Evening star., 1935-05-15
CHAPTER XIV.
DEPARTURE.

vANE took James ten thousand
and departed for the Near East.
At least a part of the money
~ went into vocational schools
for Serbs.
Later Jane quarreled with the Red
Cross commissioner for the Balkans,
and retired to Paris. She remained
there long enough to get her divorce.
James letters were a mixture Of pride
and self pity-self pity that she. of all
persons, should be divorced woman.
and pride in boasting of her many
prominent and titled friends.
Jane. it came out. actually lived at
the home of a countess, one of the
"haut noblesse" who practically never
condescended to know Americans. and
Jane was now hand in glove with the
countess intimates. Jennie Dodson,
by direct questions. cruelty dragged it
out of Mrs. Northrup that Jane
stayed with the countess as a paying
guest.
Why, after storming the holy OF
social holies. Jane did not remain in
Paris, New Concord never found out.
At any rate, in 1922 Jane took an
apartment in New York and sent for
some of her silver and linens; she
now scorned the furniture and bric-
a-brac with which she had started
housekeeping.
Once settled In New York, Jane
threw herself heart and soul into the
feminine half Of the organization to
dnfnot nrnhthiti0V ~ a eft IN Iyy
short time Mrs. Northrup was able to
bins right hand man.
1t is perhaps superfluous to point
out that New Concord was and is
still enormously impressed by James
success. When she came home in
1928 for a brief and fitting visit, ex-
quisitely gowned and coiffed and
manicured and massaged. with the
poise and manners of duchess, New
Concord fairly fell over itself In en-
tertaining and feting her.
New Concord does not think much
of New Workers. They would be
fonder, though not prouder, of Jane
today Il she we're shade less New
Yorky' in her manners, in her accent
Indeed. her girlhood friends pick at
Mrs. Northrup- -Stimson" q good deal
behind her back
But they no longer laugh at her
One does not laugh at Kansas girl
who calls Mrs Vanderbilt and Miss
Morgan by their first names
Miss Julia Pratt remains incor-
rightly catty. She says there's moth
ing to prevent her from calling Queen
Mary of England or Queen Marie of
Rumania by their first names, pro-
vided they don't catch her doing It,
The next four or five years are
hardly worthy of record James
plugged along somehow, rebuilt his
abandoned law practice to q dull If
respectable level and endured life
rather than enjoyed it. Year by year
he became more and more silent.
The truth was that James was out
of tune with the 1920's. The ma
terialism. the feverish gambling and
chase after wealth. hurt and offended
him. His old ambitions died one by
one; and with them his old enthu-
siasms. He was content to be q fail
ure: semi-failure.
Wnen ne nearQ now ana unen OF
James successive triumphs. he smiled
wryly. He had done Jane one favor
anyway-by walking out on her
Jane ought to be grateful to him to
her dying day for that.
Leslie Harris was now back in New
Concord. About the time Jane got
her divorce Mrs. Harris was taken i'll
and Leslie threw up her position In
Kansas City and came home to nurse
her. Mrs. Harris was never again
very strong. so Leslie stayed on at
home.
Occasionally James met Leslie at
some evening party or on the street,
and the meeting always left q pleas
ant little afterglow. But it never oc-
Cured to him to go to see her and
Leslie never especially invited him.
James sometimes wondered why Leslie
had not married. That he had had
anything to do with it never crossed
his mind.
The years had passed over Leslie
lightly and gently. Her hair was al