Fitzgerald leader enterprise and press. (Fitzgerald, Ben Hill County, Ga.) 1921-1964, 1923-04-19

However. he went across the street;
and then Mrs. Sullender, benevolently
leading the two children by the hand,
nodded again to Bella with a sweet
ness that was evident even at a dis
lance. and re-entered the house, TAX
ing George and the tiny Natalie with
her.
Bella remained upon her knees,
staring violently at the 'Sullender
home, but her thoughts were cen
tered upon her husband. Just wait
till he gets home!" she thought.
But she saved her triumph until
after dinner, when he had made him
self comfortable upon the lounge in
their tiny "living-room" and seemed
to be in good content with his briar
pipe.
81 had a caller after you left, this
morning" she informed him sunnily.
"Who was it?"
"Mr. George NJ. Sullender."
$50? That's odd" said Sperry. 81
saw him starting down town in his
car just before l did. How did he
happen to come back here?"
HE didn't. This was Mr.. George
NJ. Sullender, Junior"
"Who's that?"
"Their little boy" said Bella.
you've seen him playing in their
yard with the little sister,"
"Oh, yes. Did his mother send him
over on an erand?"
mo. He came in to see if I'd found
any nice worms" Bella said, and
added, in a carefully casual tone, but
with flashing little glance from the
corner of her eye: HE said some
worms must be nice because Mrs. Sui
lender is in the habit of calling Mr..
Sullender worm, and George thinks
his father is nice"
Young Mr.. Sperry took his pipe
from his mouth and looked at his wife
incredulously. what did you say
about Mrs. Sullender's calling"
"a worm, William" said Bella. "She
calls him worm, William, because
he doesn't make even more money
than he does, poor man! The child
really hates his mother: he never
once spoke of her as mamma" but
he always said my papa when he
mentioned Mr.. SulIender. think I
must have misjudged that poor crea-
ture little, by the way. OF course
he is pompous, but l think his POM
posity is probably just assumed to
cover up his agony of mind. He has
a recent scar that his wife put on his
head, too, to cover up"
"Bella!'
Eyes" she said, refectively. 81
think he's mainly engaged in cover
ing things up, poor thing. Of course
he does strike his sweet-woman, now
and then, when he finds her at the
movies with gentlemen he doesn't ap-
prove of, but one can hardly blame
him, considering the life she leads
him. 1t was last week, though, when
they had their big fight. understand
with the children looking on"
But at this. William rose to his feet
and confronted her. "What on earth
are you talking about, Bella?"
"The Sullenders," she said. at was
curious. 1t was like having the front
of their house taken off the way
curtain rolls up at the theater and
shows you one Of those sordid Russian
plays, for instance.
There was the whole sickening &C.
tual life of that dreadful family laid
bare before ne: the continual petty
chickering's, that every hour or so grow
into bitter quarrels, with blows and
epithets-and then, when other people
are there, as we were last night. the
assumption of suavity. the false. too
sweet sweetness and absurd pomposi-
tieS-Oh, what an ugly revelation # IS
Will! It's so ugly it makes me almost
sorry you were wrong about them, as
you're rather likely to be in your flash
Judgments. you poor dear.'
Bella (who was literary" some
times) delivered herself of this speech
with admirable dramatic quality, es
pecially when she made her terse
little realistic picture of the daily life
of the Sullenders, hut there was lust
a shade of happy hypocrisy and covert
triumph in the final sentence and she
even thought fit to add little more
on the point: "HOw strange i, ia to
think that only last night we were
arguing about it ~ she exclaimed. "and
that | said we'd not need to wait q
month to prove that l was right
Here it is only the next day and it's
proved | was thousand times Fighter
than | said | wasp
swell, perhaps you'll enlighten
he began, but she complied so
that she didn't let him finish
his request.
She gave him Georges revelation
in detail, emphasizing and coloring it
somewhat with her own interpreta-
lions of many things necessarily only
suggested by the child's meager vo-
cabulary; and she was naturally a
little indignant when, at first, her hus-
band declined TO admit his defeat.
"Why. it's simply not believable!"
he said. Those people couldn't seem
what they seemed to be last night,
and be so depraved. They were genu-
inely affectionate In the tone they
used with each other and they"
Good gracious" Bella cried. do
You think Pm making this up?"
mo, Of course not" he returned
hastily. but the child may have
made it up"
"About his own father and mother?"
"Oh, know, but some children are
the most wonderful little stOry-tellers;
they tell absolutely ineXpllcable lies
and hardly know why themselves"
But at this Bella looked at him pity