Evening star., 1941-03-16

Henry's frown deepened. The thought of
frailty where he had always looked for sta
biity left him more than ever in need of solid
ground And he intended to reach it. Isn't
there some other reason?" he probed
Mavis's laugh was like baTicade. ''If
there were" she said, lit would be purely
personal one"
Henry stfened in his chair The stricken
glance he gave her seemed to imply that she
was making an effort to shut him out of her
life And you don't care to discuss it?'
Mavis began to wonder what all the shoot
ing was about. mot until ] see if it can de-
eide problem for me-" she answered.
That reply left Henry more silent than
ever. Every woman he assumed, had a closed
room in her heart, a twiit chamber of expe-
rience where even the best of husbands
would only be an intruder. But Mavis had
seemed different from the others. She pos
sessed sense of humor, it was true, that
sometimes provided her with laughter where
he could see no cause for laughter. 1t was
her years abroad, he suspected, that had en-
dowed her with that Gallo tendency to
camouflage her true feelings behind lightly
raised shield of levity. That year in Venice,
where she pretended to work so hard at her
art, must have tainted her with Latin
lightness of looking at things.
xHE sudden thought of Italian moonlight
and gliding gondolas and guitar music in
flower scented darkness hung a weight of
lead on his honest American heart. He real
lied that the woman across the table from
him was in world of her own, a world filled
with thoughts and memories denied him.
What are you doing after dinner" he
asked, chilled by the thought that an obong
of damask could sometimes be as wide as
an ocean.
Il thought of going to Sardi's with the
Southams."
There was something in her voice, some
thing in her manner, that made him doubt
her. He even wondered why he had always
SO bllndly accepted her as inherently honest
Il suppose you're due back at the Office
tonight" his wife ventured as he put down
his coffee cup. There had been quite num-
Der of nights. of late when he was due back
at the Office.
Henry, staring across the table studied
the veiled amber eyes and the imperiously
curved mouth that had once had the power
to quicken his pulse. If she seemed beautiful
to him, he inwardly admitted, she must have
seemed beautiful to other men. The threat
of losing her gave her the charm of mystery
and uncertainty. For the first time in his life
he regarded her as perilouS, free, perhaps, of
ties which he had once foolshly considered
permanent. What had seemed like house cat
purring in a sunny window was turning into
a tigreSS pacing a cage.
mo, I'm not due at the office" Henry
retorted with decision. I'm free tonight
Henry, you starte me, Mavis said with
her hand on her heart.
He wondered why she laughed. But he
faced her with a fixed smile. Then I'm 60
ing to startle you more than ever" he pro-
claimed. You're going to phone the South
ans and cut Sardis. Then you and your
husband are going to step out. We're going
places and do things. And we'll begin
by hitting the Rainbow Room and see if we
can't shake some of the moth balls out of
our system
Mavis found her happiness, at that pro-
posa, tinged with perplexity. But, being
lady of discretion, she had no desire to look
a gift horse in the mouth. She made hay
while Henry shone at her side She liked the
music and the floor show and the twinling