Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-09-23

"Ill go with you. of course" said
Wells, with great dignity, but there's
no need for such an insane rush as
this"
Madge made the only other comment
of the entire trip. Curt, scornful,
"Tell that to the stork," she said.
1t all seems like a queer dream, the
wild ride through the rain, the lights OF
the little house suddenly appearing.
Then the still queerer dream. The daz-
ed young husband blindly doing what
Madge told him, myself following
Madge's orders as fast as could, Wells
bumped up in the empty parlor, waiting.
Water boiling, the sickiSh scent OF
ether-our shadows Pickering big and
black in the lamplight-a sudden sink
ing of sheer panic, with Madge right
there, firm and steady as Gibraltar.
Then, out of the wild dream and the
panic, the sudden, faint; sharp sound
of baby's cry.
4 T 2 o'clock the next morning was
= still too jibbery with excitement to
have even thought of our ruined match
making schemes. The telephones had
started working again before II and Will
had come after us all and we'd driven
back to Montrose We'd had hot cof-
fee in our kitchen and Wells had gone
home and Madge, yawning and begin
ming to relax, had gone up to bed. 1t
was coming upstairs and seeing her
through the crack in the door in my
old rose -colored crepe kimono, her black
hair curled tight with the rain, her
cheeks pinker than her gown, that made
me suddenly remember Wells, not as
the rather weak member of a rescue
party that he had certainly been last
night, but as the ardent sutton he had
been until then. The sutton lost for
ever. For while maybe some Suitors
might have weathered Madge'S cranking
the car, ordering everybody about, prov
ing herself far and away the best man
in the bunch, knew well enough that
Wells wouldn't. Our Schening had
come to naught. 1t couldn't have been
helped, of course, but there was no
lodging the truth. Madge had lost
Wells Prentice forever.
I paused a moment at the crack OF
her door to say good night. Madge
yawned comfortably.
well, 1 guess tonight squelched Wells
Prentice for good" she observed.
1 fairly gasped. Had Madge then
known what had been going on all
along? I was so amazed could only
falter:
why, did you-has he"
HAS hep" Madge interrupted. II
guess this is the first day since I've been
in Montrose that he hasn't proposed to
me-
1 Just stood in the doorway, utterly
speechless, completely dashed. All this
week, while we'd been scheming our
heads off trying to work him up to the
proposing point.
Il suppose I oughtn't to repeat It,"
Madge admitted, dropping back lazily
onto her pillow, "but it's tit for tat.
He's the kind who'd kiss and tell, him
self He hasn't spared me one OF the
girls who have been running after him."
"And he asked you to marry him?"
I finally managed to get out.
Heavens, yes! A half a dozen
times Madge yawned.
"And you-you refuSed?"
Madge didn't even bother to straight
en- up.
Refused" she echoed. "well, nat
urally. You don't suppose I'd ever dream
of being tied up to that selfish. opin-
donated, incompetent, conceited PIN
head of man, do you?"
I merely stared.
I'm engaged, anyway" Madge went
I'm going to marry the best doctor
in the State of Illinois. Or, at least, he's
going to be the best. We aren't saying
anything about it because he's got
another year in the hospital yet and
we're going to wait till we've both
built up practice. So don't tell any
of the girls
1 said family that I wouldn't and
that I hoped she'd be very happy. At
least, I guess I said that. was so
daZed I'm not quite sure. The excite
ment of the chase, so to speak, being
suddenly over. suddenly realized how
it had been binding me to the truth.
Pictures came flashing through my
mind like cut-backs in a movie. Madge
bathing the twins in the pink bunga-
low apron; Madge cheering up poor,
half-blind Mrs. Keane with tender
tact that would bring tears to your
eyes; Madge Slowing and humping that
old wreck of a car through the rain
and the dark; Madge smiling down at
the tiny scrap of the newborn baby IN
the crook of her arm-Madge as brave
and ready as any man, as sweet and
true as any woman. And we'd dared
think of Wells Prentice for her!
I leaned over and kissed Madge.
couldn't say what I was thinking, tnat
sort of thing is said so much 1t does
not have any meaning when you put 1t
into words. But what I was hoping,
humbly and honestly. was that the
best doctor in the State of Illinois was
assdeserving as he was lucky.