The Washington times., 1924-04-28
BY Ann Lisle,
Whose Serials OF Married Lie
Have Won q Big Popular

SUCCESS
EkWKY ATT" NIrma's soft
" white hand went UP
with something COM
manding In its stiff gesture.
That's just it. Suppose I'm only
IS per cent sure. And suppose
I'm trying to be all the way sure.
And suppose first Uncle Loreh
and you come along-upset all
my thoughts. Is that fair?'
Suppose, though. you're shut
Ing your mind to all the truths
z but those which lie along one line
Of thinking" I protested.
Eve lot to consider" she said
quietly and with a folding Of her
lips at the end Of the phrase which
betokened stubbornness. II have
my own views Of what first love
ought to mean. I know just what
! like about my-old.fashioned
nature. I want to cling to my
ideals. You were talking a lot
about ideals tonight. And I should
think you'd understand that it
means lot to me to see-what I
mean to Tom. He's generous and
chivalrous and thoughtful and
tender. And you liked him once
even before he developed these
Qualities--which he doesn't hest.
tate to say I bring out in him.
! have a feeling Of responsible
ity--''
"Oh, Irma," / protested, you
wouldn't marry man to reform
him, as the old saying goes. You
must know"
81 don't know. And you can't
tell me. No one canps Irma cried.
There are things in Tom
Mason SO big-there are weak
nesses and - awkwardnesses in
other men so maddening- oh,
don't you see that no one has a
right to interfere?"
mo one wants to interfere. But
one who loves you dearly may
want to help" I pleaded.
Have you any assurance you're
equipped to help?" demanded Irma
almost CURLY.
mo one can be sure"
where's Jim? How have you
managed your own life?" the girl
asked, leaning forward, her blue
eyes ablaze.
!. couldn't answer. Something
caught in my throat. The sud.
denness Of the attack swept me
from my mental moorings.
what right have you to try to
arrange other folks lives?" Irma
went on implacably. Are you so
sure-you've doneSthe right things
with your own life-your life with
JIM"
It seemed as If Trina Warren
had crashed through the wall Of,
dignity and reserve I had been
trying to build between myself
and the world when she faced me
in my own living room with her
ruthless question:
"Are you sure you've done the
right things with your own life
your life with Jim?"
The directness of her attack
would have been overwhelming
even If it had come from friend
Of Betty's standing. have no
other friend from, whom such q
question would seem in any way
justified. And Betty would Ger.
tainly hesitate to ask it.
The last person in the world
from whom such a brutally frank
question might be expected is
little Irma Warren. Her youth,
her lack Of experience, the whole
sheltered scheme of her life
seemed to preclude her thinking
- CURLY and talking so directly.
And so when she flung her YER
bal bombshell at me, actually
covered away from its explosive
force. / must have stared at her
like a terrified child. But Trina
stood her ground. She didn'. at
tempt to soften the blow with an
apologize explanation that she
hadn't peant what her words
seemed to suggest. She merely
sat looking at me seriously and
Questioningly demanding the truth
from me.
Perhaps the silence between us
! didn't last thirty seconds, but in
that short while I did enough
rapid-fire thinking to fill as many
minutes.
At last I said, rather huskily:
IF I've Numbered with Jim,
wouldn't that be all the more rea.
SON for me to try to help friend