The Coolidge examiner., 1932-06-24

.
ing you little. Are you trying to
| quarrel with me? Is that what you
want?"
He leaned his elbows on the table
and buried his face in his hands.
Was that what he wanted? He
didn't know. He could deny moth
ing she'd said. She was right, OF
course, in saying that now wasn't
| the time to discuss the Ingraham
affair. If he was going to put
mortgage on the house he ought to
| go back to town this afternoon and
get things started with the real
estate people. She'd given him no
ground for a quarrel in what she'd
said about that. She'd been per-
fectly reasonable throughout. And
it was that-her calm patrOnizing
| reasonableness-that was driving
him frantic-faded dusty drapery,
at that-that he would like to tear
away with his hands. He would
! like to see her real mind-Or soul,
whatever you wanted to call it
| naked, for once.
"All right, We'll talk about the
mortgage His voice sounded
thick and muffled. He hardly
knew whether he'd spoken audibly
or not. You said Of course, you'd
consent. Why would you?"
He waited a while for an answer
to that question. but didn't get one.
She drew in a breath, as if to speak,
but apparently found no words that
suited her.
what was it you really hoped
for" he asked, when told you I'd
gone in with Mariner? Did you
hope I'd succeed or did you hope
I'd fail?"
"Of course Ihoped you'd succeed"
"'Of course again! But are you
sure? Here's test for You. When
you were busy around the house
washing dishes and so on-which
ending to the adventure did you
play witty Did you ever dream 1t
out that my hopes had come true?
That I'd justified myself? Made
good and given you everything you
wanted? Travel? A big house? OPP
pOrtunities for the children? l don't
believe ii. / think you always end
ed it-like this. Half an hour ago,
when l came home to lunch, and
told you Bert had turned me down,
and that your consent 10 my mort
gaging the house was the only re-
source l had left-that's the mo-
ment you've been waiting for, all
along. But It isn't coming off quite
as you meant 1t to, think"
II think you're crazyy" she cried.
Really out of your head. Why
should | want you to fail?"
That isn't as hard to answer as
1t sounds. The more I'm In the
wrong. the more you're in the right
How does II look-to the Willards,
for instance? Your husband re-
signs a good job and goes chasing
will-o'- -the-wisps; throws away his
savings, can't pay his bills, forces
his son to work his way through
college and his daughter to take a
Job as his stenOgrapher; and through
it all you never complain. Why,
1t makes a heroine Of youl No one
can say you aren't a loyal wife and
a good sport. That's what you want.
That's the conviction you want
above everything else. You'll go
through anything to keep 1t boil
stored up. Why? That's what /
want to know. What are you afraid
of looking like-to yourself or any
one else? Why can't you take it for
granted. Oh Cd! Why can't you
be human, for oncep
Across the table she sat very still
looking at him with sOmber eyes.
"You hate me-" she said with pro-
found conviction. you must have
been hating me for years"
a sudden terror invaded him as
she said that. He didn't hate her.
He loved her. He wanted her, des-
perately. 1t was that want that
had been goading him.
His mind seemed to slip. The
path he'd been following had dis
appeared. He was lost. He didn't
know what he'd been saying.
81 guess I'm a little out of my
head" he said. Il thought was
all right when, began. l don't
know-what I've been trying to do.
But 1 don't hate you. You're wrong
about that"
He couldn't bear the way she was
looking at him. 1t was a tender
look, enlightened by a sudden sur
mise. His voice had given him away.
His words hadn't surrendered, but
his voice had.
Again he covered his face with
his hands. She left her chair and
came around the table to him. At
the contact with her body, as she
laid her hand upon his shoulder and
seated herself upon the arm of his
choir ha wont linn