Evening star., 1939-08-13

too. Gould we manage it now, Dad?"
This happened after the Carberys
were back in New York. The lad
seemed to be showing real interest;
real determination to carry on
His jumpy nerves soothed, his defec-
tive heart full of new happiness, and
his puttyish skin covered with
Mediterranean tan, Willis no longer
looked like a man under sentence of
death. His general condition has i'm
proved about 1OO%," DR.. Gum told
Muriel 1T would be difficult to say
how much we may have added to his
life"
Muriel was surprised at her own
reaction to this simple statement. The
death sentence itself had left her sad
dened, but calm; someone who had
been close to her once was going to die
in a year. Now three months of that
year had slipped past, and the some
one who was to die had become, not
only part Of her past, but most of her
present, and desperately essential to
her future. What terrible thing it
would have been if Willis had died on
the day of his collapse, and they
hadn't been given this year of growing
together again - this very dear year
that would be over so soon unless she
and the children could prolong it.
All three we're doing their utmost to
that end, and all three were trying to
fill what remained of their time to-
gether with moments to be happily
remembered. Judson was so anxious to
relieve his father of business cares that
Willis encouraged him by spending
more and more of each day at home.
Moreover, now there was always
something to do when he reached
there. Willis hadn't dined alone in the
library, or with Forbes" since their
return from the cruise, nor been
dragged out to noisy and exhausting
parties with people who meant nothing.
Dick Gum and other old friends
came to the Carberrys for dinner occa-
sionally, and John Lawler came fire.
quently. Windsor dropped in for
cocktails once or twice, and was so
obviously second rate beside Lawler -
so obviously Windy" and empty of
everything but cocktails. and himself,
and equally small matters - that
Carol wondered what on earth she had
ever seen in the boy.
DR.. Gum had told Muriel it was
her job and the children's to give
Willis some interests outside his busi-
ness. That had been bit hard, at
first. GO to the opera?" Willis had
snorted Good heavens. no! What
for?" But to his amazement he had
enjoyed Carmen" and "Boheme.
and now was taking Strauss and
"Rosenkavalier" in his stride.
With summer approaching. he found
himself planning to spend all of July
and August at the shore. For twenty
years the family had hot-weathered at
their house on Long Island. and Willis
had come down for infrequent week
ends, but now Lawler had revived his
boyhood enthusiasm for sailing, and
he and John and Carol had bought a
spanking little one-sticker that prom
ised days of sheer delight in the Great
South Bay.
Willis had rediscovered life just as
he was about to lose it, but remained
mercifully ignorant of the latter fact
until one dreadful afternoon, when he
had walked home rather briskly, and
toppled over in his own doorway.
Forbes got him into the library and
there he revived, to find Muriel Sob
bing and Carol, white and scared. AS
he was about to lift his head and
protest that he was all right and they
weren't to bother, Willis distinctly
heard Muriel whisper to Carol: 'Dr.
Gum gave him year. was so sure
the doctor was wrong, but now