Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1941-10-31

afford a husband whether he
worked or not, but that hurt
Charles pride and he was just
about to take a job in a mems fur
lnishings store rather than remain
idle when the family conclaved,
quarreled, cogitated and made him
Ipresident-this time-of the street
car company.
Look, they said in effect, this is
really important job, but we own
all the stock in the company and
we'll see you through.
There had been rows about the
street car company. What was
needed was a good businessman
and a diplomat. Charlie would
have made an excellent clerk in
such a mans office, but as the
boss himself he was nowhere. He
fivvered from the jump.
BUT SHE'S WRONG
In spite of certain disagree
ments, they all liked HMM fact,
you couldn't help liking him.
Gladys kept saying he had ability,
and they believed her. But Gladys
was wrong; he was little man
who wanted to stay little.
j He had by this time whatever
is the opposite of megalomania
HE was acutely and continuously
unhappy. And. too. ashamed. He
tSaw the pattern of his life now
Had learned about the four
broken engagements. He saw that
Gladys had needed and annexed
him.
1t might have been different If
they had had children, but none
came and now, behind their gen.
uine, mild conjugal affection, he
and Gladys-in that strange way
that married couples sometimes
have-disliked each other actively,
though both of them tried hard
not to show it.
Little Mary Dupree had moved
away. Her father and mother had
both died soon after Charles
marriage, and she had gone TO live
with an aunt in the West-no one
seemed to know just where.
She would have let Charlie re-
main small-and been small with
Ihim-and happy. He was bitter
now and miserable. But success
full. Built and cemented into the
arch of success in our town as a
brick among the other bricks.
Or so we thought.
We were wrong. Gladys died
and Charlie Rowland disappeared.
Disappeared like an icicle or a
cloud or a rainbow. He had been
there and he wasn't there any
more and that's all any Of us
knew about it for years and years
is of them, in fact. And then
Four of us-two couples-had
I Eon South Tor a 1elsure1y tour. We
stopped in old ST. Augustine. Be-
hind the ancient coquina rock fort
and across the street there is a
bit of vacant ground and on it as
we walked past stood a covered
wagon--the real thing, very old.
but in perfect repair and very
spruce and pleasant looking.
Near it were its means of loco
motions; two oxen. handsome
beasts, with well curried, glossy
coats, long, polished horns and
great tranquil eyes.
One munched peacefully at a
little pile of hay while the other
posed bestridden by a soldier boy
for a photograph that was being
taken by a smallish man in a
sombrero, with the covered wagon
for n background
The camera clicked. the soldier
boy dismounted, the man in the
sombrero said: Ready for you In
couple OF hours. You can pay
then" aHd-the fotr Of US stopped
in our tracks.
"Charliew we said. II hap
pened that we had all known
him we'll. "Charlie Rowland"
And so itwas.
He had bought a little house. he
said. in Mobile, because a survey
of comparative costs of living hac
shown il 10 be the cheapest place
in the United States. But the
wagon was even cheaper.
He rented the house and toured
certain seasons, visiting only those
IL l. n