The Coolidge examiner., 1932-07-01

! luS SOOu tonight, clear-neaQeQ, con-
| fldent. Tomorrow morning he might
not be quite so-convincfng.
She hadn't gone to bed. The lights
were on in the sitting room, and
the click of his latchkey brought
her to the hall Immediately.
Ned" she cried with a gasp of
relief at sight of him. "Are you all
right?"
Yes" he told her pleasantly. "Tm
all right"
She was gazing at him earnestly
and in an incredulous sort Of way,
as though she found his manner un-
natural, suspected it of concealing
something.
Il know you haven't been at the
office. 1 telephoned there-kept tel
ephoning. | wanted to call up Bert
Willard, but l didn't"
No, | haven't been near the Of
fice," he said, "and Bert wouldn't
have known anything about me. I've
been to Jake Germans wedding"
why didn't you call me up! Send
word, somehow !" The fierce in
tensity of her manner, rather than
the question itself, bewildered him.
Il don't know" he said. Z
couldn't say what l wanted to over
the telephone, so | thought I'd wait
until we could talk"
1T didn't occur to you that I'd
be-terrifed about you after the
way you'd gone out of the house
this noon"
NO" he said doubtfully.
"You could have telephored,
couldn't you!" she cried. Did you
think about me at all?"
He considered the question. mo"
! he told her truthfully, Il don't be-
lieve l did. Not till when l got
into the train. things began to get
| clear. I've been thinking about you
all the time since then-about both
of US, mean. think l can-well,
explain things now. What's been
the matter between us-all along.
more or less"
II won't listen! !" she cried curl
ously. ~ heard enough of your ex-
plantations at lunch. don't want
any more! suppose you think
they were all true. Well. / don't
care whether they were or not. You
won't be troubled with any more of
my sacrifices. l don't care what
you do. You can 60 away and stay,
if you like. Go and live with Ruth
Ingraham or one of Jake Germans
chorus girls. Oh. stop looking at
me like that Let me alone! Let
| me alonel What are you trying to
do?"
lie couldn't have named the feel
ing that set him in motion toward
her. 1t might have been anger, the
sudden response TO challenge. But
by the time he'd come close enough
to get hold of her and pull her up
in his arms. it was pure exultation.
She struggled in good earnest for
n minute, but he only held her the
tighter. Then. suddenly, she went
limp. She was breathing jerkily in
deep, voiceless sobs.
Heavens" he cried, what pair
Of idiots we've been! Not just for
months. For years"
Have you been an idiot, too?" she
asked.
81 honestly don't think" he told
her, THAT there's been anything to
choose between u.s."
He turned her face up aud kissed
her-thoroughly.
Edward had window-seat on the
shady side of the five-elghteen. He
had opened his paper and was skim
ming the headlines; not reading
them exactly. but giving them a
fair chance to attract his attention
if they could.
Glancing up, he saw Bert Willard
in the act of passing his seat. No
one had taken the other half of it
yet; the car wasn't full enough for
that. He got a sharp impression
the sharper for being unaDalyzable
that Bert had seen him ard meant
to pretend he hadn't. Equally sur
prising was his own impulse, in the
same moment, to let him go by un-
recognized. Nevertheless, he called
his friends name, and Bert, with a
start not quite convincingly genu-
inc, came back and sat beside him.
He opened his paper.
"Nice to have spring show signs
of coming around again, isn't itT'
he said.
Edward agreed that it was. Got
your golf started yet?" he asked. Il
should think a nice day like this
would have tempted you"
"Oh, l get tempted sometimes
when l don't fall" Bert answered
absently. His eye was on the
smudgy numerals in the Extra col
umn-the first three innings of the
afternoons ball game. "The Cubs
are showing signs of life this year."