The Daily Alaska empire., 1929-10-23
Chapter 2l
PAYING THE PIPER

bafa. Rarely did she tumble into bed until long after Ray was asleep He had left. for the office before She arose, and she had given up itfnching with him in the city MaEven when he did see her alone "a rare occasion in f-she wduld prattle continuously of par ties, parties, parties, until he felt that he could scream at the men, tioh of the word.
 SSeldom did be accompany them bnn these occasions, pleading that late hours interfered with his of- flee work. Soon, as was inevitable, since he invariably refused, Bar bafa's friends gave up inviting him. @f4Do come, Barbara, and bring that charming English friend of yours. MT. Henderson" some girl brother would say over the phone. HWe're all so crazy about himlH No mention of Ray At first this elimination of Ray, annoyed Barbara, and once she had been known to retort:
 Fs'Why, yes, I think we shall be Rlad to come. All three of us. Yoli're inviting Ray, of course.' g"Of course, dear; careless of me hot to have mentioned him. But l guess I thought that as usual, he'd be too busy to acceptl"
 EsThen just the faint suspicion Of a laugh, implying that the speak CT knew as well as Barbara that her words had been mere bluff, for wasn't it obvious that Barbara had no use for her husband when she had that attractive Englishman in! tow
 She did want Ray. It both hurt and exasperated her that he would never accept. But her own pride fsftised to allow her to plead with fiisn. So 1t invariably happened that she and Henderson went alone. | Ray, on his part, found that these. evenings he spent, by himself were strangely precious. Not as precious, of course, had he and Barbara been at home together dust the two of them-but better, 3lffinitely, than being one of a crowd of noisy, shrieking people.
 Directly she and Henderson were. out of the house he would go up toshis den, room, right at the top, of the house that contained little in the way of furnishings except a piano. Once there he eiwould com. lnence to play-usually tune that had been running through his head all day-sone elusive melody he was determined to capture. E.sPresently, he would forget his surroundings, imagining instead lie was on platform leading an or chestra of his own Then, at the conclusion, he. would imagine the applause-in that moment supreme ,ly.conscious of the thrill of recog- pized achievement
 8-
 
 Ray had hot intended to &C., company Barbara and Henderson to Bertha Maitlahd's party. But Since she had called him personal " on the phone and had insisted that she had planned 1t on a Satir- day night especially so that he nuight be there, he did not see how Ae could reasonably refuse.
 TsIt was nothing unusual in the wSy of parties. D A .jaded crowd music from an electric Victrola; the whole house permeated by a forced aiilarity that had little real fun be- dtehth it.
 atate in the evening Ray found affn elf momentarily isolated, a hfunet he had been endeayoring to sklpuse having drifted away in the 6ri1is of some other man. Noticing tiiht the men were in the majority, i1e felt no compnnction in wander dfie off into one of the adjoining rooms.
 It was small room economically tiarkened. the only light Altering through heavy purple lampshades. tfe smiled sardonically. thinking on the reason for this thusness and, Without more ado, flung himself at 4iia length into an arm chair.
 \. Presently his lids closed down and he felt. himself floating away iuab space. For a while he fought saSainst this feeling, but, in the end H must have conquered him for the next thing of which he was ac- ,fifely conscious was voices in a far qofner of the room.
 Fully awake. now, he wondered ufether the newcomers were ig- ndfant of his presence; they might sVxjl be for the back of his chair h1h him completely. About to make ssd6ae movement. he suddenly recog- 'oi&ed from the voices that the min was Henderson and the girl, E1ta { Munford, that last word in A8ppers. n find you girls over here most awfully attractive" Henderson was sayino. "You got 1t all over our