The Holly chieftain., 1924-01-31

Ing to get divorce. or course, it's
all right. let her know, long ago,
that she was entitled to get one If
she wanted lt-un any grounds she
chose. AS long as she didn't, let it
lay. Well, there 1t is D-n it.
Jennie, can't you see 1t at all? You
sit there looking like"
He broke OF. perceIving that he'd
aroused her.
Eyes, l understand" she said at
last. go ahead and tell me the
whole story. What was she like?
Where did you meet herr"
Joe turned away thoughtfully to the
smoking-table and rellghted his cigar.
"Why, Annabel was Chicago GIRL"
he began presently. Lived down in
Woodlawn with her father and moth
er-Fanning, their name was. l
boarded with them back In the spring
Of ninety-nine, just twenty years ago
now. I'd just passed my examination
for licensed structural engineer.
They were the most respectable peo-
pie in the world, those Fannings. Poor
but genteel-good Lord-so you could
hardly breathe! But somehow that
sort Of thing looked good to me just
about then"
She left unbroken for little while
the reflective silence into which he'd
fallen, before she prompted him. But
presently she got him going again by
suggesting that the reason gantility
lonl-aI opnf m hin, i,tc
mabel. what was she like? How old
was she? What color was her hair?"
'Lightsh," Joe said; mot yellow;
there wasn't much color in it. / was
fooled on her age, all right. l took
it for granted that she was just
kid, barely twenty. If as old as that.
When she gave her age at the license
bureau up in Milwaukee, where we'd
run Off to get married, l found she
wasn't but five or six years younger
than / was 1t would have made
quite difference If I'd known that
sooner" he added.
Jennie remarked that twenty-five
wasn't too old for girl to marry.
But Joe said this wasn't what he
meant. She was too old not to be
more grown up than she was.
You see, she'd been having fight
with her father and mother. She
wanted to be an artist, sculptor,
and they wouldn't let her. She'd
been going down to the Art institute
for quite while taking lessons in
drawing and designing, china-painting.
don't know what-maybe little
modelling. But now it was question
of a life class, and they wouldn't hear
of it.
swell, that interested me in her
whole lot more than I'd been before.
and the line her father and mother
had taken seemed so d-n silly that
the next chance l got l tried to put
In word for her. 1t was fool thing
to do, Of course. 1t got Annabel in
wrong, worse than ever. for discuss
Ing such subject with young man
she, herself. was furious with me
at first for not having seen that-and
they were already suspicious that
wasn't quite as good as looked.
"Now, here's d-n funny thing,
Jennie. Here's a question I've asked
myself thousand times: VIII you
tell me why didn't Just pack my
trunk at that point and clear out?
was tired of the old people and
wasn't in love with Annabel, not one
little bit. didn't even want her in a
temporary sort Of way. There were
girls growing on every bush that were
more attractive. that way, than she
was. But didn't get out. went on
bEtting myself farther and farther in.
We had a HI of a time. The old
folks would hardly speak to me.
They sat around and kept watch so
that shouldn't be alone with Anna
bel. think the only reason they
didn't turn me out of the house was
because they figured 1t was easier to
keep us apart as things were, having
line on me, than If they hadn't any
Idea where I was.
well. the upshot of 1t was that one
day, along that summer. we took the
day-boat-the old whaleback, 1t was
to Milwaukee. got a license and a
minister to marry us, and spent the
night at the Planklngton hotel Came
home on the train the next morning.
1.-THE old folks wouldn't take us in
and 1t wasn't bluff either. But
found furnished fiat over in Hyde
Park-it was easy enough to do in
those days-and we set up house.
keeping. I'd suggested n couple Of
rooms in some family hotel so that
she could have more time to herself.
But she didn't want that. was be-
ginning to wonder about that famous
career of hers that the whole row had
been about. Finally asked her one
day why she didn't go over to the Art
institute and register In the life class.
remember how she looked at that
and just what she said. She gave me
stare and then sort of laugh.
doubtful whether | wasn't joking, and
she said, why, you silly old thing,