The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1928-09-22
CHAPTER XVI
NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY

Cnalr, MS uCUl6 naSSOCK peIledGn IlCA
feet and the balsam pillow he had
liked at her back, and there was
something more piteouS about he
than there ever had been before.
."I suppose it's dreadful thing
to say" confessed Sybil to Tad.
"but, honestly, I think mother gets
positive kick out of being sad.
There she is-simply crying herself
sick and enjoying every minute
Of it,
"Why. Tad, she doesn't want to
be happy. She's made up her mind
that she's going to be miserable
and that's all there is to it. Any
thing else she regards as positive
heresy. The other night I tried
to drag her out to the tlleater and.
my dear, you'd think I'd absolutely
insulted her!"
"Toor Ia" Tad looked very COM
passionate. IT wish there was
something We could do"
"Get her to go to a psycho-ana-
lyst," suggested Valerie. "I'n bet
Mr.. Crandon would do her a world
of good"
"Psycho-analyst!" Tad hootsd dis
painfully. Psyche my grand
mother!"
That's right" sulked Valerie.
Make fun of everything, say.
What do you know about psyche
analysis, Tad Thorne? Mr.. Gran
don's done marvels for lots of peo-
pie, and I know he could help
Mother Thorne, but Just because it
happened to be my idea"
Nov, Val" Tad was always con-
ciliatory with his touchy little wife.
Don't 60 flying off the handle. If
you know anything about this here
psyche stuff, go ahead and spring
it. Any idea you can sell ma, to
ease her out of that rocker, and
persuade her to turn off the weepS
-sib and I are all for it. Aren't
we, Sib?"
RLordy, yes!" Sybil put her arm
r placatingly about Valerie's shoul-
ders. do try to interest her, Val.
1t might. as you say, do her world
of good"
A FEW days later Valerie drove
N her mother in law to Mr..
Crandon's Office on Commonwealth
Avenue.
He was a dark, rather oily little
man, with well-greased manners and
hard, bright eyes, who took her
hand and held it softly, and prom
ised to help her with all that
troubled her.
He talked of repressions and such,
which he promised to release and
divert. And bad completes to be
sublimated.
He asked her the most absurd
questions. Which, for instance, she
had preferred, her father or her
mother. And If she remembered
her baptism.
Then he sent Valerie from the
room and asked her exceedingly
personal questions about love and
marriage. Mrs. Thorne blushed for
the first time in thirty years and
found herself enjoying the sensation.
Then he began to interrogate her
about her dreams. They sounded
quite harmless to Mrs. Thorne as
she recounted them. But to Mr..
Crandon they savored practically Of
indecency. He scrubbed constantly
as she talked murmuring from time
to time, bad, very bad"
my goodness she quavered
rniserably, II can't see as there
anything bad about that"
She had, at the moment, been
discussing most trivial little
dream. Michael, the gardener,
was mixed up in it. There was
something about radishes and
roses. Mrs. Thorne wasn't quite
s'rlear about it herself. She wanted
Michael to pick the roses, but he
had insisted upon picking the
radishes instead.
And there they were on the dining
room table, looking as silly as you
please, with their long stems
sticking foolshly up in the air,
and their little red heads buried
in pewter bowl.
Michael and the radiSheS, 1t
seemed, bore a terrible significance
Then there was that dream about
had it three times already. Mr..
Crandon said that Mrs. Thorne
wanted Valerie to die, so that she
might have Tad all to herself
again.
Mrs. Thorne gave Mortified
gasp, and turning quite pale, got
up, as if to leave the room. But
asIS6xt Crandon said that it was not
at all wicked. Moreover, he insist
ed, it was quite natural and nor
NAL.
So Mrs. Thorne sat down again, a
bit reluctantly, while he explained
how the Un~~--~~ious was like that.
Finally he told Mrs. Thorne she
had sex complex.
Most people have, you know" he
informed her reassuringly.
But, Mr.. Crandon!" she expos
tulated. cat my agel"
"Age, my dear madam" he told
her suavely, has nothing at all to
do with it. Your age, as matter
of fact, is. a specially dangerous
time for women" -....'...
. He hitched his chair little
closer and laid one hand confiding-
AaRpy on Mrs. Thorne's. AS he talked
Mrs. Thorne experienced warm,
deep glow.
"You must cast your burdens up
On me-" he instructed her firmly,
"All your griefs and perplexities,
and little day-by-day worries
everything. Nothing can be too
great, as nothing Is to small.