The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965, May 20, 1920, Image 2

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I 11 THE ROSE-GAR-1
DEN HUSBAND
By MARGARET WIDDEMER
Copyright, by J- P» L*wnncott Co.
i ■ a
St was Just then —« **rs- De
f3,„-.«er’a crisply spoken advice
came Phyllis was one of those peo
ple whose first unconscious Instinct
Is to obey an unspoken order. She
(bent blindly to Allan's lips, and kissed
<hlra with a child's obedience, then
(Straightened up, aghast. He would
think her very bold!
But he did not, for some reason.
JXt may have seemed only comforting
and natural to him, that swift child
ish kiss, and Phyllis's honey-colored,
■violet-scented hair brushing his face.
Men take a great deal without ques
tion as their rightful due.
The others closed around him then,
■welcoming him, laughing at the sur
prise and the way he had taken it,
telling him all about It as if every
thing wore as usual and pleasant as
possible, and the present state of
things had always been a pleasant
commonplace. And Wallis began to
cerve the picnic supper.
I
CHAPTER XI.
There wore trays and little tables,
Ahd the food Itself would have be
trayed a southern darky in the kitch
en If nothing else had. It was the
first meal Allan had eaten with any
•ne for years, and he found It so in
teresting as to be almost exciting.
IWaJlts took tlio plates invisibly away
When they were done, and they con
tinued to stay in their half-circle
About the fire and talk it all over.
Phyllis, tired to death still, had slid
to her favorite floor-seat, curled on
cushions and leaning against the
-couch-side. Allan could have touched
her hair with his hand. She thought
•f this, curled there, but she was too
tired to move. It was exciting to
%• near him, somehow, tired as she
was.
Most of the short evening was spent
celebrating the fact that Allan had
thrown something at Wallis, who was
■•called to tell the story three times
la detail. Then there was the house
to discuss, its good and bad points,
Its nearnesses and farnoaees.
"Let me tell you, Allan," said Mrs.
Do Guenther warmly at this point,
from her seat at the foot of the
Couch, "this wife of yours Is a won
der. Not many girls could have had
a house in this condition two weeks
after It was bought"
Allan looked down at the heap of
shining hair below him, all he could
•ee of Phyllis.
"Yes," he said considerably. "She
certainly Is."
▲t a certain slowness In his tone,
Phyllis sprang up. "You must be
•tired to death!" she said. ‘It must be
•early It. Do you feel worn out?"
»
Before he could say anything, Mrs.
De Guenther had also risen, and was
•weeping away her husband.
"Of course he Is," she said decisive
ly. "What have we all been think
ing of? And we must go to bed, too,
Albert, If you Insist on taking that
early train In the morning, and I Insist
•n going with you. Good-night, chil
dren.”
vt ama u»u ulus uuio,
mnd was wheeling Allan from the
room before he had a chance to say
much of anything but good-night.
The De Guenthers talked a little long
mr to PhylHs, and were gone also
Thyllia flung herself full-length on
the rugs and pillows before the fire,
•do tired to move further.
Well, she had everything that she
bod wished for on that wet February
4ay In the library. Money, leisure to
be pretty, a husband whom she
■^didn’t have to associate with much,”
vest, if she ever gave herself leave
<d take It, and the rose-garden. She
bad her wishes, as uncannily fulfilled
ns if she had been ordering her fate
from a department store, and had
money to pay for it. . . . And
back there In the city it was some
bod y'y late night, and that some
body—It would be Anna Black’s turn,
wouldn't It?—was struggling with
Jfehn Zanowrkis and Sadie Rabino
witzes by the lapful. Just as she had.
And yet—and yet they had really
cared for her. those dirty, dear little
foreigners of her. But she'd had to
work for their liking. . . . Per
haps—perhaps she could make Allan
Harrington like her as much as the
children did. He had been so kind to
night about the move and all, and so
much brighter, her handsome Allan in
his gray, evety-day-looking man
clotlies! If she* could stay brave
enough and kind enough and bright
enough . . her eyelids drooped.
