The Kevin review. [volume] (Kevin, Mont.) 1922-1929, 1924-08-28
temperament OF
an Artist
By JUSTIN WENTWOOD

&c, 1923. Western Newspaper Union.)
EARGUE was a rising young Illus
IL traitor. He had a nice house in
the suburbs, and the attic hAu ueen
t~ar-papered and converted into a
studio. He had a nice little income
and a nice little wife. Everybody
said so.
Hargus was drawing a cover-girl for
one of the magazines. She was a very
beautiful girl. Hargus sat drawing,
and listening to his wife bustling
about in the rooms below. He knew
exactly what she was doing. She was
making the bed. After that she was
| going to sweep the rooms, and then
her heels would go clack, clack, in
the passage. Mrs. Hargus would be
very busy.
He was fond of her-they had been
married four years. And yet, as he
looked at the girl on the cover, a
great loathing of life swept over him.
He wished he had a girl like that, and
he wished that instead of living in a
house in Four Corners, that thriving
suburb, he lived with the cover-girl in
a Venetian palace.
If only he had ordered his life bet
ter!
Presently he heard a rhythmic
sound below. 1t was Mrs. Hargus,
playing with the broom.
And in the meantime
Mrs. Hargus, that successful house
keeper and popular matron, was tidy
ing up her house. At first she won
dered where all the dirt came from.
Then she wondered whether that cake
she meant to make would turn out
well in the new oven. Then she be-
gan thinking about Hargus.
She sighed, and a half tender but
half irritated look came over her face.
She was very fond Of Hargus, but
she wished that she had married a
different kind of man, who wouldn't
have his business in the house and
keep running down to tell her things
about his work. She eve bothered
Hargus about the pies.
Die WlSlSu Sic lIdu d uuSDdHU WILL
a regular income, instead Of n who
was hard up when the rem was due,
and then got a windfall and came run
ming to her to crowd expensive pres
ents on her, which made her afraid.
However, it couldn't be helped. And
she really was fond of Hargus.
She went into the kitchen, mixed
the cake, and put it into the oven. AS
she lit the gas there was a bareback.
A flame ran up her dress. She
screamed.
And in the meanwhile
Upstairs Hargus had flung down his
drawing and sat brooding. The
broom had ceased, and now Mrs. Har-
gus heels were going clack, clack in
the kitchen. How Hargus hated that
sound. He hated the horrid facts Of
domesticity; he wanted to live a per-
fectly irresponsible life in a perfectly
irresponsible world-with that cover
girl.
She did not correspond to any real
girl. 1t was just his idea of the sort
of wife he wished he had selected.
And there was Mrs. Hargus, who
never took any interest In his work,
and went on baking pies!
A sudden scream from below ar
his attention:
Harry Oh, I'm on 1rel Come
quick!"
In an instant Hargus was on his
feet and dashing down the stairs. In
the kitchen he saw Mrs. Hargus stand
ing, desperately beating with her
hands at the flames that were run
ming up her dress. He snatched up
a small rug from the foorsand envel-
oped her in it. He beat wildly at
the little spurts of fame that appeared
round the edges. He struggled me-
chanically, like a man in a dream. All
the while those little spurts of flame
kept appearing.
And all the while Mrs. Hargus kept
on screaming.
Then suddenly it was all over. The
ire demon was dead. Hargus flung
down the rug and looked at Mrs. Har-
rus. There seemed nothing the mat
.er with her. The front of her dress
was slightly s%corched, that was all.
He raised her hands and looked at
hem. One palm was slightly red
Tened, that was all. His own hands
we're uninjured.
Mrs. Hargus suddenly tainted In his
rms. He carried her to a couch in
he living room. And then he real
zed hat he was trembling all over.
Mrs. Hargus opened her eyes. "Oh,
larling-"
"Are you all right, darling?"
eyes. Are you, darllng?"
"Yes. My God, when l saw you in
lanes 1 had the fright of my life"
"Would you be sorry to lose me.
Iarry?"
s'For Gods sake, don't make such a
uggestion," said Hargus, kissing her.
After a while: "Are you really all
light. Well, 1 suppose I must go and