The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1939-01-27
The Rains
Came

Continued From Page S
saw the figure Of 4 woman. wear
inE cheap ralncoat and soaked
and shspcless hat She was sit
ting with her back % the window.
for having heard the sound Of the
motor she had put down the Tat
Ter which she had been reading
and was watching the door
At the old Summer palace Lord
and Lady Esketh got down from
the purple Rolls-Royce and in
silence climbed the red carpet
which covered the marble stairs.
At the top they separated to go
10 their own rooms. and casually
Lady Esketh turned and said.
Good night" adding. Are you all
right You're not feeling ill.,"
He answered It's all right.
There's nothing the matter with
me but this damned heat and
these damned Indians want 10
get out of here tomorrow. Bonn
bay won't be any worse than this.
At least itll be a little more like
Europe. This is like living in
madhouse"
Whenever you like she said
I've had enough of India. never
want 10 see It again.
Ii was true that she had had
enough of India While she was
undressing she thought about it
indolently. allowing her mind 10
wander where it would, and pres
entity she came 10 the conclusion
that she might just as well never
have come at all.
For a moment she had an envy
of the dizziness of the lives of all
those little people who carried on
the work of governing India, envy
even of the lives of the families
of little clerks in suburbs every
where in the world. Their lives
could scarcely be duller than her
own. but it was in any case diff
ferent dullness
And she suddenly experienced
an extraordinary feeling of loneli-
ness. as if she We're a sort of spirit
living in the world but without
any contact with it, shadow
without substance or reality.
Had He Found Anything:
Thinking about Tom Ransome.
she admired him because long ago
in the very midst of it he had
turned his back on the life to
which he had been born and made
an effort to find something else.
What he had found or whether
he had found anything at all she
did not know. but at least he had
tried and that was something 1t
was too late now for her to make
an attempt to escape, even if the
desire persisted until morning.
She had no illusions about herself;
she would rather go on putting up
with Esketh than make the effort
it required to escape
When she had got into her peig-
nor she gave all the bracelets to
her maid and said, Good night,
Parker. That's all"
Me lady looks tired"
4 am a bit. Its the heat and
the dampness. III be glad to go
to Cannes"
Then when Parker had gone she
was aware that the door leading
to Eskeths apartment had been
opened and the light was shining
in, and Esketh himself came in
wearing the dressing gown he
hated. She had given it to him at
Christmas four years before, think
ing that it would please him, and
she had succeeded only too well.
1t had been cleaned countless
times and was worn and shabby.
but he would not be separated
from it.
The Snobbish Caste system
Without speaking he came over
to the bed and, lifting the mosquito
netting, sat on the end of it. She
meant to say. Go away, please
60 away just tonight but in the
next moment she saw that he did
not mean to stay. He looked i'll
and sullen at the corners of his
heavy jaw there We're little knots
Of hard muscles which always
came there when he meant TO
make a scene.
He said, "Edwina, who is this
fellow Ransome -
You know him perfectly well.
He's Nolham's brother. You've
even met him yourself, years ago"
II never occurred to her that he
might suspect the whole truth.
for he was always making scenes
like this. nearly always about men
like Ransome, who gave him
sense Of inferiority; he did not
mind her friendship with sporting
men. II was that eternal, inverted
snobbery Of his. that hatred of
any one born with the things he
had never achieved and would
never be able to achieve. That"
she thought, is how the caste
system works al home"
You seem very friendly with
him"
i used to know him very well.
We We're friends in London just
after the war ! haven't seen him
for nearly fifteen years
He set his jaw little harder:
Where has he been since then ?"
i don't know. Wondering about
the world He's living here now"
BY choice p"
BY desire"
He must be a damned fool"
! don't think so. He's been try
ing TO straighten himself out
What's the matter with him?
What has he got 70 strsighten
out"
It's not a very interesting story.
- c,,ss FL 3.