. . . Wallis was standing respect
fully over her.
“Mrs. Harrington," he was saying,
with a really masterly Ignoring of her
attitude on the rug, "Mr. Harrington
sayfe you haven't bid him good-night
yet."
An amazing message! Had she
been in the habit of It, that he de
manded it like a small boy? But she
sprang up and followed Wallis Into
Allan's room. Ho was lying back In
his white silk sleeping things among
the white bed-draperies, looking as
he always had before. Only, he seemed
too alive and awake still for his old
role of Crusader-on-a-tomb.
“Phyllis,” he began eagerly, as she
sat down beside him, "what made you
so frightened when I first came?
Wallis hadn’t worried you, had he?
"Oh, no; it wasn't that at all," said
Phyllis. "And thank you for being so
generous about It all.”
“I wasn't generous," said her hus
band. "I behaved like everything
to old Wallis about it.—Well, what
was it, then?”
“I—I—onlv—vou looked so differ
ent in clothes,” pleaded Phyllis, “like
any man my age or older—as If you
might get up and go to business, or
play tennis, or anything, and—and I
was afraid of you! That's all, truly!"
She was sitting on the bed’s edge,
her eyes down, her hands quivering
in her lap, the picture of a school-girl
who isn't quite sure whether she’s
been good or not.
"Why, that sounds truthful!" said
Allan, and laughed. It was the first
time she had heard him, and she gave
a start. Such a clear, cheerful, young
laugh! Maybe he would laugh more
by and by, If she worked hard to
make him.
"Goed-night, Allan," she said.
“Aren't you going to kiss me good
night?" demanded this new Allan,
precisely as if she had been doing it
ever since she met him. Evidently
that kiss three hours ago had created
a precedent Phyllis colored to her
ears. She seemed to herself to be
always coloring now. Bat she must
n’t cross Allan, tired as he must bel
“Good-night Allan," she said again
sedately, and kissed his cheek as
she had done a month ago—years
ago!—when they had been married.
Then she fled.
“Wallis,” said his master dreamily
when his man appeared again, "I want
some more real clothes. Tired of
sleeping-suits. Get me some, please.
As for Phyllis, In her little green
and-white room above him, she was
crying comfortably Into her pillow.
She had not the faintest Idea why,
except that Bhe liked doing It. She
felt, through her sleepiness, a faint,
hungry, pleasant want of something,
though she hadn't an idea what It
could be. She had everything, ex
cept that it wasn't time for the roses
to be out yet. Probably that was
the trouble. . . . Roses . . She,
too, went to sleep.
‘‘How did Mr. Allan pass the
night?” Phyllis asked Wallis anxi
ously, standing outside his door next
morning. She had been up since 7,
speeding the parting guests and in
terviewing the cook and chamber
maid. Mrs. Clancy's choice had been
cheerful to a degree, and black, all of
it; a fat \ irginla cook, a slim young
Tuskegee chambermaid of a pale
saddle-color and a shiny brown out
door man who came from nowhere
in particular nut wa3 very useful
now he was here. Phyllis had seen
them all this morning and found
them everything servants should be.
Now she was looking after Allan as
her duty was.
Wallis beamed from against the
door-post, his tray in his hands.
“Mrs. Harrington, it's one of the
best sleeps Mr. Allan’s had! Four
hours straight, and then sleeping still,
if broken, till 6! And still taking
interest in things. Oh, ma’am, you
should have heard him yesterday on
the train, as furious as furious! it
was beautiful!”
“Then his spine wasn’t jarred,” said
Phyllis thoughtfully. “Wallis, I be
lieve there was more nervous 3hock
and nervous depression than ever tljg
doctors realized. And 1 believe all
he needs us to be kept happy, to be
much, much better. Wouldn’t it be
4ft
wonderful if he got so he could move
freely from the waist up? I believe
that may happen if we can keep him
cheered and interested.”
Wallis looked down at his tray.
