Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-02-10

Man
By LYMAN ANSON

chanted mechanically.
"My-what?"
A second later she sgnaled a rubber soled
orderly who happened to be passing.
Let Mr.. Penny sit down till he gets hold of
himself" she directed.
CwALLOwING rapidly, he felt himself guided
- into a small waiting room off the main
office and pushed gently but firmly into deep
chair. from which he tried feeby to rise.
BEST take it easy, sir" the orderly advised.
your wife only tainted"
Don't I know it?" he exploded That's
what been trying to tell everybody; and an
other thing, young man, that girl isn't"
"Of course not. No need to worry. sir. Why,
we have EN- come in that way every few days.
Is 1t the first baby?"
Mr.. Penny stared dumbly at the kindly
young chap. Then his Adams apple began such
strange contortions that the man bolted from
the room in search of a stmulant
When he returned the chair was empty. So
the small waiting room.
Thoroughly alarmed he hurried into the main
office, where the woman at the desk was answer
ing a phone call from the top floor, her eyes
popping
You don't mean It'll" he heard her exclaim:
then, with queer laugh, But I thought that
officer said"
She hung up and turned an incredulous face
to the orderly.
Get Mr. Penny at OnceI'
Didn't he come through here?"
HAS he gomez"
"He amt where he was"
"Quick!" she snapped. THE side door See
II he went out for some air.
THEIR search was fruitless, for by that time
Mr.. Penny was jogging toward the heart Of
the city in the first street that had come
along.
Though left alone but brief minute it was
long enough for the truth to break over him in
all its ghastliness He was speeches., paralyzed.
So he had slipped through the side door in
a panic and waved franticaly to an obliging
trolley car, his sole thought being to bury him
self in some obscure downtown hotel until he
had gained sufficient courage to return home
and face Mrs. futile.
Thus he had spent the bitterest hours of his
life sleeping f1tfully in a small hotel room that
night; wandering dejectedly next day among
crowds of carefree shoppers until reused to des-
perate action by beggar's chance reference to
the kindness of his heart.
So he caught the 1890 suburban for Rock
Glenn-the same train on which he had hoped
to bring Winnie home in triumph the day before.
believe me-" he repeated bitterly as the tele-
graph poles flashed past from now on women
can look out for themselves
tank rose over hill 80 minutes later and
he visualized the coming meeting, he lost his
bluster. What would be Mrs. Tuttles first
words? What his? Should he try to carry it
off with joke? Something about bad Penny
always returning came to his mind but he dis
carded 1t instantly.
Luckily, neither the widow nor her niece hap
pened to be about when he opened the front
door with his latch key and peered within. The
continued silence suggested bold course Of
action.
Why not clear out quietly before they even
knew he was back?
With this in mind, he was tptoeing hope
fully toward the stairway when the library door
came to q dead stop. Then it began pounding
as II to make up lost time.
Though her reddish hair slightly dis
arranged and her startled eyes bored through
him, 1t occurred to Mr.. Penny with q pang that
the widow never had looked more lovely.
Except for his Adams apple, however. he
stood motionless, waiting in quiet dignity for
the storm to break
'Wel where have you been?" she burst out.
"You know what happened" he managed
stiff1y. There's nothing for me to say, except
I trust Miss Winnie finally got here all right"
"Vinnie-here?" She gave q gasping laugh.
He felt little sick at his stomach. Isn't
isn't she?" he stammered.
She humored his strange mood with one OF
her most alluring smiles.
"\A/E CAN joke about 1t now, Mr.. Penny.
w but I've told Winnie dozen times she
ought to have her appendix out before it came
to an emergency. Why. they couldn't even take
time TO call me up till it was all over"