Evening Star Newspaper, May 4, 1930, Page 106

TTIIE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D. C, MAY 4, 1940, “That Is What I Would Do”’—2By Famnie Hurst A New Story From the Pen of the Highest = Paid Writer of Short Stories in the HEN Thomas Arden brought home Minnie Dupont as square stone house cupied as"a bachelor, have done so with his open to possible consequences, The consequences were, of body called. Within three marriage the area of silence around the Thomas Ardens was like a vast park affording them more privacy than they knew what to do with. ' Minnie was not accepted. The circles in further participation in them was concerned. Not that they had actually vanished.. The town in which Tom had praspered simply tumed a cold shoulder upon the advent of Minnie into Tom's life and resented what was regarded as outrage. Mm had what is known as an unsavory : reputation. That is, she was regarded among the men of the nearby town in which she had lived in a way that ostracized her from any possible intercourse with their wives and daughters. She was a big, dashing, gay blonde, rather too given to high colors, showy jewels and loud laughter.. After her fashion, she had been known as the toast of those quar- ters of her town where the wives and daughters never ventured. Eligible Tom Arden's marriage to her came as the proverbial clap of thunder. The com- munity gasped, gossiped, turned its back. Min- nie took up housekeeping in a home where for Minnie saw to it that, one way or " ‘Tom’s home was a source of constant to him. Her laughter rang in i, her handiwork transformed it, her skilifull cookery made its table an epicurean’s delight, and her the community, turned a cold shoulder, but most obvious. with which Minnie dominated the from every man in this town whose wife snubs “I wouldn't do that, dear. What does it matter? Now, this is what I would do: I'd go my way and not harbor resentment. Life is short and hard enough at best. Forgive.” ‘What could you do about a woman like that! dn’t sour her. Couldn't get her to admit a heart hurt or a snub. “Next time I see Lucy Ravenel on the street I'm going to walk up to her and tell her where “I wouldn't do that. This is what I would do: I'd ignore it and see if in time she doesn’t sort of come around to realization of how petty ftallis .. " Biless her. Didn’'t need a brick house to fall on Tom, as he put it to himself, {0 make him understand that inside she was hurting tomed Men and women alike had rallied around Tom didn’t need a brick house to fall on him to make him understand that inside she was hurting and aching and bluer than her beautiful eyes. queenship. In the large ajoining city, where she had reigned during the first 25 years of her life, she had come in for more than her share of acclaim. Tawdry acclaim, if you will, but the only sort she had ever known. Born into it, reared in it, there was little that could pos- sibly be selective about Minnie. Life was some- thing to be lived gayly, honestly and tolerantly. Yes, Minnie cried, sometimes a great deal. Alone. But then there was always the redeem- ing miracle of Tom. The miracle of the man who had suddenly brought into her life quiet, new and lasting significance. Children were what she missed most. In her own city there had always been youngsters about. Spoiled, undisciplined darlings, who flocked naturally around her. The precocious and beautiful children of the theater. The gay, innecent children of women who were gay and far from innocent. '‘HEIR absence in her life made the house seem stilly in a way that was terrifying. The voice of 2 youngster would have helped. When, as time went on, it seemed discour= agingly - that Minnie was te. have none there was talk of a child. ‘Tom was all for it, eager to introduce into the woman he adored any possible .light and sweetness. Strangely, after much consideration, it was Minnie who decided against it. Tom understood. One did not draw a child into the shadow of a cloud. N 2 It was after this that Tom decided upon the difficult and involved undertaking of moving his large manufacturing interests to a city 350 miles to the east. At first Minnie demurred, knowing the jeopardy to those interests that such a move might mean. In this decision, however, Tom remained adamant. At least, it Champion Story Teller. Continued from Fifteenth Page great artist. He was a spotlight performer, made for one ring or the theater. You remem- ber what a wow he was when he went into vaudeville and put on his great dumb act. “Slivers, they said, was worried by a lot of She was grand—is married now, by way, and lives up in Connecticut. Slivers just pined his heart away for that girl, but nothing ever happened and I don’t think he ever got over it.” o “‘fi JELL, long He felt he who used to and Slivers was standing there. “‘Hello, Slivers! .