Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1923-08-02


and added, as the suspicion struck her
Il believe you've been telegraphing
him, yourself, not to come" But this
Injurious charge she at once retracted.
They're supposed to be sort of
temperamental and changeable, that's
ALL" he explained, land I thought he
might change his mind about this"
You wish he would. suspect" she
observed
Yes" he answered, unhappily, 81
suppose do"
She gazed at him a moment in mute
evaporation Then her expression
softened and she gave a reluctant
laugh. Il think you're the most rldic-
ulous person in the world" she said.
Il suppose you think he's coming out
here to break up our happy home and
get me to run away with him"
He looked so glum over this that she
gave him up as hopeless. ooh, go
along" she cried. "But I'm going to
kiss you first. And you will be home
sharp at four, won't your"
1t was an hour earlier than this
that she found him in the dining room
unwrapping package containing two
bottles one Of gin and the other of
Scotch whisky.
Got 'em from Walter Harbury." he
explained sheepishly. walter has a
regular bootlegger-comesa around once
a month. Been meaning to lay In
something like this for quite a while. ="
Her astonishment over this bit of
unabashed mendacity made 1t possible
for him to get on to something else.
He put the bottles away in the side
board, turned his back upon 1t, and
gazed at her SO intently that she
frowned inquiringly and presently
asked, "Well, what Is itf"
Nothing" he said, "only I think
you're looking great-just as you are"
Now this was the unadulterated
truth. At forty, after two children
and nineteen years of marriage and
Avonia, she still looked infinitely de.
sirable to George, and never more 50
than in the sort of clothes she was
wearing now, small felt hat crammed
down upon her small round head
| (she'd been out doing some last-min.
ute marketing), sweater, sport
skirt. low-heeled shoes; her face
MOSTLY flushed. innocent of powder
1t was true and Emily knew 1t was
true.
All the same, she saw through hin
and smiled derisively $50 YOU want
me to look like this when Mr.. Haw
kins comes?" she asked. "Wen, ]
won't. I'm going up to dress this
minute"
81 wish you wouldn't, Emily" he
pleaded 81 don't want you to dress
up for this chump l don't want vol
to do anythlng-spec1al for him,
don't see why YOU should. You dom
care anything about him, do your MOI
about what he thinks?"
Her flush deepened as she met hi.
look She reached out suddenly anC
took hold Of him by the ears. idiot =
she said, ~Idiot!' But in the interva
between the two words she kissed him
and she did not dress up for Mr.
Charles Hawthorn Hawkins.
Perhaps because her husbands per
Torrance occupied the first place IL
her attention, she found 1t hard to re
member what celebrity Charlie,
Hawkins had become.
He was euriously unchanged, through
all his changes. The twenty pound!
| ar ca bn hod Ta,,k ~, no dr,,@ ,,oo5o 1t.
look older; had served only to accen
tuate the plump, cherubfc look Of boy
ish innocence there'd always beer
about him. He talked about himself 6
lot, just as he'd always done.
Emily shot an uneasy glance al
George now and then; for instance
when Charley spoke offhand of the
foremost American actress as Ethel
She wondered whether George was
saying to himself, "Ass!" But an
parently George was not. He seemed
to be enjoying the gossip of the the
alter as much as the tales of Capri
and Tahiti and other wondrous places
the playwright had inhabited.
Emily herself didn't talk much
They drifted hack occasionally into
"reminiscences, but since this, of course
excluded George, they didn't 20 far
with it.
George had spoken of being busy,
of the amount of time he'd have to
spend upon case that was coming up
Monday, but he showed no signs of
UOinU off and loauin0 tho,, AAo.u
own devices. She didn't know whether
she wished he would or not. Intrin-
sically she wasn't especially anxious
to be left alone with Charley, but if
George was staying away from his
work in order to watch them, she was
furious with him.
Only. It didn't seem like that. THE
two men got around to the war, al
last, and the humble but absorbing
parts they had respectively played In
1t, and after an hour of this, she babe
them goodnight. This was insincere
so far as it was addressed to George,
for she fully intended staying awake
until he came to bed, and asking him
a few questions, but her modest share
of the unwonted alcohol made her
sleepy, and she never knew how late
the two men-and the bottle of
ScOtch-sat up.
She got no chance next morning.
either, for private talk with George
before they met their guest, and in
consequence Georges calm announce
ment of the days program and his
/ total elimination of himself from it
fell upon her like thunderclap. She
caught him alone a few minutes after