The Washington times., 1936-02-11

past reading, past really under.
standing.
He went on talking.
Through the roaring in her ears.
the crazy thoughts that went
whirling madly through her head,
she heard his words, and finally
they began to make sense.
It wasn't what she was afraid
Of that had happened. Gene
hadn't gone to him. It was what
he had feared. His experiments
had become public too soon. Long
before he was sure that he was
even on the right track, in his
search for the cause Of cancer,
someone had talked, and the news
papers had the story.
When she could stop shaking
enough to speak she said, In q
small, breathlesS voice, "Oh, you
frightened me so! You frightened
me so dreadfully! I thought some
thing awful had happened!"
He lit a cigarette, held the
match until it nearly burned his
fingers. He smiled a little and
came over and kissed the top Of
her head.
''It wouldn't be awful If your
husband were fired-shall we say,
kicked out in diSgrace?"
eft would be hard. But it
wouldn't be unbearable, because
you wouldn't really be disgraced!
You'd still have your own self
respect! You'd know that it
wasn't your fault! You could
still go on and work and be ia
mouS!"
You are a darling, Christie. I
swear that's half the grief. To
think that after marrying you,
and darn near starving you to
death, thinking I'd made it all up
to you by being-famouS-that it
has to end-like this"
AS her arms went around him,
as she held him close to her, muir.
muring that she didn't even care,
that nothing mattered but having
him for her own, and that no mat.
ter. what he said, she knew every
thing would come out all right.
she knew that he had suffered
enough. That no matter what the
cost to her, he must be spared fur,
ther worry and sorrow.
!. And all the while they talked it
over, while he explained that few
would believe that he hadn't been
trying to spread the news Of his
theory Of the cause, and perhaps
the cure, of one of the most dread
and least understood diseases,
only half her mind was on it.
She kept thinking of what she
had decided. That she would
humble herself, go to Aunt Nettie,
ask for q loan of $1,500.
So her eyes blurred as she tried
to focus them on the newspaper
story, and her mind was busy
with Aunt Nettie, and money, and
a man that once upon a time
10000 years ago, when she was
young, she had loved.
And all the while her heart, in
spite Of her fears, and her hus-
bands words, was warm with
pride in Donald.
For If a man had slaved count
less nights and days, and per-
haps had discovered something
that will help the sad hordeS Of
sick and suffering and dying,
why need he be ashamed? What
if the world has found it out too
soon? What If it isn't a great
discovery, but just one Of the
many false clues that have to be
run down in the ultimate search?
Is that any reason for his asso-
ciates to ridicule him, and for
gray-bearded scientists, reading
about il ir the newspapers to
call him quack?
-- + =
It was strange to be going
somewhere without Donny.
All the while that she was
dashing around the house, get
ting things in order, fixing the
vegetables for dinner, and pre-
pairing the baby's formula, she
kept thinking Of what Aunt Net
tie and the girls would say when
they saw him.
(p9nUHuOO 90 OH
copyright. 1885, by King Features
Syndicate. Inc.)