“Yes, ma'am," he said. “Not to speak
ill of the dead, Mrs. Harrington, the
late Mrs. Harrington was always say
ing 'My poor stricken boy,’ and things
like that—‘Do not jar him with ill
uineu iigm or merriment, ana re
minding him how bad he was. And
she certainly didn’t jar him with any
merriment, ma’am.”
"What were the doctors thinking
about?” demanded Phyllis indig
nantly. •
“Well, ma’am, they did all sorts of
things to poor Mr. Allan for the first
year or so. And then, as nothing
helped, and they couldn't find out
what was wrong to have paralyzed him
so, he begged to have them stopped
hurting him. So we haven’t had one
for the past five years."
“I think a masseur and a wheel
chair are the next things to get,” said
Phyllis decisively. “And remember,
Wallis, there’s something the matter
with Mr. Allan's shutters. They won’t
always close the sunshine out as
they should."
Wallis almost winked. If an elderly,
mutton-chopped servitor can be im
agined as winking.
“No, ma’am,” he promised. “Some
thing wrong with ’em. “I’ll remem
ber, ma’am.”
Phyllis went singing on down the
sunny old houses swinging her col
ored muslin skirts and prancing a
little with sheer Joy of being 25, and
prettily dressed, with a dear house
ail her own, and—yes—a dear Allan
a little her own, too! Doing well for
a man what another woman has done
badly has a perennial Joy for a cer
tain type of woman, and this was
what Phyllis was in the very midst
of. She pranced a little more, and
came almost straight up against a
long old mirror with gilt cornices,
which had come with the house and
was staying with it Phyllis stopped
and looked critically at herself.
“I haven’t taken time yet to be
pretty," she reminded the girl In the
Bioaa, turn u<c&*%u mtui iuiu uiero VO
take account of stock, by way of
beginning. Why—a good deal had
done ltselfl Her hair had been
washed and sunned and sunned and
washed about every 10 minutes since
she had been away from the library.
It was springy and three shades
more golden. She bad not been rush
ing out In alj weathers unveiled, nor
- I
washing hastily with hard water and
cheap library soap eight or 10 times
a day, because private houses are
comparatively clean places. So her
complexion had been getting hack,
unnoticed, a good deal of its original
country rose-and-cream, with a little
gold glow underneath. And the tired
heaviness was gone from her eyelids,
because she had scAcely used her
eyes since she had married Allan—
there had been too much else to do!
The little frown lines between the
brows had gone, too, with the need
of reading-glasses and work under
electricity. She was more rounded,
and her look was less intent. The
stroined library teacher look was
gone. The lumnious long blue eyes In
the glass looked back at her girlishly.
“Would you think we were 25 even?"
they said. Phyllis smiled irrepressi
bly at the mirrored girl.
“Yas'm" said the rich and comfor
table voice of Illy-Anna, the cook.
from the dining-room door; "y<Hi
sholy is pretty. Yas'm—a lady wants
to stay pretty when she's married.
Yo’ don’ look much mo'n a bride,
ma’am, an' dat’a a fac’. Does you
want yo' dinnehs brought into de sit
tin'-room regular till de gem-man
gits well?”
"Yes—no—yes—for the present, any
way," said Phyllis, with a mixture of
confusion and dignity. Fortunately
the doorbell chose this time to ring.
A business-like young messenger
with a rocking crate wanted to speak
to the madam. The last item on Phyl
lis’s shoping list had come.
‘‘The wolfhound’s doing fine,
ma'am,” the messenger answered in
response to her questions. “Dike a
different dog already. All he needed
was exercise and a little society.
Yes’m, this pup’s broken—in a man
ner, that is. Your man picked you
out the best-tempered little feller in
the litter. Here, Foxy—careful, lady!
Hold on to his leash!"
There was the passage of the check,
a few directions about dog-biscuits,
and then the messenger from the
kennels drove back to the station, the
crate, which had been emptisd of a
wriggling six-months black bull-dog
on the geat beside him.
CHAPTER XH.
Allan, lying at the window of the
sunny bed-room, and wondering if
they had been having springs like this *
all the time he had lived in the city,
heard a scuffle outside the door. His
wife’s voice inquired breathlessly of
Wallis, "Can Mr. Allan—see me?
