Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-02-05

she marry before she is thirty-five. She
falls in love with handsome young Dr.
Peter Graham and marries him without
telling him about the condition IN the
will Eventually he hears gossips dis
cussing it and assumes she married him
to get possession of the fortune. He be-
comes cool and she assumes he married
her for her money. She becomes very
jealous of her husbands kindly atten-
tions to Mrs. Ruth Williams, wealthy
patient, and also Of the nurse in his Of
flee, Mabel Howard. Althea meets Ken
meth Moore and his gaiety attracts her.
Now go on with the story.
CHAPTER LII
WITH Moores return Althea bright
, wv ened sensibly. 1t was good to be
catered to, thought of, taken about
by an escort who wasn't jumping up and
leaving you to be escorted home by others
as was often the case when Peter was
with her.
There were two who noticed this atti-
tude: Peter and Moore. Each ascribed 1t
TO the same cause: her fondness for Moore.
In Peter this was but natural and it could
not rightly be called conceit in Moore He
would be dullard had he not noticed the
pleasure Althea took in his society.
Also one other noticed
MISS Bundy smiled her sly, disagreeabls
a ae When Tor the third time in as mfe
days she let him in Here was anot t
angle IN the household she might use Ne
her advantage
That Mr.. Moore is in love with her." she
mpttered Il wonder is she with him?
Queer doings, here I amt blind. They
don't care two pins for each other, them
two, and now here's this good-looking man
coming every day" And she began to nlan
how this knowledge might be of use to her.
She hated hospital work, indeed never was
retained in any hospital any length of time
and was only employed at all because Of a
shortage OF nurses. Her present position
was far more to her taste-short hours
light work and good pay
Althea wondered bit at her increase Of
familiarity, but dismissed it with shrug.
She was probably to blame for taking to
her. Yet Althea did not desist, but LISTEN
ed eagerly to the gossip from the hospital
Miss Bundy retailed almost daily.
Althea was perhaps no better, no worse,
than any other woman would have been in
her position. She loved Peter-hopelessly
she thought-still loved him and as he told
her SO little of himself, his life, she was
ready to listen to anyone who talked Of
MIN, who knew what he did. That the
truth was cleverly mixed with falsehood
she had no way of knowing, so when Miss
Bundy repeated things the nurses said about
Peter, his popularity with the young nurses
and Mrs. Williams devotion to his patients
to the neglect of those attended by other
PHYSICIANS, she believed 1t all and suffered
accordingly.
Always Althea had been reserved regard
ing her affairs, especially her home life.
The occasion when Nell Blackwell had goad-
ed her to talk had been the only one Her
natural disposition, ideas inherited from her
Puritan ancestry, her pride; these had held
her silent. With Miss Bundy, she had lis
Tened, never giving any sort of confidence
listened, hungry for knowledge of Peter.
When she heard people talking of this or
that happy married couple she smiled sar-
castically. How little the world knew OF
hn int fn 20 81 NJ
and Peter were supposedly happily mated,
moved through the months and years quiet
ly, outwardly smiling. How many others
did the same. too proud to take the world,
even small part of it, into their conf
dence? Not even to Kenneth Moore had
she confessed her unhappiness, although he
had declared his belief in it more than
once, and she knew that Nell Blackwell and
Molly Butler suspected all was not right be-
tween her and Peter
Mollie she saw but seldom They had
grown gradually apart, yet perhaps Mollis
was more nearly cognizant of their unhap-
plness than anyone else-and not because
of Althea.
She never had ceased to admire Peter, :
perhaps there still fingered the feeling she
had for him in the old days when she told
Althea she would marry him If she didn't.
And on the rare occasions when she saw
him, she quickly noted the changes in him
his graying hair, his eyes that seemed to
NuA 'oAAA " Polh LIS SSIlOuS PHEASANT
always, but without spontaneity
He seems to be always thinking of
something that hurts him. she said after
meeting him. II wish I knew what hap
pened up there in Holden when they were
on their wedding trip. They both seemed
so happy when they went, so changed
when they came back. It's terrible for
Peter to be unhappy-he's so succensfrssx
too and they have Altheas money beside "
For even Mollie had never suspected thaN
~ was Altheas money that had caused all
the misunderstanding between them.
What ails you two?" she asked Althea
on one OF her infrequent calls. "You are
both young, have everything you want, but
you never laugh and talk together like you
used to- You're pleasant enough to each
otner, but so are people who aren't mar
rled. You don't act much like Mr.. and Mrs.
blackwell l went in to see her baby, he
was at home, and how they did cut up to-
gether. You and Peter are so serious"
Blunt ever aren't you Mollie?" AL.
thea parted. 1--WE can't all be like Nell
and Rodney, haven't the same dispositions
people, imagine"
81 know it's none of my business, AL
thea, but you seemed so In love with each
other when you married and now you act
more like brother and sister than husband
and wife. Peter has grown even better
careful and be nice to him or
will steal him" Woman-like,
more Of the than of Althea.
Continued Thursday. Look at the label
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