San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1925-12-09

| copyright, 1917 hihb FSoe
"Jim." / gasped. "Why do you ask
such a-queer question:"
Jim smiled. and as the air Of the
studio at the Birches grew richly sweet
and fragrant with the perfume of the
red roses that Ralph Lacy had ordered
for me before he sailed for Naples
Jim leaned forward and asked again
with something memorable in his man
ner:
Doesn't it-get you that Lacy
cares so much for you?"
How do you know-how he feels!'
L murmured throatily.
Il told you what he cabled me, y
Jim said. Il showed you the message
in which he asked me to keep you from
being affected by his letter-which he
said was written by a sick man who
didn't know what he was saying. lie
ended his message: Good luck TO you
BOTH Don't you realize that-as a
man / know enough about men to
read between the lines Of that mes
sage?"
And what do you read-what can
you read between the lines of any
tnlHg as pam as thdt. ucniihNSu .
"That Lacy cares deeply Jim said
and stopped there.
Then a queer thing jumped out and
got itself said with the complete lack
Of consecutiveness that marks so many
conversations and conferences"
Don't you value me the more be-
cause you think Ralph cares for me?n
asked. And then, before Jim could
more than open his lips to reply,
plunged ahead frantically: "Pat said
that you were the sort of man to value
your wife the more because she was
attractive to another man. He indi-
Gated that was foolish not to sort
of-play the game and flaunt an ad,
mirer".-
A groan from Jim interrupted me
as he buried his face in his hands
and dragged out between dry lips:
us that how l look TO Pat? And
could you believe him?"
Il thought of your flirtations," l
said. II realized how restless you arc
how easily bored-how you have al
ways seemed to need some outside in
terest to keep you stimualted-to make
the marriage bond endurablc. rcmem-
bered how you had Inundated me by
Haunting your admiration for Ruth
Gregory for all the world to see"-
Il hope you also recalled how ]
turned from her-and fOrever-when j
discovered her real caliber and the
sort of intrigue of which she was capa-
Bile to get what she wantcd"-
"She wanted you," broke in. why
shouldn't she have intrigued? Why
should she have spared me? You
didn't!'
"Anne!" protested Jim, but / went
on bitterly, torn by the decorating
memories of humiliations l had thought
buried and forgotten:
"You refused to give Ruth up. You
let her trail you around while L sal
at home and ate my heart out. And
sometimes l felt as spineless as l sup
pose the world thought me-
Must we go all over that now thai
it seems only the vaguest of memo
ries?" asked jim. 81 can scarcely be
lieve the things you are telling me o.
myself, Anne. But know | did EN-
Somehow the chan who made such
fool of himself-who had such n poo
sense of values-doesn't seem TO be mi
or even anyone l know. Word o
honor, he Doesn't / can't see how
came TO be such a blankety blanl
blamed fool"
"You were though" I said crisply.
1 had to bite the words off. becaus
Jim's attitude was so much like tina
of n little boy being reminded hov
he used to rob the jam shelves that
had all / would do to keep my fac
straight. To laugh in the midst o
this serious talk would have been t
lose all my natural advantages. l hav
longed for ages to have this thing on
with him. But, manlike. he has OBJ
iected TO discussing things and ha
managed to avoid the thing he didn'
want to be bothered with.
"You tortured me-" | added, bury
ing myself again in unhappy reminis
ccnce and refusing to let the Who'll
thing drop into the limbo Of thing
forgotten-and unexplained. "You lef
me 10 face lie with the knowledg
, that your love wasn't protecting-tha
it could wound and hurt me shame
fully. I've gone around afrGid-won
dCring when you would-dO it again
$50 that's. what L did TO YOU" sal
Jim in low, hushcd voice. Il lcf
YOU dreading-'the next time'-thinb
ing there must inevitably be a mex
time Don't you realize that whe
Ruth mixed herself up with that Aus
tralian scoundrel who tried to stea
Betty's pearls and who stopped JUS
this side Of muTder-I saw what
vain popiniay of woman she is
outside of her genius? Don't you sc
what | learned then?"
"What?r | asked.
"That a snob and a climber is a
ways more or less of a darn fool. Tha
man who thinks TO get on in III
world bv following like poodle at tn
heels of a celebrity is Ounce. Tha