Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1930-03-20

ana OUT AlltllCtll WHICH, IlcAlCIl,
English, Russian and Spanish. each at
tended by q man TO pay the bills and
carry the parcels, and we a expressed
an ungrudging satisfaction that SO
many rich men could still be found to
support so many expensive women. An
Enthusiastically English couple who had
Just dived-after long inspection Of
the windowS-into Lacloche's, prompted
me to add that. as England was the
most heavily taxed country in the
world, l was grateful that the inland
revenue authorities had left enough
money in circulation for a fortunate
few to participate in this international
rivalry OF oStentation.
1t was at this point that Theresa ex-
ploded III the manner which l have de-
scribed. Gratitude?
Wen hope they're IS grateful as I
am" l said. Il love to see women
beautifully dressed, and l love beauti-
full jewelry-'
He'll be buying her emeralds," said
my cousin between her teeth. Mil
dred has the lovelieSt emeraldS I've
ever seen. Tom gave her a great collar
of them when they married."
Were those friends of yours?" 1
asked rather superfluously.
Tom and Mildred? They were. Mil
bred and l were at school together.
and Tom was my oldest friend. 1t
was through me that they first met
seven years ago"
AS Theresa has herself been married
fully ten years, I realized that Madame
Mildred's offense could not be that of
stealing the heart Of her oldest friends
friend.
Where did the ingratitude come IMP"
l ventured.
My cousin stared resentfully at the
many colored windows behind which
Madame Mildred was adding to her
collection Of emeralds.
ITS me he ought to be buying
presents for" she protested. After all,
it's through me that they're still to-
gether."
"A story 1 suggested mildly, some
times gains in intelligibility if the mar
rator begins at the beginning"
This isn't a story" Theresa re-
joined, impatiently. You may call it
a study in male psychology. Or an
awful warning. The Woman Who Sold
Her Soul and Got Nothing in Return
1T was probably all the soul was
WORTH" l said. "She looked an empty
headed creature"
"Mildred?" She hasn't q soul to sell, :"
my cousin exclaimed in high scorn.
She's simply a collector"
While Theresa continued to stare re-
sentfully after her lost friends, / pa
officially p%ropounded the question of
whether any one who collected things
nf haorItu Gould hn ,rhol1u urithN,f n
soul.
If you regard emeralds for them
selves and not merely for their break
up price" / argued.
Some of the men Mildred has COL
lected could hardly be called things OF
beauty Theresa interrupted with
venom. If you consider Fat Rodney
To be admired by Fat
Rodney would be an insult TO any
woman with a soul. She collected him,
though. Shed collect any man! And
she very nearly came to grief over
him. If I hadn't toiled and lied and
perjured myself"
1T was your soul, then? / apologize
1 said.
And in return I get nothing
Theresa cried t~ragically.
l took occasion to say that the cou-
pie we had just seen appeared to be
on excellent terms. Was this no COM
pensation?
when they both cut me in public?'
Though Theresa insisted that there
was 10 story to tell, I scented the pos
sibilities of one.
If I can make anything Of it," I
promised, you shall buy yourself a
present at my expense"
Theresa colored family, as though
she did not relish the idea of seeing
all the facts set out, especially by an
impartial pen.
you NEAR you'd publish it?" she
asked.
Not, of course, without your per-
mission
But 1 should like you to-" Theresa
exclaimed, eagerly. People of that
kind want showing up!"
Then give me the opportunity of
helping l begged.
II.
THE trouble began last year" nv
cousin explained, lat Toms place in
Somerset. His land marches with Fat
Rodney's, and they were all good
friends until Tom, who's as jealous
as a cat, took it into his head that
Rodney and Mildred were becoming
too fond of each other. I don't know
that there was anything more in it
than in Mildred'S last half dozen af-
fairs, but Tom decided that he must
put his foot down.
He pretended, I believe, that he
couldn't allow any gossip about his
oWn wife in his W country, but the
truth is that the time had come for
them to readjust themselves. They'd
been married six years, and the seventh
year is always supposed to be the most
critical. Tom was desperately in love
and desperately out of love by turns.
Very much on edge. Very unreason-
able. And Mildred was the same, ex-
cept that she's never been il love
with anybody; she just condescends
to people as long as she thinks they
a be useful to her.
We'll, the marriage wa hanging by
a thread. Mildred was wondering
whether it wouldn't be better to 20
back to her old poverty than to put
up with Tom any longer; whether he
hadn't exhausted his usefulness. Tom
was stamping about, saying: This
isn't good enough and hoping for
an out and out quarrel if he couldn't
bring her to heel. Her extravaganza
was appalling!