Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1927-01-21
ANOTHER
WOMANS
SACRIFICE
By H. M. ROBERT
Copyright by W. O. Chapman. J

COL Tue
i Y ward. waiting for the Doctors
verdict.
Pm afraid We'll have to send her
home tomorrow" he said at last.
THAT hip disease Is completely cured.
It has been for weeks, you know.
We've kept the child principally
well, because you have taken "a fancy
to her." he said. smilingly.
II like them ALL" said the nurse.
"But this little five-year-old--poor lit
tie motherless thinsi Doctor, I don't
like to think of that father Of hers
taking her."
I'm afraid he's got the law on his
SIDE" the doctor answered Besides,
what's the matter with himT
II don't like him, DOCTOR" answered
the nurse. "I don't think he's the sort
Of man who would be kind to a child"
Nonsense r. said the doctor,
brusquely. anyhow, she can't stay
here forever"
"Just one week longer" pleaded
Nurse Winifred.
Very well. One week. But no
longer" said the doctor, as he turned
away.
Nurse Winifred felt the tears come
into her eyes. She had mothered
Muriel Clauson ever since the child
had been brought there by the father,
a year before. The mother was dead;
the father, who came every week,
seemed to like the little girl after his
fashion. but Nurse Winifred did not
like him. Dark, scowling, sullen, he
never noticed her, never did anything
but sit by the cot side and glover at
his child. who was plainly almost
afraid of him.
When Muriel learned that she was
to 60 home with her father In the
near future she was heartbroken.
Promise me you'l come too, nurse"
she pleaded. And Nurse Winifred, to
save the child a week Of heartbreak.
promised that she would.
She broke the news to the father
the next day. He only glared at her
morosely. She found herself wonder
hB "hVAhCI ho WOuAu AHOW hOW "
care for the child, whether there were
any women In his family. He was a
maker of stained glass, she had
learned, and lived in two or three
poorly furnished rooms In an unfash-
ionable, rather Bohemian part Of the
town. Still, a father has rights. But
Nurse Winifred felt that It would be
scandalous to let the child 60 to a
home where there would be no woman
to care for It
IT suppose you will get some one to
look after the child" she suggested.
II am capable Of looking after her."
answered the father.
But you want a woman to care for
her. You can't look after a child
yourselfW
"Ill have no woman In my home,"
he almost shouted at her.
you'll have to-" answered Nurse
Winifred deliberately. otherwise
you shall not get possession Of the
child"
Maybe you'd like to look after her
yourselfi" Jeered the man.
Nurse Winifred flushed. II certain
ly should" she answered quietly.
However, that is not the point. I
shall speak to the hospital authori-
ties"
And she took the matter up with
them. They agreed that 1t might be
possible to have the child committed
to an institution. But It wouldn't be
wise" was the verdict. mo doubt the
father will prove amenable to reason.
You see, the poor are suspicious, and
II would give the hospital a bad
name"
The nurse retired, completely baf-
fed She thought about the matter
all day, and cried most Of the night.
Then she arrived at her decision.
When the father came she told him
plainly that she was willing to give
up her spare time to the child. She
would come for couple OF hours
daily; II he was unwilling she would
have the child taken from him.
The man looked at her with dull
rage. He had not dreamed that she
would take him at his word.
well, guess I can stand II for
two hours a day" he answered at
length
When the time came for the child's
removal she accompanied him In a
cab to where he lived. 1t was a coy
little apartment, not nearly 80 bad as
she had imagined. 1t consisted Of Ave
rooms, and the nurse was sure, the
moment she set eyes on It, that
woman had had a part In the furnish
ing. Perhaps It was the dead mother.
She pitied her devoutly. Then, being
a practical woman, Nurse Winifred at
once set about preparing for the
chlld's life in the fiat.
You'll have to have a cri0," she
said.
The nan pulled out a roll Of bills
and handed her fifty dollars. "Order
what you want" he said curtly.
That was the beginning Of the
strange experience. The mans work
room was at the end Of the fiat, a
large room filled with glass Of all
shapes and sizes. Angels heads start
ed out from between strips Of lead.
The floor was splashed with coloring.
When the nurse came Clauson shut
himself up and refused to see her.
Weeks passed. They hardly ever
met. Clauson had given her key and
knew her hours. She would hear him
at work in his room as she tended