Evening star., 1929-11-17
AT IL o'clock Martin stretched his legs

you have anything left over? Now, don't
begin about the time. We're going to eat
before I leave here this night
Anne hesitated. "I have cold chicken"
Gold chicken!"
With whoop he leaped from his chair, and
Anne followed him to the kitchen
Geld chicken" he chanted into the ice box.
"This woman has cold chicken, and didn't
she try to hold out on me- though? What
else is there here? Baked beans? No, no
ba,5cd beans. Too bad.
''you ought always to have baked beans with
cold chicken" He pulled forth sticky bottle.
Jam? Good. And one, two, three, four, seven
olives Butter? oh, yes, there's plenty there.
Wen have splendid meal"
Smiling triumphantly his arms full Of dishes
and jars, he faced her. Rude, nervy old thing,
he was rather sweet
You get the bread !" he ordered busily, "and
I'll make you some elegant coffee. 1t won't keep
you awake. What could? Any mayonnaise?
That's the girl" as she obediently produced the
mayonnaise. "Oh, aren't we having splendid
time? If we only had some cheese Next time,
dent forget the cheese old thing-you should
have cheese"
E2 sliced the chicken started the coffee,
spca.ed the olives, and Anne mostly ran around
doing nothing. She was thinking 'He is .
darling Why isn't he the marrying kind? Darn
him. we could have such fun in that little house,
with Derry and the kittens and puppies"
Thinking these things, her mind didn't stay on
its work and it was Martin who had, finally to
set up the little table by the fire and find the
napkins and lay the silver. He appropriated her
best bay-berry candles, too, and when they sat
down to the little lighted table Anne all but
started at the familiarity of the whole thing.
Martin had fallen to with the gusto of the
whole thing.
cold chicken" he would grunt. Delicious
coffee Isn't 1t delicious coffee. Miss Posey?"
It was. And since she couldn't eat, Anne,
though she knew she wouldn't sleep until morn
kSwHpc
born of despair. She felt married, but she knew
actually that she was divorced. Martin was no
longer the husband of her fancy; Derry, their
child was slipping from her, too. The little
house stood empty. But here were candle
light and freight and Martins coffee So she
drank, and Martin, delighted filled her cup
twice and praised her superior taste in coffee.
She might be little stupid, he said, but at
any rate, her palate was on the job
Martin leaned back in his chair and surveyed
her cheerfully
Aren't you glad you're not snoring?"
useless to mention that don't snore sup
pose?"
quite useless and irrelevant. Aren't you,
then, glad stayed?"
YES suppose So"
good fun?"
At his concern, she tried to nudge herself out
of lethargy.
"Of course, Martin love having fun, and
naVing you down. Ia move away IL L olonL
do l. honestly come too often?" What was
the matter with Martin? She must have gene
too far in her pose of unconcern. For the first
time in his life, he was actually showing some
symptoms of delicacy-fant though they were.
Yet how could she go on in their old mood OF
mockery, how keep up this game of give-and-
take of theirs, the game Of diSrespect and de-
rision and joval rudeness, when she wanted to
marry the man or-to slap him?
"Of course not silly. You don't come too
often. You merely stay too late"
He rose Contrition was on his face
I'm going 10 wash the Dishes" he said.
Martin, have you lost your mind?"
He stopped, the coffee urn in his hand.
Lost my mind because I'm going to wash
the dishes?"
Precisely that You never wish the dishes,
you know" A ghost of a vince touched Mar
tin. Il mean they're never washed at night.
wash EN- mornings"
She sounded brisk and bright enough but as
he looked at her, his gray eyes were sorry.
Il know I always leave 'em, don't I? And
shouldn't. But never saw you so tired before.
mean, never noticed it. You are tagged to-
night, aren't you? For once in your life,
think, perhaps, you do need sleep. And I'm
going to do the dishes. You're to stay by the
fire, and think how nice it is of me to do 1t.
and get all drowSy."
WHICH is just what happened. Protests,
ridicule commands, availed nothing.
Anne was placed firmly in Martins favorite
chair, her feet planted on the fender, and she
was instructed to think nice thoughts about
Martin and she did think nice thoughts about
Martin. She even got drowsy, she who had
thought her woes would never let her sleep
except ftfully-again Sleepily, she recounted
Martins virtues, scanty lot perhaps, but OF