New Britain herald., 1926-06-30

he will come to them. He'll grow tired of this Delano woman. What does he see in her. anyway? She's not pretty!"
 "She flatters him." Sylvia ex- plained, batting her wet blue eyes with her handkerchief. "She tells him that he's a genius, and that it's q shame he has to waste his time in real estate office, when he should be planning great buildings. She tells him that it's q shame that he has 10 spend his life earning money for me and the baby"
 Mother Phelps gave a snort that would have done credit 10 Aunt Az ony, at her best.
 'Humph" she cried, "I wish shed say that to me. Fanny has been given every chance in the world to make something of himself. Great buildings, indeed!'
 Downstairs a bell tinkled, like the far-off chime of a temple bell. All the sounds in Mother Phelps house were beautiful, subdued ones. She made housekeeping an art.
 My dear, that's the bell for lunch" she said 10 Sylvia. Wash your pretty eyes and we'll go down and have a bite together. And don't worry about this. It'll pass over, like thunder shower and you and Ran ny will be happy again. Go back to your aunt's house for a while. A little absent treatment will do Ran ny good!"
 She got up and put her arms around her sons wife. And Sylvia who had never known the under standing love Of a mother, felt closer 10 her in that moment than she had ever felt to poor old Aunt Agony.
 l. was still raining when they fin ished lunch and Sylvia started away from the house in Mother l Phelps own car. Halfway 10 Bleak i street she suddenly remembered she had forgotten the baby's clothes. She had left them in a bag in the , hall Of the Little White House. Please take me 10 my own house for minute" she said, leaning for ward 10 speak 10 Briggs, the new chauffeur.
 As they turned the corner of her street, tayicab passed them. Not until minutes later did it oc- cur 10 her that Ranny was in that cab All she saw at the time was the bright colored vehicle tearing along through the driving rain.
 CHAPTER LyIH
 AS Sylvia unlocked the door of the Little White House the tele- phone was ringing loudly as if 1t were angIv because no one answered it.
 Not stopping to take off her wet wraps, she rushed to it and picked 1t up.
 "Yes?" she asked. and Aunt Agony answered her.
 Well, where In the world have you been all this time? I've been calling you for two hours" she snapped. This poor baby's crying, and I'm going to give her some milk, even if it isn't her feeding time. It's shameful to let the little thing cry like this"
 Even through the telephone Syl. via could hear the angry vail of her young daughter. She glanced at her wrist watch. ltwas only half past one.
 "No food for mistress baby until two o'clock. please she said to her aunt. Just let her cry. It's good for her. It's wonderful exercise for her-wait a minute,"
 She laid the telephone on the table and walked over to the stairs with wide, startled eyes.
 On the third step from the bottom lay a mans glove-Ranny's glove. IL was one of pair that Sylvia had given him at Christmas time.
 She picked it up. It was damp and rain spotted. Ranny had been here while she vas gone. Or else, he was still lN're, perhaps.
 Forgetting all about Aunt Agony at the other end of the wire, she dashed up the stairs and into the bedroom that Fanny and she had shared. IL was in wild confusion. The dresser drawers stood open. The door of the clothes closet stood open. A couple of pasteboard hat boxes lay on the floor. Some worn silk shirts had been slung over the foot Of the bed. An old leather cig- aret case and three ancient cigarets lay on the seat of Rannys leather arm chair.
 Sylvia was panting as if she had been running hard, as she crossed the Uttered room 10 Ranny's clothes closet, and peered into it's shadowy depths.
 His kitbag and his old pigsllln suit case were gone from the shoe shelf where they habitually stood They were gone. Then she remem- bered the taXicah she had just pass ed on her way home. He had been in it.
 He was gone. He had left her. He had left her, and their little baby.
 She stood once more in the center of the room, staring blankly at the confusion III around her. She could scarcely believe that he had gone away like this.
 It must be a dream, q nightmare. But she knew that it wasn't a dream. It was as real as the rain splashing against the streaked win dow panes. She must make up her mind to the fact that Ranny had left her.
 Then she saw that he had left a letter for her. An envelope, with her name dashed across 1t in pencil was tucked under the little blue lamp on the bedside table.
 She picked it up, and read the few lines that Ranny had scrawled | across 1t:
 'I suppose the only way to make ! you see that I'm not going to live 1 with VOu again is tO Po awav boyo