The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1927-07-01
CHAPTER Nv

gatekeeper, "I've hoped for few
minutes of your time ever since you
came home. You've been absent
from Sparta a long while, and
dare say you'll want a report of the
household"
Nothing wrong, is there?" said
Menelaos.
"Orestes has been here. vo'r
wife's sisters son. I had some doubt
whether I ought TO leU lll4l LII.
ut seems to me-" said Menelaos
you imply something rude about
my wife's relatives"
ITO tell you the truth" said Eteo-
neus, 81 had no idea, until you re-
turned, that you still counted your
wife among your relatives"
'You were about to speak of Ores
tes," said Menelaos.
''I was" said Eteoneus. when
you went away, you told me to look
after the house with peculiar vigi-
lance, since your strongest men
were with you, and your daughter
Herrnione remained here, with con-
siderable treasure still in the vaults.
Then Orestes appeared. Perhaps I
should have asked him in, like any
other stranger, and found out his
errand afterward, but in your alb
sence I couldn't take the risk. I
kept him out until he would say
who he was"
81 dislike family quarrels," said
Menelaos. 81 hope you didn't come
to words?"
IT fear we did," said Eteoneus.
"He wanted to know what had come
over this house, anyway. He COM
planned that having begun with a
comparatively eXcusable slip, such
as the inf1delity of your wife, we
had sunk at once to a point where
we were no longer hospitable. I
assured him that with us nothing
was more sacred than the rights of
a guest, but that recently we had
become interested in the rights of
the host, also, and that since these
had been ignored once in this house.
we were bit nervous about good
looking and anonymous young men"
II see nothing in that speech to
insult him." said Menelaos.
"Well,'' replied the gatekeeper,
that isn't all I said. When he
made that remark about your wife,
I asked him whether it wasn't more
delicate to leave your husbands
roof before you betrayed him, than
to be false by his own freside while
/. he happened to be absent. Orestes
got the point-that's why he was
angry
IF Crestes understood you," said
Menelaos, 'it's more than I do"
Il suppose you haven't heard"
said Eteoneus, 'but your sister-in-
law Clytemnestra = your double
sister-in-law, I might say, your
Wife's sister and your brothers wife
has been living with Aeglsthus
ever since Agamemnon went to
Troy"
This is a terrible situation for
my brother to return to-" groaned
Menelaos. "But after all it may be
only gossip. Women so beautiful
as those sisters pay for their gift in
the malicious rumor of envy"
"These rumors that spread about
beautiful women are often malicious
or envious, as you say, but
they're rarely exaggerated" re-
piled Eteoneus.
That's depression we needn't dis
cuss," said Menelaos. $50 Orestes
went home angry? Frankly
Eteoneus, 1 should like to hear his
side of this story
"You may, easily enough" said
the gate-keeper, fore he's due in a
day or so"
II thought you didn't let him in?'
st didn't, but he never asked per-
mission again-he just came in. !
ought to add that he came always to
see Hern1ione, and she arranged it
somehow"
II can't believe anything scandal
lous of my daughter" said Meme
laos. "Of course I've been away a
long time, but her character seems
to me essentially unchanged. I've
always thought her propriety ITSELF
80 do t. said Eteoneus, land
when 1t comes to the conventions
Orestes Is rather strait-laced"
"But If you agree that their meet
ings were entirely proper, what or
earth are you talking about?" said
Menelaos. "Why didn't you let hin
in, in the first place? They were in
tended for each other, before oul
family life was upset; now thai
we've returned, I dare say they'll be
married shortly, if they wish to me.
'Menelaos,' said Eteoneus, "I'm q
family gate-keeper, and the sense
Of responsibility makes me alert tt
what I let in. Orestes, I'm quite
sure, brings with, him some new
ideas. If you realize what it would
mean to your house to let in new
ideas, you'd be on your guard.
want to find out whether you know
about them and dislike them, OF
whether you share them. I'm ter
IDLY afraid you share them, and il
you do, suppose I ought to leave
you, old as I am, for I'm too old tt
change. The reason I suspect you've
picked up some of these new ideas
swell, when the ship was sighted
we learned that Helen was coming
back with you. That was a new
idea, Menelaos. But we got used
to 1t, and we rehearsed what we
thought would be respectful man
ners toward the repentant captive
brought home in disgrace. But she
doesn't seem aware of any disgrace
and she isn't repentent. She doesn't
behave neither do you, in fact-as
though she were "a"
Look here, Eteoneus," said Meme
laos, 1--WE taken all I'm going to
from you. You pretend to have
household business on your mind
but what you really want all along
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