New Britain herald., 1930-09-25


 Mrs. Vaneering is quiet. now. Mrs. -" He checked himself wis ibly- "Ma'am. The doctor gave her something. You-you'd best lie down, and let me send him to you"
 Perhaps you had, James," she said listlessly.
 Going up in the lift, she had the one refrain running through her mind:
 Poor Jack To end like this And sober Poor Jack"
 But as her weeping maid met her in the hall, a second thought pierc- ed her consciousness like a lance:
 I'm not married. I'm a widow"
 Strange and shocking implication: a familiar personality gone utterly: old ways, old habits left without point or reason; her whole life to make over again. Her heart flutter- ed wildly. If only she might weep with Marie!
 Bizarre were the days that sue ceeded Jacks death. Dagger moved
  which in no wise confused the clar- ity of her perceptions.
 She was honestly dismayed by the tragedy Death blurred the out lines of Jacks weaknesses, threw into high relief the lovable qualities of his character. And she was suffi- ciently honest to be disturbed by the let-down in nervous tension which accompanied her grief. For, sorrow as she might, she wasn't as cast down as her mother-in-la and Mrs. Vaneering was as sensible of this as she. herself.
 Jacks death had severed the only tie between the two women. Mrs. Vaneering's original prejudice against Dagger had never been overcome, and now it was intensi- fled by the discovery that under the terms of her sons will his widow was to inherit his entire fortune, in cluding the millions left him by his father.
 Nothing Dagger could say would serve to reconcile her mother-ln- law either to this fact or to her own personality. And as soon as she de- gently could, she moved out of the Vaneering home. Kitty had invited her to Detroit. and Uncle Jim and Aunt Espy had telegraphed sum- monses to return to Texas: but in her present mood she wanted to be by herself.
 She felt as though she had been spiritually bruised; her heart ached. and her mind was numbed and un- certain. People bothered her - that is individuals. She preferred to re- main in the city because of it's i'm mensity, because she could slip un- identified into the endless streams of humanity that flowed through the streets. one of the innumerable chips tossed here and there by the turgid current of life.
 No plans occupied her. She mere ly ate and slept. read enormously, walked in unfrequented byways, drove her car for miles into the country. Only her lawyers had her address.
 This phase lasted for several weeks. It was interrupted by cable from Dick in Paris:
 Just heard your loss Dearest
 Dagger do come Paris Emily
 and I will do all in power di-
 vert you With much love yours
 always Dick ..
 She read it over a second time, and a burst of energy dispersed her lethargy. Darling old Dick. The one friend she could rely upon in such time, the one who'd understand, who'd be silent when she desired si lence, who'd supply amusement when she was bored.
 To see him, to be with him, shed even accept the company of that pale ghost-wife of Blaine's. Poor thing, this Emily deserved a share of happiness after so many years. Who could appreciate that so much as Dagger? Who should begrudge it to her less?
 There was much to do, but the doing of it pleased and excited her. She and her maid packed, bought tickets, secured passports, and a week after Dicks cable reached her she stood on the deck of a great French liner backing out into the stream.
 The gay throngs of passengers, the comfortable living quarters. the courteous officers, the throb and the pulse of the engines, above all, the feel and smell of the sea, ra- wished her. She cast off tragedy's burden, and resolved to exploit this new life so much as was feasible for a young widow, whose mourning ex- aggerated the slim youthfulness of face and figure.
 It was exhilarating to Dagger, and exhilaration was what she needed In three days her recent troubles were a dark cloud on the horizon of the past,
 It wouldn't do to settle into mar row rut. She must travel, meet people of all races, all degrees, study different civilizations and diff ferent countries and religions. That was what Blaine would have had her do.
 Chapter 21
 OFF TO SEE THE WORLD
 When Eiffel Tower loomed in the