Evening star., 1936-07-26
THIS WEEK

have helped herself - it had been too
much for her.
If it hadn't been for that last cul-
minating incident - Sc childish, so
trivial, so unbearable.
She had been very tired by that
time. Everyone Janet knew and a
great many people she didn't know
came to the Thornton house warm
ing. They began coming at five and
there wasn't moment till midnight,
when there was lull in the dancing,
eating and drinking. Someone took
charge of the radio victrola and fed it
records like some Unsuitable beast.
Various young men tried to dance with
Lois but she didn't dance well, and
then they tried to talk to her and she
didn't know what they were talking
about. They found themselves asking
her how she liked Hollywood and
looking for way to escape from
Gales beautiful but badly dressed and
quite dumb wife.
1t was at supper that it happened.
Suddenly Janet, annoyed at something
Bill Baftwell had said, had tipped
bread pellet across at him, catching
him neatly on the nose. And in a
minute the mimic war was on. They
armed themselves with dinner-rolls
and ranged themselves into opposing
forces.
Bill Bartwell, out of the kindness of
his heart, chose Lois for his side -
she seemed so out of things. poor kid.
But Lois tore herself free from him.
They were throwing bread away
trampling it under foot. turning its
worth and purity to grey loathsome-
ness. And bread meant something to
Lois. To her and her people it was
literally the staff of life. They lived
by it, and sometimes she had known
them to die for it. And an indignation,
lighted by that stern and sober knowl-
edge. had kindled suddenly to blaze
so that from being dull nonentity -
just Gale Thornton's wife - she had
become dominating figure, holding
their astounded attention.
PLEASE don't" she had stammered
at them; Its not right -" And then
had stopped dead. crushed by their
bewildered silence, by her own in
adequacy.
She had seen Gales face. 1t was in
decipherable. But Lois didn't need to
decipher it. She knew what she had
done. She went out between that
double line, like a criminal running
gauntlet, trying not to run, not to
break down, and hid herself in an
agony of shame and grief in an empty
bedroom in the furthest limits of the
house. There, presently, she heard the
aghast honking of their guests as they
left the scene of her disaster. And
there. presently, Gale found her.
He said very little at first He just
knelt beside her, holding her in his
arms. He tried at last to comfort her,
to check the wild sobbing that, be-
cause she cried so rarely. had the ter
rible wracking quality of boys cry
ing.
''You were grand. darling - you
were wonderful"
1t was dear of him. But Lois knew
what he really felt. He had gone too
far away from their common life to
feel the impulse which had driven her.
He could only see that she had in
suited his friends - made herself and
him ridiculous. But she grew quiet,
hopelessly quiet, under his anxious
tenderness - and he tried to talk. to
make her understand little.
Were not used - we've always
had to work so hard for everything,
had to count every cent - we don't
understand people who live differently,
who have to because it's part of their
job to seem able to throw things round
and not to care" He gave a wry little
laugh. II guess they do though. l