The Washington times., 1931-02-14
CHAPTER 2

CHAPTER 2
Oh, to be Larry. free to
come and go and to see adven-
ture first hand! When he told
her, as he sometimes did, of his
daily round-never dull to
Larry, now that he had gradu-
ated from reporting unimpor-
tant political dinners and ward
picnics-Mary Lou, listening to
those sagas, would grow wide
eyed and breathleSs, living it
over, every step of the way
80 this cop steps up, see, and
pulls out his gun and says"
Here, Mary Lou would shiver
and close her eyes and then
open them, bravely facing that
cleaning message Of death,
hearing mentally, and, perhaps,
prematurely, the sharp, preg-
nant report.
Oh, to be the actress she had
seen last week! The poet whose
book had just thrilled her! The
new champion of the tennis
courts!
But she had a saving grace,
her sense of humor. AS she
couldn't act-well, perhaps she
could, a little; she'd appeared
irf church society plays now and
then and had performed with
poiSe and delight. But she
couldn't act we'll enough to be
anything but a pretty amateur.
And while she wove all sorts OF
delightful stories in her mind,
she couldn't put them down on
paper. She hadn't even inherit
ed her fathers little gift for
line and color. She had no
marketable talent. And she
knew it.
The Orient Offer
She was to know it even more
convincingly week or so later
when Howard Sanderson came
home one night with the amaz-
ing news that he had had an
offer to go to the Orient on con-
Struction engineering work; and,
what was more amazing, to take
Mrs. Sanderson with him, in the
capacity of secretary to the ex-
pedition.
Far lands and alien places
and a chance to do a good job
and to travel! They'd always
wanted to travel, especially
Clara, who had often envied
Howard's light-hearted sister
and her husband. But now.
there was Billy to think of and
also Mary Lou, for whom they
were responsible.
Sanderson had three weeks to
make up his mind. And for two
weeks. every evening, Saturday
afternoons and Sundays, the
family went into a sort of hud-
dle-perhaps we had better call
1t a conference-and discussed
the matter, pro and con.
Larry was present, often,
putting in his shrewd oar now
and then. He fully sympa-
thized with the Sanderson's
anxiety to accept the offer, to
get away, out of the rut, to see
things for themselves. But Mary
Lou worried him; she tried so
hard to be fair, tried so hard
not to be bewildered, tried so
hard to forget herself; yet she
was a bit white-lipped these
days, there were shadows un-
der the blue eyes, dark as
bruises on the white skin. And
in her eyes, although she tried
to hide it, he read the uncon-
Scious appeal-"What is to be-
come of me?"
For she wasn't trained. Not
as a clerk, a book-keeper,
nurse, a teacher, a stenogra-
pher or a secretary. And she
had always been so sheltered;
In her years of wandering, by
her fathers and mothers love
and vigilant protection, and
since then, by the friendly roof
Of the little house, by the af-
lection Of her relatives.
But
"You must go!" decided Mary
Lou, firmly, when the time vas
almost up.
"But you-?"
"Never mind me" said
Mary Lou.
Healthy Kid
BILLY" said Billy's mother,
on a long breath, broken off
like a sob, "Billy's pretty little
to leave behind and we can't
take him. I mean, children
get sick so duickly-they-
they"
Don't say it!" cried Mary
Lou, rather unnecessarily, for
indeed Clara couldn't finish,
"Billy's the healthiest child in
the world! Gram says she'll
take him. You haven't a thing
to worry about. It's your big
chance. You must co." she
repeated, firmly.
There was a little silence.
Larry Mitchell looked across
ct Mary Lou and at her gal
lantly shining eyes. But he
though he saw uncertainty,
fear, even, in their blue depths,
as if a child still cried out,
lonely and frightened-"What
will become of mel"
In that moment Larry's sacri-