Douglas daily dispatch., 1926-03-21

to such an arrangement, there is
another spell of worry when she
doesn't turn up on the minute set at
the place agreed upon.
Again I can think of her getting
lost, or being run down by a trolley
car or automobile or waiting at some
other place for me. The minutes
keep passing, and by and by all
sorts of expedients to be pursued in
case she doesn't turn up at all cross
my mind-like telephoning home to
see if she has telephoned there, or
calling up the police and describing
her, which I cannot do because q
husband never has the slightest no
tion of what his wife had on when
he last saw her.
Last Saturday afternoon 1 left my
wife in the show department Of a
big store while 1 went downstairs
to buy a necktde.
When I got my job done 1 went
back to the show department. She
wasn't there.
looked at the chair she had sat
in, and another woman was in it.
No clerk remembered anything
about her.
Ten minutes passed, while 1 walked
the floor watching every elevator.
That required activity, for there was
bank of elevators on each side op
the store-about a hundred feet
apart 1 must have missed about ten
in every Is passengers that came
up.
patrolled the shoe department
till one of the clerks noticed me and
asked me what 1 wanted.
When I told her nothing" she
went oyer and spoke to a man with
flat feet and a derby hat, who
thereafter never let me out of his
sight
BY and by ] became frantic, and
telephoned my office to see if they
had heard anything of my WIFE
They hadn't. Then telephoned home
They were surprised they said. They
thought she was with me.
Then I went to the man with the
| flat feet and confided my predca-
ment. He ceased his suspicious and
tried to be helpful. But when i
couldn't tell what kind of suit my
wife had on or even THE color of her
! hat or shoes he seemed doubtful or
: his ability to do anything for me.
Unable to stand the anxiety any
longer I went out and walked around
the block, hoping to find her when
I came back.
But I was disappointed again. No
sign of her. Then 1 thought of tele-
phoning home to get a description
of al Il
phone to the police. But that seem-
ed silly. She couldn't really be out
of the store. She would surely be
+ there presently. In the meantime I
must sit down and calm myself.
Which I did.
In two minutes I was up again
and making a tour of all the floors
I noticed that the once helpful man
with flat feet was stalking me again.
Apparently he had begun tG think
that I had been trying to put him
off the trail
By and by 1 took the elevator to
go downstairs again for another walk
around the block. AS I passed the
next floor noticed through the ele-
vator door that there were shoe
COQAISIS 'IISI0s RoO L gu Oul
The place was just as full of shoes
as the other floor had been.
went to the spot below the spot
where I thought I had left my wife
and there she was.
The irritating thing about it was
that she was serene and unruffled.
She didn't ask me why 1 was late or
where 1 had been.
When I asked her if she hadn't
been worrying she said:
what was the use? I knew you
had probably got on the wrong
floor, and that sooner or later you
would find the right one, especially
if you asked if there was more than
one shoe department"
But weren't you thinking that
something might have happened to
me? It's been half hour since L
left you-almost three-quarters of an
hour to be precise"
"Of course not" she said. what
could happen to a person in three
quarters of an hour" She isn't
worr.er, you see, which is a good
thing for her, but a bad one for me,
for / have to do ali the worrying
for the family.
Copyright, 1925, by the Bell Syndi-.
cate, Inc