importance
to his wife. AT s p. m. the caucus
would be called; and from now till
then every moment of her time would
be taken, planning, arranging, seeing
fellow members, marShaling all her
forces for the night. The office she
sought was that Of state supervisor,
the peak, the apex of all her present
activities and ambitions; and, as Red
mond knew too, her candidacy for the
place was to be no easy victory. AL
ready opposition had reared it's head;
and. his air Of questioning, his astonish-
ment growing on him, Redmond hur-
riedly drew out his watch
He had made no mistake, however.
1t was quarter to eight-fifteen min
utes past the hour; and again Red
mond shot glance at his wife's va
cant place.
He was still standing there, watch
in hand and wondering when the pan
try door opened and a gaunt, angular
figure in cap and apron appeared. 1t
was maid, the Redmond's waitress.
You're late" she greeted abruptly,
buntly
Redmond knew he was. That, how
ever, did not concern him now. Neither
was he the more concerned In the
maids bruSque abruptness. OF his
own choice, Redmond would have
preferred a different, less thin-lipped,
sere and fllnt-eyed Hebe to serve him
his repasts; but Mrs Redmond, natu-
rally, had made the choice The wOm-
an, Harriet Lipp, was a protege Of
hers, fragment, In fact, Of that hui
man social-wreckage Myrta Redmond,
in part with her career, made 1t a
habit to snatch from troubled waters
and relaunch again in life The wait
ress, In fact, owed not only her PRES
ent place to Mrs. Redmond, she owed
also her liberty to her, Mrs. Red
mond's influence with the state pardon
board having obtained Harriet Lipp's
release from a three-years' sentence in
the penitentiary. AS Mrs. Redmond,
however, had pointed out, it was for
crime Of violence, not one of ignoble
meanness or stealth. for which Har-
riet had been committed; but of this
distinction. a difference in Mrs. Red
mOnd'S view, Redmond was not think
ing now.
where's your mstressT he In
CURED
upstairs" the woman answered,
briefly.
The reply, too, was as blunt, as
brusque as 1t was brief; and, his dis
taste Of her growing, Redmond stared
at the woman.
"When Is Mrs. Redmond coming
DOWN." he asked.
Harriet Lipp's air did not alter.
"She amt" she answered, and Red
mond started.
"WhatY
"She's breakfastlng abed," said Har-
rlet Lipp.
IN bed?" Redmond echoed.
''Uh huh ~ repeated Harriet Lipp.
Wondering, vaguely perturbed now,
Redmond wandered to the table. In
the same wonder he drew out q chair
and seated himself, the maid watch
ing him with hard, aggressive eyes. It
was nothing new, though, that Red
mOnd should breakfast alone. Often,
In her full, active life, Mrs. Redmond
was up and away even before he had
come downstairs. There were days,
too, often weeks, when her official du-
ties public affairs, called her entirely
from her home No, to be alone was
nothing new. But now Mrs. Red
mond breakfasting in bed. That was
new, yes.
A wOman's trlck-that breakfast In
bed. 1t was trick, too, a woman's
trick, Of sort that Myrta heretofore
would have scorned The soft, the in
dulgent, the feminlnely feminine things
Mrs. Redmond instinctively and con-
temptuOusly disdained. To her they
meant but one thing, confession Of
sex, of the weakness confession Of
sex involved The parity of the sexes,
the abolition, rather, Of all sex, that
was Mrs Redmond's watchword.
Here" Redmond said sharply to
the maid "bring me my eggs and cof-
fee"
He sat there staring at his hands.
Something had happened, he saw that:
something vislbly out of the way. Red
mond, In fact, in the twelve years of
his married life, had grown, If only
subconsciously, too familiar with his
wife's ways, her habitude, not to sense
that something unusual had occurred
to her. It's indications, however. were
not merely the otherwise trivial cir
cumstances Of her breakfasting In
bed; of late he had noted in his wife's
usual calm, her somewhat complacent
self-restraint, hint Of nerves, Of tenn
perament-a reaction as If she labored
under some secret weight, burden.
Uneasy, now, frown puckered on his
brow. What had troubled herr ne
wondered, his uneaslness gaining
ground.
1t was rarely, If ever, now, In these
later years that Mrs. Redmond con-
tlded In the man she'd married. Be-
tween the two 1t was as II the usual
marital situation had become reversed
he, not she, the dependent; she the
master hand. The change, however, If
such had happened, was not Just
equitable; for Redmond, If he were
the inferior, bent under what virtual
ly was double responsibility, that Of
the provider. the one who brought In
the living; with that he, to all In
tents and purposes, ran the household