Evening star., 1941-04-08

OlCUeQ. lley we're GlTeQ eyes UQdl
resented life, hated its disillusion-
ments; a young man with an old
mans eyes.
Tiny flakes of tobacco filtered
through his fingers as he filled his
pipe. His voice was hard, i'm
personal.
so that is your final decision?'
Eyes, Joe. I am going to get a
divorce. 1 can't stand it any longer
I'm through"
Anything especially wrong?"
Everything Is wrong. Nothing l
do or plan for you is ever right.
Her voice trailed off little un-
certainly as she realized that the
moment she had dreaded for SO
many weary months had come at
last with a swiftness that made the
irrevocable words catch in her
throat. She forced herself to go on
You are famous doctor, and
we have been married 10 years
A quiet authority in her voice fixed
his attention. Something inside OF
him, a mounting dread of all this
clear-eyed girl before him had seen
and understood, made him heSl-
tate. He was listening intently now.
During all these years you have
definitely avoided people who were
not connected in any way with your
professional interests. When you
are not in your laboratory or in the
hospital or consulting other doctors,
you are alone-you want to be
always alone
The man on the other side Of
the fireplace wheeled sharply with
a smothered exclamation. There
was a strange apprehension in his
eyes as he stared down at her.
That's because of my work. Too
many people want what I've Gre
sted," he insisted harshly.
The cold, dissecting keenness of
his eyes braced her for the answer
she knew was inevitable.
Devoted to Science.
MY whole life has been given to
working out my formula-the Starr
formula" His voice fingered over
the last three words. For him they
held special meaning all their own.
In that formula, as have told you
before, there is great fortune,
# I care to commercialize it, but
that is not the most important
thing" His voice grew harder. ut
represents at least beginning of
what may prove to be a winning
fight against cancer. 1t will ad-
vance medicine at least 100 years.
Nothing else counts"
Not even your wife"
Something twisted and hurt, deep
inside of him. Without warning, he
saw Sandra Starr, his wife, with a
sudden fierce possessive pride in
her beauty. Never had he been
more aware of it than at that very
moment. Her black hair had a
smooth, gistening sheen where the
freight touched its soft waves with
Pickering brightness. Against the
BACKGROUND of the loW-ceilinged
room, with its fine, old oak panels
and its shelves of well-used books,
the slender figure by the tea table
had all the quiet dignity and charm
of an Ingres portrait.
"Of course you count, Sandra.
But I have always reserved for
myself the right to live as please
and no questions asked. Why
can't you do the same thing? I
don't care what you do-and I can
not change"
The girl WINGED at his thrust but
gave no sign. Her voice was low
and she sounded very tired as she
answered him. Unfortunately life
is not as simple as that-not for
a man as famous as you are. And
there are other values that must be
considered as long as marriage re-
mains partnership, not just a
social convenience. I want what
every woman wants-the compan-
ionship and love of the man she
marrieS"
Sandra Is Angered.
The heavy silence that settled
between them was broken at last
by Joe's cool, deliberate voice
Are you in love with some one
else? Is it Mark Cotton?"
You know I am not in love with
any one" Her quiet answer carried
conviction. Love is word that
has had very little meaning for me
these last few years. You are the
only man I ever cared for"
Then it's the other way around
and he's in love with you,' Joe per-
To- tni ipoiE oil
derfoot Here practically all the
time"
How can you say thing like
that, Joe? He is your Oldest friend,
went TO Harvard with you. His
friendship means a great deal to
both of us. After all, I must have
8 little fun, 60 out sometimes. He
takes me places. You never do"
Then it must be Walker" Anger
1ared in his voice-anger that he
must say stupid things like this just
to ease little the intolerable hurt
that seemed to be taking the breath
of life out of him. Blame some
other man-any man but himself
for losing Sandra!
The girl looked up at him IN
smazement. Whatever is the mat
ter with you, Joe?" Her voice was
vibrant now with flaming indigna-
ton. That doesn't make any sense,
and you know it. Oliver Walker is
your laboratory assistant. I have
probably spoken to him on the tele-
phone exactly twice in the last six
weeks. In both instances he left
8 message from you saying you
would be late for dinner. l have
never seen him outside of your
Office or laboratory. You must be
losing your mind"
Concerned for Him.
Her words echoed in an odd still
ness that suddenly gripped both of
them, Sandra had a curious feel
ing that Joe was afraid of some
thing-something she did not un-
derstand. A long-forgotten idea
stirred far down in her memory.
1t went back through the years.
There had been a hint, not very
clearly outlined, that day they had
motored up the Hudson, soon after
4 l. J.