Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1936-04-20
INSTALLMENT XIV.

wheeling a perambulator! How hor-
Yible to feel cold and excited and
frightened and not to hav. any one
to whom one could talk :.
But it couldn't be that he really
loved me two weeks ago and doesn't
even like me now" Tam's sick heart
had reiterated. And even as her
thoughts framed the phrase, she had
known that even less than that was
true. He had much more than loved
her once; he much less than liked
her now.
So she had walked beside him gal
lantly as long as he wanted to walk,
and then had agreed that they had
better get back to the hotel, as he,
Of course, had had packing to do
and they had duly returned past the
dreary rows of fruit stands and drug
stores and horrid houses under bare
trees, and the dark Wintry gardens
with black manure spread over the
lawns
They had separated she to go to
the room she shared with Mildred
Mhoon, small simple married
woman who really did not like the
stage.
Dressed, she had descended to the
hateful lobby again to meet Mayne.
Tam could hardly speak; she had
tried to smile, but the April tears had
dazzled in her eyes instead Every
thing was ending, he was going away;
life had tasted of ashes in her mouth.
CT
our last dinner this way. But it seems
as if everything is over, and I'm
going to be so lonely"
Everything isn't over at all, my
dear. Are those fresh Eastern
oysters?" Mayne had said, confer
ring with the waiter. mo, YOU
mustn't feel like that, TAM" he had
continued, pushing his table cutlery
right and left with a characteristic
movement of his fine, big, well
groomed hands. You'll come down
to Hollywood and III show you the
sights
Eyes, but When?"
"Oh, we'll arrange that. I have to
see Berman first and find out what
the old boy wants me to do, and then
Ill know where I am. You know
you'll only get yourself nervous worry
ing about things, Tam There's moth
ing to worry about"
The girl had looked down at her
oysters without seeing them, had
spoken in shaken low voice:
Are you being quite fair to me,
Mayne?"
Mayne had answered quickly.
lightly, with the maddening air of
the untouched male arguing with the
eternally weak and wailing woman:
L kinder - hate that - kinder
talk! Forget it, Tam. Only remem-
Der" he had said, with change to a
practical and bracing tone-"only re-
member that I'm terribly fond of you,
and that we've had wonderful time
together. and that we're. always going
to be good friends"
Easy for you" she had muttered
thickly. Of all banal phrases, of all
incredible phrases to issue from the
lips of Tamara Todhunter.
Forget it," he had said again
hardly, as she had hesitated, not
knowing how to go on. In another
month you'll be rehearsing a new
show. and it'll be different in your
mind. Why, come, Tam" he had
rallied her kindly. I don't like you
one bit when you gloom this way
and regret things and null over
things. Cheer up. baby Look at your
apple pie, isn't that enough to cheer
any one?"
And this was the man she had
thought, who had murmured to her
over so many happy luncheons, over
so many memorable tea tables: Il
adore you because you're such a little
puritan, Tam. There's something
sacred about you to me-"
Time" he had said to her now
time does everything, my dear. After
little while all these things will fall
into their right proportions, and you'll
find yourself thinking kindly of me
again"
And it had been on that note that
they had parted, the man serene and
aftectionate and admonitory, in his
big soft coat, with his handsome lug
gage piled in his compartment, his
friends shouting congratulatory good
bys, the girl silent, preserving in her
humiliation and helplessness what
dignity she could.
Perhaps time would help. Tam
chung to that one hope as the weeks
went by, and the letters that were
worse than no letters came so SPAR
1ngly from the South.
If 1t had been really love-" Tam
would say to herself, as she restlessly
tramped the streets of the city, turn
ing corners, climbing hills, looking
bllndly into Chinatown windows, and
slipping into dark churches to sit
apathetlc and vague, not praying,
not thinking, only duly conscious of
being alive at all. If it really had
been great passion, if he and I had
decided to risk the talk, risk the con-
sequences, as Persis and Joe did! But
he never pretended it was that-he
talked of our being together, but he
never said marriage, and I never
thought at all! There was no rea-
son-there's no reason now why we
shouldn't have been married
When she reached this point there
was singing memory she had to
try to forget. No use to let it live and
burn and enact itself over and over
again. She must forget it. She must
forget herself shyly smiling at him
had it been in Tacoma or Seattle or
Portland? - smiling and saying,
You're marrying into funny fam
lily. Mayne. You'll have to make I'D
your mind to like Mara and Coral and
Lance" and his quick startled look.
and his ready, We'll, all that can
wait until we get to town again,
can't it?"
Yes, but I'll have to tell them, tell
them we're going to be married." the
girl had stammered, a first finger
tip of ice at her heart And Mayne
had said earnestly, warningly: Don't
tell them anything, for heavens sake!
t. he "A