Beverly banner. [volume] (Beverly, N.J.) 1877-1964, 1924-10-10

I ming into town in the car, met his old
| friends at noon and talked, came back
to Wheatley Hills to be swept into the
| unending talk at the club, talked at
dinner, and talked far into the night.
He would greet Ellen carelessly, and
dress in silence. His life was full to
| the brim without her, all these lives
were packed full without any par
! ticular reference 20 the claims of hus-
bands and wives. Gibbs thought he
was having glorious time, he was ex-
cited, fiattered, carried away by pop
| ularity. The men welcomed new
| blood another rival on the links, an
other hand at cards, another eligible
dinner guest, dancer, and raconteur.
| The women were all captivated by his
unusual appearance, his easy French,
his art, and his ambition. They found
in his Indifference supreme charm.
He did not play their game any more
readily than his odd but nice little wife
| did, but while no man ever dreamed of
| taking the slightest liberty with do
nestle, serious, pretty little Mrs.
Josselyn, half dozen women at least
would have been glad to be able to
speak of Gibbs as a "suitor."
| Lillian lazily called Ellen's atten-
tion to it: to the petticoats that always
fiuttered across Gibbs path at the club,
to the intimate conversations for which
traps were eternally laid beneath his
/
with sort of sick anger and terror.
Anger because she did not want to fight
| for what was by all rights her own.
! and terror because sometimes she was
smitten with the thought that she had
nothing with which to hold him, should
he try to go.
She could not be her old self in this
environment. She no longer felt like
the busy little wife and mother who
had so gaily climbed up and down the
heights of Mont Saint Etienne, Tommy
| toddling beside her, Gibbs rushing to
the landing to meet her, or to bid her
farewell Surely this was not the same
Ellen who went into Yvonne's kitchen
and mixed "cornbread Americana" to
the amusement and admiration of the
sturdy Lilloise? Had she, only year
or two ago, been able to call cheerfully
to Gibbs through a Brittany twilight
that he must undress Tommy at once,
the bath was waiting, and was 1t the
same Gibbs who had obediently come
across high grass under gnarled apple
| trees to present her with a warm,
nude, dusty Tommy to battle? All, and
there were other times to remember:
night in French hospital, and
Gibbs shining head against her arm
on an immaculate counterpane and the
tiny cry that was so soon to be stilled
echoing through the gas-lighted, hot
| room.
But at this memory the thick tears
would blind Ellen's eyes. She had
mourned her baby, her delicate, visit
full little Rose, but she looked back at
that sorrow now as something sacred,
something precious, something that had
bound Gibbs and herself together more
strongly than joy.
She would go into the nursery at
"villino DELI Orto" and begin to busy
herself about Tommy's little person.
Was he going to bed? Let mother un-
dress him. She would fall into deep
musing over the little buttons and
straps.
II can undress myself, MOTH" Tom
my would protest, wriggling. She
would catch the warm, hard little face
to hers in a hunger of love. Perhaps
the child would glance at her in sur
prise.
Are you crying, mother? What
for?"
Indeed, don't know, Tomr'
Their first real estrangement came
this summer. Not that Ellen and
Gibbs, as normal young persons, had
| not quarreled before. There had been
occasions, in the very early days, when
fancied coldness in his tone, or let
ter that Ellen must write to Joe in the
hour Gibbs wanted to read to her, had
| caused them acute wretchedness for
hours, or minutes that seemed like
! hours. And then there had been the
day he whipped Tommy, after. as Ellen
put it, deliberately goading a baby
of less than four years into such a
state Of excitement that he didn't know
whether he was telling the truth or
not
But this was different. Gibbs had
taken a dislike to Joe and he and
Ellen could hardly mention Joe without
feeling. Gibbs told Ellen impatiently
that Joe was all right, he might be a
decent enough fellow and all that. but
that he, Gibbs, did not like to have joe
choked down his throat all the time.
Josselyn, Senior, was inclined to be
hospitable to Ellen's brother, TO bring
him home to Sunday lunch, or to keep
him for dinner after the Saturday ten
mis-. George Lathrop was often at
"villino DELI Orto." and Harriet and
Joa naturally drfffad tOgather But