New Britain herald., 1924-01-02
An Unusual Message Came
 From DiCks

My mother-in-aw' voice held the note of finality which characterizes most of her utterances. But l knew better than to agree upcnly with her shrewd and emnently just compari- sen of her daughters. It was one thing for her to speak of childless Harriet Braithwate as born moth CT" and say that Elizabeth Harrison, the mother of four hadn't any busi- ness taking care of a cat, let alone child" If would be another thing and one soaked in gasoline, needing only the match for me, an "in-law,'
 agree with any opinion derogatory ta Dicky's sisters.
 But l accepted mentally at its full eDlue her emphatic the truth, and you know | am speaking it. Mar gAret, just as well as do." There was a very vivid mental pie lure in my mind of the terror heart hreakinS to see child's face, with whieh little Mary Harrison had oheyed her saccharne-voiced and placid faced mothers command to come away with her for q talk, after the mother had discovered Mary med ding with a cherished necklace. My mother-ia-law as just and tender to- ward children as she is irritable with grown-ups had rescued the child and subdued her daughter with a threat to tell William
 The HapIess Children
 | never had learned the outcome of the incident. I only knew that the threat, curiously enough, had reduced my sister-in-law to fearful pleading, and that she had cut short her visit and returned home the next day. But my heart always had ached for the hapless children of Elizabeth Harrison. I guessed that they had little attention from their thoroughly selfish mother. They hardly knew their father grave, silent William Harrison, whose husi- ness kept him away from home two- thirds of his time, and whose taci- turn disposition kept him from show ing the very real and deep love he had for them.
 Afterward, as 1 looked back upon my own mental processes during the week which Harriet and l spent at the farm, the manner in which my mind dwelt upon Mother Graham's comparison of her daughters seemed uncanny. Over and over again thought of Harriets longing for chil. dren. and of Eiizabcth's contrasting itch for freedom. for living her own life" for expressing herself" and all zg ,A ss. .fl and palmer times was dubbed laying down on tho job" Elizabeth plainly considered her children n handicap 10 her possible career. Harriet would have given her soul for one of them, and tho exchange would have meant infinitely better conditions for the children. Why was Fate so blind?.
 Dicky relephoneS
 Even the two days weekend visit which Edwin and Dicky made us did not quiet the questioning. and was still revolving it. when one morning in answer 10 a telephone ring l heard Dicky's voice, strained with agitation, percmptory
 That you, Madge," he asked.
 Yes" l answered alarmed. What has"
 shut up, cant you" he storned end I realized that if was necessity not anger which was behind the iudeness and brscod myself for some emergency.
 "oh yes" I answered in casual tone. "I'll do that"
 Good. that's better" he answered. "Now listen to mic. carefully. Some things happened. Tu tell you later but Edwin and 1 are all right. Now you get 10 the nearest telephone as quickly as you can and Gall me up at