The Dolores star., 1924-01-25

| ing TO get a divorce. OF course, it's
all right. l let her know. long ago.
that she was entitled to get one il
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.
yes. I 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
smokingtable and relightcd his cigar.
why, Annabel was Chicago girl"
he began presently. Lived down in
WoodlHwn with her father and moth
er-FannIng their name was.
boarded with them hack in the spring
Of nInety-nlne, just twenty years ago
now. I'd just passed my examination
for n 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 a 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 gentility
looked good to him just then was An
1.
was she? What color was her haIr?"
"Lightish," Joe said: mot yellow;
there wasn't much color in 1t. ! was
fooled on her age. all right. I took
1t for granted that she was just n
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, | found she
wasn't but five or six years younger
than | was II would have made
quite a difference if I'd known that
sooner" he added.
Jennie remarked that twenty-five
wasn't too old for a girl 10 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 a fight
with her father and mother. She
wanted to be an artist, sculptor.
and they wouldn't let her. Shed
been going down to the Art institute
for quite while taking lessons in
drawing and designing, china-painting.
| don't know what-maybe a little
modelling. But now it was a question
of life class. and they wouldn't hear
| of IT,
well, that interested me in her a
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 | got | tried to put
/ in word for her. 1t was fool thing
/ To do, Of course. II got Annabel in
! wrong, worse than ever for discuss
| ing such Il subject with young man
She herself. was furious with me
/ mt first for not having seen that-and
| they were already suspicious that l
| wasn't quite as good as | looked.
Now, here's a d-n funny thing,
Jennie Here's question I've asked
| myself a 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. l 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
| 20
We had III 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 it was easier to
| keep us apart as things were, having
a line on me, than if they hadn't any
| idea where was.
| We'll, the upShOt of it was that one
day, along that summer, we took the
| day-bOat-the old whaleback, 1t was
to Milwaukee, got license and a
minister TO marry us. and spent the
night at the Plankington hotel Came
home on the train the next morning.
1.-THE old folks wouldn't take us in
and it wasn't bluff either But
found a furnished fiat over in Hyde
Park-it was easy enough to do in
those days-and we set up house
keeping. I'd suggested a 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 tn, 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,
what do | want to 90 there for, now?
"She hadn't any idea what marriage
wos ahput Jappia App,r,p,i,, ,,,.