Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1942-03-13
Miss Hall Decides = Elizabeth jordan
oopyrisht: is47 By News Syndicate Co.. Inc
Patience Ceases to be
A Virtue When a Girl
Falls in Love.

lary's but not always as accurate. When
Bob was wrong, II he thought he was.
he admitted 1t. II not, he stuck to his
opinions and argued the matter out
He was often right but he was not in
fallible. as Hilary seemed to think he
himself was
Humbly Edna admitted this to her
self-but never to either of them She
had, with Hilary. little technique of
surprise when she finally accepted his
viewpoint. She knew that it annoyed
him, but 1t was the best weapon in her
little armory. and she used 1t ruthlessly
She rarely used 1t with Bob. 1t was not
necessary. He was ready to listen. to
reason, to admit himself wrong If in
the end he felt that he was in the
wrong.
That was a fine atmosphere for a
home, too. 1t was the one she was used
to. Her father and mother were rea-
sonable persons, with respect for each
others opinions and for hers Their
minds worked slowly but pretty accur-
ately. She could always count on them
to come round to it if they felt that
she was right.
She was now at work on Bob's small
ledger sheet. Reasonableness was his
note. ReaSonableneSS was a nice spirit
to have around ahouse-reasonablen
combined with Bob's cheerfulness. Hi
larry was reasonable-quite maddening-
ly so at times. So ready to consider pa
tiently another,s viewpoint, but so firm
ly convinced all the time that it was
wrong! His patience lay in pointing
out her mistakes, courteously but
firmly.
All the time Edna was deliberately
holding at bay the matter of emotion.
She was devoted to both men. Which
Of them did she want to marry and live
with and have children by? There had
been time when Hilary,s presence
had fired her blood. 1t rarely did that
now. because Hilary himself was so
calm, SO quiet, so deliberately matter
of-fact. He was on his guard every
minute he was with her, and she
knew 1t.
He did not intend to be swept off his
feet by moment of passion that might
disrupt all his plans. Yet when he had
been boy, taking her to husking bees
and sleighing parties. he had kissed
her goodnight with an ardor that she
had often carried into her dreams.
When he had felt that he was man,
which was when he had graduated and
gone to work, he had, to use his own
expression, put on the brakes" She
now admitted in this ledger summing
up, that this putting on the brakes had
not always been easy for him or for
her.
She also knew braking was not easy
for Bob. Bob kept the brakes on be-
cause he had no right to release them.
He had no reason to believe she loved
him. She was quite sure of that. He
was young man of excellent self
control but he kept the brakes on for
the sole reason that he was afraid to
release them. There had been moments,
many Of them of late, when she had
fully realized how hard it was for him
to do that-moments when he had
swung away from some unimportant
that he had startled her. He had sug-
gested cards, or book, or night
walk-but she had understood.
She drew a deep breath. The most
important question Of all was stand
ing at the gate Of her mind, waiting to
enter. Which Of the two men should
she choose as the father Of her chill
dren? She had always thought Hilary
would be an excellent father-wise, pa
tient devoted Bob would not be as wise
nor as patient, but he would be equally
devoted. She was sure of that She
knew that he liked children. OF what
else was she sure? Would he be as wise
In advising and directing children as
Hilary would be? Would he understand
children as well? Would he be as self
sacrificing as Hilary If self-Sacrifice
was called for? Hardly. In fact, she
doubted it very much.
Bob would be gay, cheerful, helpful,
informative-of that she was sure-and
that meant much to children. She could
see him taking his children to the sea-
shore, putting in a full day with them,
teaching them to swim, laughing with
them, romping with them, loving it all.
She could not see Hilary in such a
picture. Hilary would consider it a
waste of time. He might be with them,
but he would be interested in a book
or In some business document.
And now, finally, came the biggest
question of all. What qualities would
the two men pass on to their children?
Bobs children or some Of them at least,
would inherit his gaiety, his humor. his
love Of life, his sense of fair play, his
cleverness- compared with
Hilary's, perhaps. Inherent dignity,
brains and high standards of living
they would inherit from either man.
Also Hilary would pass on to his
children, his steadiness Of purpose, his
high personal standards, and-yes. his
dogmatism, his complacency. Against
these, there was Bob's excessive opti-
mism which worked against him as
often as 1t helped him, his tendency to
take life as a good deal Of joke. the
ittle-boy side of his nature which at
moments would call for cuddling and
understanding as definitely as the ma
lures Of his children would do. On the
other hand Bob was usually sure Of
himself; and Edna was convinced that
such certainty was half the battle Of
Life.
Best Of all, perhaps Bob would &C.
cept her IS a full partner in that bat
tie. He would discuss matters with her;
he would consult her; he would listen
to her and be openminded about her
Judgment. As his wife she would still
be an individual with an individuals