San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1926-04-12

wonder why | am not grateful.
Recalling all the hideous details 10
which / had TO attend before | could
leave the Birches forever, l feel that
i should go down on my knees and
say a prayer Of gratitude because ]
have found such a wonderful refuge.
But what is going on in my heart
runs something like this:
Perhaps if you had gone to a no.
tel that night it would have been dif-
ferent. Jim might have pitied you. He
might have come to you. He might
hae softened toward YOU because you
were paying so cruelty for daring to
judge him-for rebelling at his ac-
tons. He might have"
But what is the use of such
thoughts. There are indeed no sadder
words than ''it might have been.
And here I am. can't turn back the
pages of the book of my life. can I
do it differently. / can't undo one
blunder l have made-one step Jim
has taken.
I telephOned Diane Petruzzi before
| left the Birches that night. When |
got to the city she was at the station
to meet me. She piled my bags in her
gray car, gave my trunk checks injo
the hands of the expressman at the
station. whirled me to her apartment,
and had me in bed and drinking n
delicious cool punch almost before ]
had time to be glad or sorry that i
had taken her at her word and ha !
fled to her.
She kept me in bed for two days,
waiting on me as tcnderly as a mother,
keeping everyone away from the floor
where | was slowed, muting the very
work that went on in her studio below
50 that ] should not be too much
aware of it.
was too dazed and worn to do
much thinking ut first, and when ut
last | was strong enough to get up
and look about, ! found that l had a
study as well as a bedroom and that
my trunks were unpacked, my bureau
drawers arranged and my closets filled
with familiar garments.
When / tried to talk business to
Diane, she hushed me with a firm :
"Thc first thing | want you to do is
get acquainted with Carlini, the boy
viOlinist I'm so deeply interested in.
The poor lad is shy. His first con-
cert was n frightful frost-his second
almost ms bad. He is afraid of the
again. The thing that counts now
above all things is for someone to
make friends with him and make him
regain faith in his boy and fiddle and
in the wonderful hands that write the
message of his soul on them. I'm
blabbing. But | want You to take
Carlini in hand. Wen swap your
board and keep for that this summer
Bring Carlini back to his senses. This
winter there will be real publicity for
him and for the studio and its star
pupils. I'm going to be n second Mar.
chest or know why. When you are do
ing real work we will pay you real
salary and let you pay real rent
here or elsewhere. Not now. ] can't
be bothered Really not :"
And it ended there no matter how
often | brought it ~.
So here ] nm-trying to start over
and wondering if / can.
But what ] wonder above all, what
am trying hardest of all to handle
is n series Of questions with which !
must deal before long.
Jim's telegram said that | shOult
send him my address when | was
permanently settled. Am | ''pcrma
ncntly scttlcd?" Shall / tell him J
am living with Madame Pctruzzi-
who was his friend before she was
mine? Will he come to see me? VIII
he talk things over? Is there Il chance
that we gan forget the past. bridge
it somehow, start over pcrhaps-and
together?
Above all there sounds one question.
a8d until | know the answer to this,
dare not send any message to jim.
The question is this:
In view of his cruelty 10 me that
last day | was at tho Birches, in the
light Of the telegram that dismissed me
so coldly do / want to see Jim again
ever?
To BE Continued Tomorrow.