Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-12-06


nently important
To Stanley, although neither Mar
garet nor Shirley dreamed 1t, the cpl
sode, trifling as 1t seemed, had been
extraordinarily significant. He had
seen each woman in new role that
night, Shirley agitated over the loss of
jewels another man had given her,
furious, exacting, within only few
hours Of the time when she had prom
ised to be his wife, and Margaret for
the first time broken, gentle. yielding
and admittedly suffering.
Stan was not analytical: his mental
processes were rather slow. But. even
without defining it, he marveled in his
own simple way, that Shirley, while
thinking herself so admirable, could be
so frankly material and suspicious and
oXacting. and that under Margaret's
repressed and quiet manner the flame
of an endearing and loving personality
could burn so bright.
Meanwhile he and Shirley moved
rapidly. noisily, gayly through their
days. He saw her radiant and pretty
in her frail linens and beautiful hats.
He marveled, in his simple, unexact-
ing way at the long tales she told him,
tales of quarrels of all sorts, in which
she was invariably victor.
When she was tired she wanted
know he was the handsomest man in
the st. Francis today? Well, he was.
And tell her again the nice thing King
Bartlett said about her? Did he? 1t
was sweet of him, and she did think
she looked nice at the dinner. And she
thought-no, seriously, that Willis
Hyde Brown had a crush on her. what
did he know about that? Wasn't that
killing?
Stan realized, before they had been
a month engaged, that Shirley was as
eager as ever for the admiration OF
other men. He disliked the idea, even
while he told himself that, after all,
she would settle down when once she
was his wife.
why do you let it bother you. dear?"
he said, over and over again, as Octo-
Der brought the wedding day nearer
and nearer, and Shirley showed an in
creasing inclination to crltlclze ner
friends, to resent their various attl-
tude5 toward her and her plans, and
to force Stan into partisanship.
You'd let anybody walk on your
face. Stan" Shirley said, in good
natured contempt. But won't. Peo-
pie are going to be decent to me, or
I'll know why!"
And the vicious little compression
of her lips as she spoke, and the angry
feel uncomfortable; he could not quite
laugh at it as a childish trick. He felt
uncomfortable and ashamed and even
curiously plying of her. Women had
always been of one type TO Stanley De-
fore this: the type that makes peace,
that comedies, that is dignifled and SELL
confident. He began to realize that
there is a distinctly opposed type, ana
that Shirley represented It,.
he khnttnflf
try Loyalty to remember her good points,
and perhaps would ask himself some
what blankly what they were. What
had impressed him so, down at Pebble
Beach a few weeks ago?
He would remind himself, there was
there must be, some real character,
some real f1neness in Shirley She was
a pretty creature, she had lots Oh
friends, she had had a hard road to
hoe. Stan was inclined to be generous
to her, even in the matter of their en-
gagement 1t was important to her to
land somebody, and she had landed
him; it had been pretty raw" he
would think to himself, with a rueful
grin, half contemptuous and half ad-
miring, as he remembered the Pebble
Beach days, the drinking, the rushing
the games and meals and excitement
remembered that Shirley knowing she
had the Cannons to back her. had
stated saucily that she was going to
tell them that she and Stan were en-
gagged "just for the fun!"
Just for the fun, and Stan had re-
allied the significance Of 1t all exactly
as If he had been at play. Who was
going to draw the line when 1t was
time to stop the fun?
Up to that time, Stan had liked Shir-
ley Now he hardly knew what he felt
TOW, otsl Iar WhPn
he was actually a little afraid Of her,
there were others when all feeling where
she was concerned seemed to have
dropped from him like an empty gar
ment.
Stanley's spirit, at these times, expert
enced an immense darkness. Every word
he said to Shirley, every smile and look.
S. med strained and uneasy. He was
always glad when the critical, uncom-'
establishment Of her sway over him
made him feel the solid ground under
his feet again.
He had no time to think of Mar
garet She slipped quite naturally, into
the background of his life Stanley was
rushing so constantly that Margarets
determined effort to keep out of his
way was entirely successful, and quite
unnoticed by him. Jim was having
hardly left the nursery
But when the measles was over 1t
was arranged that the two women
should take the invalid down to Up
lands for his convalescence. 1t was
a fortnight after they had gone that
Stanley CHANGED to go down there with
a cattleman from Washington, who
had come to rate his herd. Shirley had
exacted from him promise to return
to Burlingame for q dinner, for her
divorce was granted now, and she was
telling her friends quite openly of her
plans, and had set the wedding day.
Stan felt an amused sympa thy with the
familiar type of harassed married man
as he promised her to come back and
tactfully explained to the old appraiser
that he would be obliged to leave him
at the farm.
Who's boss, anyway" he said to
her, departing.
I'm boss!" Shirley said.
Continued in Tomorrows Starr