Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1932-09-16
TWELFTH INSTALL.MENT

Rantoul, on learning of Josephine.
sudden engagement, found ureen,
business calling him abroad. He hac
vast foreign interests so she gathered
from his letters, but he bore no i'll.
will; he was still her friend and neve
failed to ask after John. Post card,
came to her from distant places,
Cairo, Bombay, Singapore. Apparent.
ly he was going around the world. A
pathetic word or two, a mere allusion.
sometimes a picture of some lone pill
grim, gave her the feeling of a deep
er message. Then, after some months.
there was the long silence hat might
mean his return via the Pacific. Jose
phine found herself wondering when
he would return. She did not show
these cards to John. He was bliss
fully unaware of these romantic
memories on the part of Josephine.
Meanwhile Johns ability to earn
the respect of his men by the use of
his fists had earned him promotion.
He had been placed in charge of Sec
ton One, the toughest job on the a.
queduct.
Gerrit Rantoul returned from
his world tour. He arrived at the
beginning Of the season; all of fash
ionable New York, that is, the New
York capable of paying attention to
fashion was back in the city. He was
finer, more considerate, more quietly
correct, nor distingue than ever. If
Josephine had imagined him the least
bit difficult, the least bit ~aggrieved,
her fears were entirely removed on his
return. Even Gilbert Van Horn was
glad to see him. Rantoul was return
ing at an opportune time for Jose
phine.
When John Breen had appeared with
his fists bandaged. Josephine shrub
dered a bit at the explanation. II lift
ed a bum under the jaw" Perhaps it
was anything but accurate OR heroic.
Then too it was that Josephine found
it more difficult to pit her charms a.
gainst the insistence of the tunnel.
John kept talking about an impossible
Mr.. Wild, evidently an uncouth and
unreasonable person. Night after
night he never came up, never came
near his own rooms, and when Jose
phine did see his his eyes were heavy
with WEAKNESS, his lids brilliant with
the gloss of tunnel smoke.
For some months past a change had
come over Josephine. She resented
the growing place the tunnel was
taking in the mind of her betrothed.
Even gentle Marie Bashkirtsef would
not have tolerated such lapse Of de-
%votion, and Josephine was a sensitive
high-strung girl.
Even with the money she some day
would have, on the death of Van
Horn, life with John Breen might be
more or less of a struggle. He would
insist on working would probably
want her to go to dreadful places, the
Andes, or the Sahara Desert; just
what to do there she did not know,
but young engineers took their wives
to outlandish countries. Rantoul told
Der of such things, quite casually, OF
course. She would have to give as well
Is taks
Josephine found more occasion to
find fault with John after his pro-
motion. His heavy responsibilities as
section engineer held him frmer and
hrmer in the grip of the tunnel. He
was on the job hour after hour, day
and night, and slept with a telephone
at his bedside. He was compelled,
time and again, to break engagements
to hurry from her suddenly. He felt
restless and i'll at ease when away
from the tunnel.
How long will this tunnel job
keep going?" Van Horn asked one
evening. He and John were in the
library smoking for an hour that
John forced himself to spare from
the work, having had to phone Jose
phine that he could not accompany
her to the Winterrow lecture on
cart, Life's Real Reward" She had
already gone with Gerrit Rantoul.
"A year will see the main work
do,a tho +,,rine1 holed 'thro1qh and