. . . Oh, gracious—don’t, Foxy, you
little black gargoyle! Open the door,
or—-shut it—quick, Wallis!”
But the door, owing to circum
stances over which nobody but the
black dog had any control, flew vio
lently open here, and Allan had a fly
ing vision of his wife, flushed, laugh
ing, and badly mussed, being railroad
ed across the room by a prancingly
exuberant French bull at the end
of a leash.
"He’s—he’s a cheerful dog," panted
Phyllis, trying to bring Foxy to an
chor near Allan, “and X don’t think
he knows how to keep still long
enough to pose across your feet—he
wouldn’t become them anyhow—he’s
a real man-dog, Allan, not an interior
decoration. . . . Oh, Wallis, he
has Mr. Allan's super! Foxy, you
little fraud! Did him want a drink,
angel-puppy?”
“Did you get him for me, Phyllis?”
asked Allan when the tumult and the
shouting had died, and the caracoling
Foxy had buried his hideous little
black pansy-face In a costly Belleek
dish of water.
"Yes,” gasped Phyllte from her fa
vorite seat, the floor; "but you need
n’t keep him unless you want to. I
can keep him where you’ll never see
him—can’t I, honey-dog-gums? Only
I thought he'd be company for you,
and don’t you think he seems—
cheerful T’
Allan threw his picturesque head
back on the cushions, and laughed
and laughed.
“Cheerful!" he said.j “Most as
suredly! Why—thank you, ever so
much, Phyllis. You’re an awfully
thoughtful girl. I always did like
bulls—had one in college, a Nelson.
Come here, you little rascal!"
• He whistled, and the puppy lifted
Its muzzle from the water, made a
dripping dash to the SStich. an3
scrambled up oVet Allah as Ir they
had owned each other since birth.
Never was a dog less weighed down
by the glories of ancestry.
Allan pulled the flopping bat-ears
with his most useful hand, and asked
with Interest, "Why on earth did
they call a French bull Foxy?"
“Yee, sir," said Wallis. “I under
stand, sir, that he was the most ac
tive and playful of the litter, and
chewed up all his brothers’ ears, sir.
And the kennel people thought it
was so 6lever that they called him
Foxy."
“The best-tempered dog in the lit
ter!" cried Phyllis, bursting into help
less laughter from the floor.
(To be continued next week.)
Sir Aukland Campbell Geddes is
opposed to the adoption of the metric
system by England as he says it
would cause much confusion in the
textile Industry, which composes 30
per cent of their export Industry.
PE-RU-NA
. and MANAI .IN Cured
Blra. E. M. Hams, R. R. CtUrrh 0f,i*
No. 3, Ashland, Wis., sends N0,e ti,,-..
a message of cheer to the wd
‘‘After following your advice ~ ~ "
and using Peruna and Manalin, I my work and am in good
wan eared of catarrh of the none, health. I recommend thin vain
*hj®at and stomach, from which *hle remedy to all suffering from
I had suffered for several years. a°y disease of the stomach.”
When I commenced taking Pe- ^
run* I could not make my bed Peruna Is Sold Bverywher
without otop»lng to rent. Now I Liquid or Tablet Form
The Right Way
In All cases of •
DISTEMPER, PINKEYE
INFLUENZA, COLDS, ETC.
of all horses, brood mares, colts
and stallions is to
“SPOHN THEM”
on the tongue or in the feed with
SPOHN’S DISTEMPER COMPOUND
Give the remedy to all of them. It acts
on the blood and glands. It routs the
disease by expelling the germs. It
wards off the trouble, no matter how
they are “exposed." A few drops a day
prevent those exposed from contract
ing disease. Contains nothing injuri
ous. Sold by druggists, harness deal
ers or by the manufacturers. 60
and *1.15 per bottle. AGENTS WANT
ED.
SPOHN MEDICAL COMPANY. GOSHEN, INC.
ANNUAL TIME OF TROUBLE I AS IT APPEARED TO HIM
Housecleaning Date May Change, bul
Its Consequences Can by No
Means Be Avoided.
