The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1937-11-11

lighting up the date with moe
july "a! His wedding day.
Three months ago that date hao
seemed so vague. SO safely tucKeo
away in the future!
Graham groaned and closed his
eyes. How could he tell Ann what
he had planned last night, in his
wakeful desperation. to tell her?
How face her candid blue eyes
her gay tenderness, with the bru'
tai statement that he had changed
his mind-he wasn't being mar
ried today, thank you!
No! He couldn't do it. He'd
have to see it through.
With desperate logic, he mar.
shalled facts against fears.
He was being ridiculous Prob
ably any confirmed bachelor of
40 would feel this way before TAX
ing the fatal plunge.
LUCKY MAN
If ever a man was lucky, he was.
Nothing could be more suitable
than this marriage. Ann was 80,
the only child of one of the lead
ing men of the town. She was not
only pretty and attractive, but in
telligent into the bargain.
Lucky? OF course he was lucky.
Wasn't every one crazy about
Ann? Look at Tom Runyon, who
had always been something of
woman hater. 1t had been all Ora
ham could do to persuade him to
come on and be his best man.
Ann had even charmed Tom.
She could do anything with peo-
pie. With her for a wife, he'd
never stay in rut.
i. He might easily find himself the
head of the English department
In few years, if not the head of
the university!
What more could a humble pro-
feSSor ask?
Assuring himself that he could
ask nothing more, Graham
groaned again.
n The bitter truth was, that he
was not cut out for matrimony
He liked being confirmed bache-
Tor. He liked his rut. All he asked
was to be let alone in it.
T. That spring night three months
ago when Ann and he had slipped
out from the dance to the terrace
of the Faculty Club had destroyed
him to utter madness.
To think that he, Graham
Keene, So poised and wary with
women, could have been swept
off his feet by the combination
Of moon, the scent of apple
blossoms and Ann!
>. All through the period of the
engagement he'd become more
and more convinced that he'd
never be able to cope with AIMS
energy, her sweeping buoyancy.
- Even now, before they were
married. she exhausted him, be-
SIDES grating frightfully on his
nerves at times.
TRYING HABIT
Graham's brows drew together
at the thought of AIMS trying
habit of being careless with her
speech.
Little things, CT course, but ex-
cruciatingly annoying to a per-
fectionist, as Graham proudly ad-
tnitted he was.
= If he'd asked her once not to
mix up her corlparatives and su-
perlativeS, he'd asked her a dozen
times.
:. He'd been very patient trying
tc straighten her out. Not every
one had a flare for English, but
Ann was intelligent enough to
learn.
If he approached the subject
lightly, humorously-but although
Graham would have been the last
to admit it, his humor was never
light.
Darling" he had said, "if you
were in one of my classes I'd GER
tainly have to funk you out.
:. How did you ever get through
school without learning that you
use the comparative when refer
ring to two objects. and the super
lative with three or more?"
* MY getting through school was
pure luck" Ann had blown him
teasing kiss "but at least know
that you're superlatively nice and
I'm comparatively stupid. Who
says that isn't a good basis for
matrimony?"
= Just like that. No serious under
standing of the Importance of
holding up the standards Of the
language.
= Graham'S cheeks grew hot at
the sudden memory of having said
something about that failing of
AIMS to Tom last night. Not very
gallant, that!
w "Ann's wonder" he had said,
s"but I hope she won't go on muir
dering the Kings English after
we're married.
81 "How anyone with her back.
ground can use like as a con-
junction, and say, the largest of
the two is beyond me-"
Graham squirmed at the
thought of the uncomfortable
pause that had followed.
", "A good many people do" Tom
had finally answered, with dry
diSapproVal.
BIG RISK