New Britain herald., 1924-07-09
Why Liiiiaa Explained Her Request Go Aiaaige


 with Liilisn and me, because Of our long intimacy, Il is generally masks down" We never control auF suF' prise or other feelings as rlgidls as We do before other people, Therefore, 1 did not attempt 10 suppress ihe asT tenlshsd stare I save Lillian a' her snaling announcement that her Fea' .,oa for wishing me 10 so to dinner with the man wha had been her hnsr band fer so many years sassAin her own werds-'to ind out what Harry is up to-"
 She returned my gaze steadily,
 ''I know" she said, with a note Of apology rare ,o her This IS some thing l have no right ta ask you, job l ought 10 do myself fl it Is to be done. bul-frankly--i do not think Marry would tell me, In fact l know him well enough to know that you are the only person on earth who can get his confidence"
 Her eyes confirmed what her lips had told me long ago that she he. i.svsd the feeling Harry Underwood 10 often and so theatrieally had pros claimed for me vas a genuine emo sion Surely. however she dld not expect me to gain his confidence be- cause of that advantage and then he- tray it to her,
 aNo, indeed" she said, as If had spoken my thought aloud, and mentally saluted her psychic pawsrs asI often had done before. "tf you can get him started talking, you can persuade him that 1t won't do any harm for me to know about r' Otherwise, of course. you could never teii me. But l have great faith Tn your powers Of persuasion, where Harry Is concerned"
 Harry Is Late
 shs smiled wearily. and thought I detected a soupcon of bitterness in the smile. Even though she did not care for the husband who had treated her so cavalieriy, even though sll the affection she had to give was in the possession of Robert savarin, she was feminine enough 10 feel chagrin that she must depend upon someone else to get the information she needed.
 Suddenly she came up to me and put both her hands on my shoulders. { SDeAr girl.' she said tenderly. T know I am asking a very difficult and delicate thing of you. Yet 1t isn't as bizarre as it appears. Harry will bs sentimentally fiamboyant and theatrical, no doubt, but you know as well as I that he will never be un- manageable. You will have his con- duct entirely in your own hands, and have no fear of your ability to han dle any situation.
 2 As for the Dicky-bird's reaction to the outing when he hears of it. vell.-I thing he has nothing what ever to say. If he shows symptoms of emitting any yelps, just send him to me. So give that Puritan con- science a dose of paresoric, my dear, end enjoy the dinner as much as you can. There's no one can order dinner, you know, better than Harry"
 Z Was there a unconscious note, of regret, of wistfuness in her voice? Hastily and injudiciously interpret cd it.
 q wish you were coming with us." said.
 She shrugged her shoulders as if she were shunting some troublesome memory.
 Well. don't" she q retorted l brusquely, and then with glance at her wrist watch. she added con- cernedly:
 T wonder why Harry isn't back. He said fifteen minutes, and he al- ways is the last word in punctu- ality, especially when there are a pretty woman and dinner engage men in the offing."
 Are you sure we didn't misun derstand the timer" I queried. .''He | said he was going to change to | evening clothes, and the time he | named seems so absurdly short. Be- sides, where do you suppose he has evening clothes or place to ehAnge?"
 "No Doubt He Has''
 He'd carry moonlights on the running board, and dress behind the closed curtains of the car, if he couldn't find anything more conven- lent" Lillian answered laughing. "You forget that he is an old trouper.
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