“ ‘Belh, _the circus. “Well, that led to talking salary, but the cir- cus wouldn't meet his demands. The great clown put on his hat and walked out. It was get-away night. I happened to be around the tent when they were beginning to tear down. The gas torches were blowing in the wind. A light rain had begun to fall. Al of a sudden a guard came out of the darkness. “‘There’s a queer duck hanging around the elephant tent. Says he’s with the circus. Says he’s Slivers, the clown.’ “Three of us went back. We each took a torch and made our way through the darkness. Suddenly we almost bumped into a fellow who was stumbling across the back lot. “The fellow was mumbling to himself. We listened. He was saying, over and over again, ‘They don’t want me any more. I'm Slivers, the great clown, and they don't want me, they don't want me.’ “I'm telling you it was enough to break your heart. We tried to comfort him, but he broke away. And you know the rest.” (Copyright, 1930.) ’ . was worth the try. A new community, new faces, new surroundings—who could tell! It might mean a new, fresh life—it might mean the beginning of a gayety flowing back into the days of this woman who loved and was loved by him. It was ironic beyond the telling and some- thing that was to take years for him to be able to bear up under that Minnie, returning from a solitary walk into town, should have been killed outright by an automobile as she darted in front of it to smatch back little Dotty Ravenel, who had leaped in front of it after her puppy. Like a candle snuffed, the lonely, gallant personality of Minnie went out, as it were, in a flash, dashing Tom into darkness—dashing life into darkness. What a funeral! For years it was one of the talked-of occasions of the town. Six care riages laden with flowers followed Minnie’s hearse. Crowds stood upon the lawn and along the sidewalks as the solitary bitter figure of Tom Arden followed the white hearse to its grave. In a bitterness which he was later to regret he gave orders that no one save himself and two servants should follow her to her last rest- ing place. The crowd stood by respectfully and a little cowed. The house next deor, with luxurious gardens plucked to make up a blanket for Minnie’s grave, stood by respectfully and & little cowed. t G It was a grim, tragic picture of a solitary man following a woman who in death seem no more solitary than she had been in life. In a way, the subsequent behavier Ravenel was pathetic. It said that she scratched for silent stone house, like a dog Apparently awed neither by the bi anger of Tom nor his f called daily, the little Dotty at ings of food and flowers in her nervous-lipped woman, and the weeks following Minnie's death had played havoc with her. “Tom,” she said, “aren’t you going to let us atone; aren’t you going to give us the chance to make her memory a monument in this town? If you can deny me, Tom, Dotty asks you— Dotty asks you to let her help you.” Standing there looking down into the clear eyes of the child whom Minnie had snatched from premature death, it was as if what Minnie would have said came floating to his ears and his consciousness. “Take"Httle Dotty into your heart—that is what I would do, Tom——* (Copyright, 1930.) Battle to Save Oyster. Wi Be treated that so-called oyster farms are estab- lished. Various States give oyster men exclu- sive rights to these farms in return for their interest and work in providing a future supply of the shellfish. Safety Lamps in Mines. F!GH'ITNG fire with fire may be one of the old remedies in large conflagrations through backfires, but it seems highly hazard- ous when flames are carried into mines. Never- theless, it is by means of the safety lamp that dangerous quantities of methane are discovered. ‘These lamps are surrounded by a wire-screen confines of the lamp itself, Now and then workmen are careless about the inspection of their lamps, however, and 8 slight break in the wire screening that might escape notice could quickly lead to disaster, with the loss of many lives and the destruc~ tion of great quantities of property. To guard against the human element in this safety work, the Bureau of Mines is attempting to bring about a testing apparatus which eliminate any possible chance of error, with its accompanying threat of destruction. *