The Washington times., 1938-04-21

!-Marcella, Gloria, Isabel
everything but this woman who
needed him.
Miraculously she was now alive.
THE MATERNITY WARD
He turned quickly down the
corridor, past the closed doors be-
:. hind which lay women-happy
women, women in pain, excited
women and disappointed ones. In
the nursery one infant awoke ana
screamed for food and then there
was a deafening chorus-29 babies
crying all at once. Peter grinned.
1t was a sound he loved, a sound
very dear to his heart. He thought,
suddenly.
This Is living" and he
felt closer, somehow, to Gloria
than he had ever felt-and very
far removed from that man who
had once loved Isabel. And that
was, he thought, because he had
seen Isabel again.
Peter turned abruptly into
Wing A. His long legs were carry
ing him swiftly and noiselessly
down the long corridor. One cor.
ner of his mouth was lifted in a
half smile at his thoughts. That
the nurses, grouped at the CORR
dor desk, were talking about him,
he knew, for their eyes were upon
him, curiously.
And he thought, shyly proud,
that it was because he had saved
Mrs. Meredith when it seemed
that nothing could possibly save
her. He was too far away from
the desk to catch what they were
saying. He missed completely the
whispered phrases:
you can't tell me Mrs. Kent
was parked in the woods to talk
about the Chinese situation or
anything like that!"-"I was 500
surprised! Mrs. Kent looks like
a perfect wife!'-"Aw, cut 1t.
Rodney Callman is her brother.in.
law! Take your minds out Of the
gutter!"
Peter went in Room 204, shifting
brightly. Mrs. Kirby Rockwell
was lying quietly on the bed, q
newspaper across her knees, a
small white handkerchief dab
bling at her eyes. 1t was her third
day and she was obviously having,
Peter thought, what the nurses
called the usual maternity
weeps."
Peter said, making his presence
known: Nov, now, what's all
this about, Mrs. ROCKWELL"
PETER SEES PAPER
"Oh, DR.. Kent :" she said,
family.
J, Peter stood for a moment BAT.
: fled by her tears. Instead Of his
: presence ending her weepS she
was really sobbing now.
Peter said, genuinely sympa-
thetic: Now look here, this is no
, morning for tears. Look at that
5 sunlight. Did you ever see such
a beautiful day? And remember
what you have down in the nur,
Sery! Nine pounds Of man-chi!d
with the best pair Of lungs in the
hospital"
Mrs. Rockwell went on weeping,
silently, helplesSly.
Then suddenly, Peter wasn't see
ing Mrs. Rockwell at all. His
gray eyes were on the newspaper
across her lap. He was feeling
his heart give a lurch, hot and
quick and painful For Gloria
stared out at him from that front
page.
He picked up the paper in trem
bling, icy hands. He read Of the
holdup, of Gloria and Rodney hav-
ing run out of gas in the woods
on Willow Lane; of their walking
to Harper's Store for gas; Of
! Gloria's screams turning the
holdup into a muddled Illustration.
He thought sickly, as the whole
| city was probably thinking-cer-
tainly as the nurses who had
: stared at him so curiously, and
: Mrs. Rockwell who was weeping,
, were thinking-"Why was Gloria
in the woods with Rodney Call
man."
He thought: She still love-
him, of course. She wouldn't have
been out with him unless she loved
him. How miserable she must
have been with me loving him
like this meeting him clan,
destinely and all the time I
thought, I hoped ;"
WANTS THE ANSWERS
And running through his aching
: heart was a fine, knife edged an
ger. If she still loved Rodney, il
! her marriage was distasteful to
her, why hadn't she told him?
, Why had she done this?
> Mrs. Rockwell's special came
, briskly to the door. She had
=, squirming little bundle of pink
humanity in her arms.
D.. ITO Be Continued