The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-11-17

drew the fire Of his wife's wrath
upon his own head, and an ugly.
violent scene followed, while Paul
cried fearfully and the baby
walled. Eventually. Philip went
for the milk himself.
For a long time he lay awake
after they had gone to bed. His
wife was soon asleep, breathing
gutturally. which always disturbed
him. His thoughts wandered back
to Marjorie. He wondered what
kind Of woman she had grown
to be; he speculated upon the
changes the years had brought her.
Had North's desertion, had pow
erty and trouble. had hard work
and encouragement made any
difference? Would she perhaps
marry again? He recalled the
final scene between them. how
she had come slouching into the
room where he sat waiting for
her, how pasty and pocket-eyei
she seemed, how she had ignored
him with frank contempt land
had infuriated him with pre-.
tended solicitude for the baby.
He laughed suddenly. aloud,
and bitterly. Leila stirred and
moaned in her sleep. The story
Of the moving picture required to
him. 1t had been crude melo-
dramatic tale, in which there had
been a. dyed-in-the-wool villain
and daredevil hero. Marjorie
had played the part of a vir..
tuous wife, and In one scene had
fought the drunken Villains adj
vances. The man had retallated
by stealing her child and the ac-
ton Of the story followed her of.
forts to- regain the baby, assisted
nobly by the hero. At the fin
ish she had, Of course, been tri.
umphantly successful, and at the
end OF the picture Marjorie was
shown In q closeup" bending
with streaming eyes over her lit
tie one. and straining the baby
to her breast. The words she
was supposed to utter at this
juncture Were flashed upon the
screen: my baby! Ny baby
Ny little one! You shall never
leave your mothers arms again.
Death-and death alone-shall
separate us'
At School
Paul entered the public school
Of the neighborhood in August,
and he slept on e couch in the
dining room. His presence In
the house annoyed Leila vastly.
1t meant cooking a separate
breakfast for him as well as pre-
pairing lunch: It meant picking I'D
his clothes, making his bed, wash.
ing extra dishes. She considered
she had as much as she could do
looking after her own child. Pau,
invariably left the small bathroom
in confusion after he had finished
washing; he used the baby's
things; he was constantly under
foot. With sly inquisitiveness he
would watch Leila as she went
about her work, and If she sud.
denly focused her glance upon
him. he as quickly averted his
eyes. It exasperated her to have
him study her so persistently.
When he made her angry she
did not hesitate to slap him. The
first time Philip observed this he
protested, but Leila told him
sharply that IL he did not like
the way she treated his son. ne
could take him elsewhere. There
after Paul would watch his oppor.
tunity. after Philip had come
home. and when they were alone
together, he would come close to
stand behind his chair, and say I'm
a hoarse whisper:
She hit me again today"
His father would make a pre-
tense OF trying to discover a
cause for his punishment. He did
not like Paul to think he disap-
proved Of Leila's actions. The
boy must learn to respect his
mother. But the thought of her
striking the child made his heart
heavy within him, and he could
not keep his distress from show.
Ing in his face. Questioning his
son as to what had happened
never ELECTED further information
from Paul. 1t did not seem to
matter TO him whether he hal
been at fault or not; he had been
struck. that was the point.
ITO Be Continued Monday