New Britain herald., 1926-12-14
WHAT HAS GONE BEFORE

MARTHA DALTON, a nurse, bear 1 ing with her a woman who had tainted on the train on which Mar | tha had been travelling.
 Elwell is an artist. He has son, JIM, aged 5. Late that night twin girls are born to the woman. who dies without revealing her identity. Her attire had indicated she was a i person of refinement and wealth.
 The story then moves forward to June, 1916, and in Prof. Elwell's iworkshop the reader is introduced to Jim Elwell, now 22 and his fathers partner, and to the twin girls, who have been adopted by the Elwells. They are now 17 and one of them l has been named MARGARET and nicknamed RUSTY: the other, ELIZABETH, is called BETTY.
 To Jim the girls are just pals. although they are growing to beau tifM womanhood. A stranger paus- es by the Elwell back fence one day while the girls are washing their hair and addresses smart cracks at them. Jim, who takes up their battle, is given a beating and black eye and the enemy is dispersed by a
 croquet ball thrown by one of the ItWins.
 The twins and Jim. after eating supper with Nurse Dalton, enter the
 Elwell living room where explana- itions are due.
 NOW BEGIN THE STORY
 Jims mother look up at him and
 quick alarm leaped into her eyes. l"What on earth"
 "Oh, nothing much" he told her lcarelessly. Somebody got hit with a croquet ball, that's all. Such things can happen, you know. Betty is now goin' to make me forget my suffer-
 ing for while by singing The End
 of a Perfect Day.
 The day, Prof observed. would seem to have been imperfect, judg-
 "Who got hit by a croquet ball?" asked Mollie. Jim. tell me"
 Jim grinned. Not me. Ask the ball player over there." He nodded toward Rusty.
 His mothers lips moved with an- other question, but Prof with a touch of his hand, silenced her. His eyes were smiling.
 1 "All right, let's have the music" he said Its all right, Mollie." i Jim grinned, glad to be rid of ex- plantations. No one yet had ever ex- plained black eye satisfactorily. A few moments later the musical twang of a softly touched harp came out of the settling shadows of early twilight from the parlor and brought Prof and Mollie into the room.
 Jim lay stretched out on his left is side on q sofa, his head resting on pile of soft pillows. Rusty was camped en an ottoman on the floor close to his side. Her head with it's cloud of rust-colored hair, now showing dark in the deepening igloom, rested against Jim's chest under his chin. His right hand lay across her throat. Betty with her !harp sat in rocker drawn up as close to the sofa as possible.
 Prof Elwell took in the scene and a faint smile fitted across his lips. Looks as if he was suffering in |tensoly, doesn't he?' he whispered to Jim's mother as they sat down. Mol lie Elwell smiled puzzled smile.
 And then sweet contralto voice, Ia voice that with early cultivation might have been magnificent. was lifted in song that is known the world over: "Oh. Promise Me" They were all very still as the sweet sound filled the room. Then jas the last notes died away, Prof Elwell leaned over and laid his hand with soft pressure on that of his wife.
 T want to talk to you tonight, Mollie," he whispered, "about some thing that is beginning to worry me considerable
 The quick answering pressure he felt told him that another, too, was beginning to worry about something. Jim Elwell was in the woodshed wiping his face the following Satur- day afternoon when the twins came tearing in on him in their usual i'm petuous rush.
 Listen, you chickens" he told tT1I f0o i,,t t,1I me what you say to a scoot after dinner down the river to Fenton's Woods? I'll take my twenty-two gat along. ] got a coupla boxes of cart ridges on the way home. If we run into a bear or a farmers calf I'll let Betty shoot it. We prob'ly won't run into any prizefghters today. If we do, I'll sic Rusty on him!"
 Jim's proposal was a popular one and it brought forth considerably more than half-hearted response. Two joyous squeals rent the air and -four pretty arms bare to the elbows were flung around the big painters meek from behind. A knee pressed suddenly against the base of his spine and a lusty yell brought him down to the floor fiat on his back.
 Just for that you're going to get Ia double -barrelled kiss, Jimmy darling" panted Betty, and suiting the action to her promise she fopped down on her knees and cupped q pair of red lips, fragrant and moist las a dew-filled rose, over the mouth of Jim Elwell. He made pretense of struggling but the next instant tine Ioperation was being repeated by the other twin. He made a wry face.
 There's that's what you get for being such good guesSr," breathed Rusty as she and her sister let their victim up. I've already had it planned to do that very thing this lafternooni"
 Jim Elwell touched his mouth gin- gerly with two front fingers. Biting land kicking and jumping on a mans back were barred in the wrestling