Houseclenning Is one o? tlie spring
festivals that has no fixed date, beinf
movable on the domestic calendar. II
is observed in many places follovtinf
the close of the Lenten season, when
the first crocus lias bloomed its wel
come to the returning birds, when the
grass shows green, the sun mount?
higher each day and the buds art
puffed up with ambition to clothe tret
and shrub in summer garb. . . .
It's close at iiand, may be celebrated
now as eacli domestic circle elects
and may be expected to show many ol
tlie characteristics of the olden days
Men should not grumble when the fes
tival Is in progress. They get the eas
iest pfirt. They may have difficulty in
locating what they want, but they are
in it only part of tlie time; the home
folks are there all the time. It Is one
time of tlie year when the men folks
Prosperous Martinique.
The number of manufacturing in
dustries in Martinique has been in
creasing, although most of the (Sants
are small. The factories in operation
are 15 sugar factories, 114 rum dis
tilleries, eight lime kilns, one factory
for canning pineapples, one factory
where chocolate powder and coco but
ter are made, one factory for r*;.#en
tary pastes, two ice factories, two
forges and foundries, one copper shop,
one tile, terra cotta-and brick factory
It gaseous water factories and four
printing houses.
Billions of Tons of New Fuel.
For the production of cheap electric
power, briquettes and certain by-prod
ucts the government of Victoria is
planning to develop immense deposits
of brown coal, estimated to exceed
20,000,000,000 tons.
Taken in the Other Sense.
Miss Mugg—I think you are just
beautiful, my dear.
Miss Bute (modestly)—That’s where
we differ.—Boston Transcript.
Most people want justice for the
purpose of passing It on to those who
seed It.
mUauMtmtMaamaeKmmmmtEem1ss^aaasrmsmF^^0*^rssssss^aos«s., win h mmmziaassi
For Every Home
A table drink that refreshes,
but leaves no after-depression—
Postum |
Much used nowadays instead of coffee
as a breakfast beverage because of its
similarity in flavor to coffee, but with g
entire absence of ill effect, since Postum
contains no “caffeine.”
Instant Postum is made quickly In
the cup, with economy as well as con
venience.
Sold by Grocers Everywhere
by POSTUM CEREAL CO., Inc.
BATTLE CEE BE. MICHIGAN
Hubby Had No Difficulty at All in
*" Classifying His Wife as
Species of Tree.
They are a husband and wife who
have many quarrels. And she is not
a fair antagonist, because she always
weeps during every quarrel in order to
win her point. The other night she
brought home a new fur hat winch
she proudly exhibited to her husband,
who did not like it, and proceeded to
stay so. “Why, it looks queer to even
the dog,” lie ended. “Look how lie’s
barking at it. He thinks it is a coon
in a tree."
“Don’t you call me a tree,” sh«
stormed, and then began to cry. “1
suppose you're going to say next that
I'm either a quince or persimmon
tree.”
“No,” lie smiled blandly. “1 should
think a weeping willow would lie a
more appropriate name.”
Seventy to a House.
Warsaw is probably one of t he
most densely populated cities in tlie
world. Its growth in area lias beet
retarded by tlie fact that under t tic
Russian regime certain fixed city lim
its were drawn many years ago. and
for military reasons no houses were
to be built outside of those limits. In
a recent census it was found that
flie number of inhabitants to a build
ing in Warsaw was about 70. as com
pared with only seven or eight in
London.
Strength in Faith.
It is tlie man or the woman of faith
ami hence of courage, who is tlie mas
ter of circumstances, and who makes
bis or her power felt in tlie world. It
is tlie man or tlie woman who lacks
faith and who as a consequence is
weakened and crippled by fears and
foreboding who is tlie creature of
alt pass'eg occurances.—Exchange.
Embryo Politician.
“Mother,” said little Ray in an ag
grieved tone, “you have no constitu
tional right to send me to bed without
my supper.”
“What do you mean, Raymond?’”
"You are exercising rule without the
consent of the governed.”—Bostoa
Transcript.