The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 26, 1906, Page 4

von Hutten. mamma when the tu- lips were all red in the square, before she began to cry so much. of ages ago, I'he shadows of the graceful chairs stoods still, those of the trees danced slowl 4 my true love—'" opened and two peo- Debbil-Debbil stopped natural, and e door in papa said. very and I do as you v best, t now ke, Dan. I— She was cry- where all are cried out! dark y more. y wonderful until they in his corner perplexing question to wers to which the world stand me any more. m not a vain man, but sure- Mainwaring? A brainless id- He can talk well enough ren't there frightening is ideas with your horrid that my pres- e the—the reverse of However, as well he I ask what your—and May her eyes with dpwn on the sofa v 20 to South Dakota at s soon as it's over—" e quite sure he will?” . never as beautiful as footman, but he wasn't al- s ugly as he looked in the that moment. Debbil- n a sneer and didn’t ad- a little cry. “Sure? you, Dan. I should some gratitude nice, honorable scandal we might the considerate of both of invoking the blessing of ourt you secure compara- little matter of that you. Also by the Tous mes compli- s of rose and moved ~so rapldly every little boy mammas never lose Iways ‘act from a stice Debbil-Debbil she was going to Dan Traf- I wish I , but Debdbii-Ded- It is an unfortunate thing that mam- K mas often hate papas. Billy Court- different in her wright's used to hate his first papa, but satin gown, a spark- the second, young Mr. Brinton, is more right hair—mamma; of & success. Papa laughed and shrugged his shoul- “My good Edith, let us not waste time in recriminations. ders. are so vulgar.” “You are right. I -have Py Recriminations THE =S FRANCISCO, SU against you, as a matter of fact,” she returned, with sudden calmness, “ex- cept 5 “Except that T am Dan Trafford and not Hugo Mainwaring! It is a pity that you did not realize a little earlier—be- fore, Harry's _advent, at least—that Mainwaring is ‘your twin soul, and not I.” She gave a short laugh. “Yes, It 1s a pity. As to Harry, of course, Daniel, he goes with me” There was a short pause. “You have not called me Danlel since the day when you made the mistake of saying ‘I, Edith Blanchard, také thee, Daniel Henry, to be my wedded hus- band,’ instead of ‘I, E. B, take thee, Hugo Delaware—etc’ By all means let us be biblical—on prayer—bib— whatever you call it. Therefore, ‘as to Harry,’ of course, Edith' Blanchard, he Btays with me.” Now Debbil-Debbil, whose really truly name was Harry, could not understand all of this. The words were queer, and the voices cool on top, but all hot un- derneath., The ugly god in the corner glared at him, and Debbil-Debbil wondered if that beast of a Watson had forgotten his supper! “Surely, You would not be 'so cruel as to deprive me of our child!” Mamma's hanky began sopping at her eyes again. Debbil-Debbil could smell the “sweet smelly stuff” in his corner, and he won- dered where he was to be taken. Meantime the tree shadows continued their slow dance and the moon paths reached clear across the floor. Papa laughed. “Of course I am. Itis now so much the fashion for young wo- men to give up their children for a new husband that the inventors of laws will soon have to begin arranging for the new relationships arising therefrom. In the meantime I am Debbil-Debbil's father, and I do not intend to give him ;.he chance of forgetting the trifling act.” nothing - “And when . you—marry Connie £3008000000000C000aC When the door opened and Lwo people came in Debbtl: Debbil stopped singu March who is to remind him then that I am his mother?” Grown people are so delicately ab- surd at times! “I am not going to marry Connie March, Edith. Did you think I was?’ “Most people—think—" ‘Most people are fools. Now, listen. u choose to go off there and di- vorce me I'll not oppose you. You may do it. It is quite the smarf thing to do, and you will be one of a very smart flock. I am not smart. When I mar- ried you I knew you were a human being, not a saint, and 1 did not ex- pect perfection. I'm not eloquent or very clever. I couldn’t lead a cotillon to save my life. I'm a little bald, and I am jealous. These things may all be faults, though I can’t help some of them. On the other hand, I have never had a flirtation since our mar- riage; I do not drink, I do not gamble and I do not wear overshoes. These may be, in default of greater onés, called virtues. Don't you think so?” “You are—ridiculous!” “That, too. And as you prefer the other man to me, take him. But I be- lieve in the—the, seriousness of mar- riage; it may be a nuisance, but it is a necessary one; and I do not think that having accepted certain duties in life I have the right to shirk them because they begin to—bore me. So Harry and I will plod along as best we may without you. I know nothing against Mainwaring except that he is a dishonorable hound—" “Dan!” “Oh, yes; that is the word, for he has sat at my table and pretended to be my_friend—and I am, as you like to say, old fashioned enough to gonsider him a scoundrel.” . Debbil-Debbil wished they wouldn't talk about hounds. He didn’t dare come forth out of his shadow, for mamma— the cross new mamma—would scéld him, and possibly slap him—out of that painful sense of justice—but he was hungry, and the beast, Watson, had forgotten. “Very well—he may be a scoundrel, “I know. But—ah, well, preaching is not in my line; but I shall keep the bo; “I shall fight that.” “Very well.” “They may let him choose. They let Minnie Gunning's Loloto choose.” “Who'll let him choose? Who dares come between my son and me? I'd— I'd see them damned first! Who has a right to interfere between my boy and me? He is mine, I tell you. If you prefer that hulking ecritia to him, be satisfied with your bargain. 1 have done nothing, I tell you. I have been faithful to you In every thought, even while you have torn me to pieces with your cruelty. 1 have worked for you: I have forgiven you things over and over again. Now it is over. I love you'and you hate me. Go and live with this man,, but don't try to drag my child into’ your hideous relations. You are my wife, whatever those men out West may say, and mine you must re- main until you dle. Now go and be to him what ever you llke.” Papas, as a rule, laugh and toss little boys up into the air. They also read newspapers and tell one to go away. But it is only once in a blue moon that a papa turns very white and speaks— like that. Evidently mamma, too, was struck with the phenomenon, for she stared most wonderingly up into papa's face “You—why—do you know what you sald?” she asked. “I do, and I mean every word of it. I tried to keep, cool and be ‘modern,’ as you call it, but I'm not modern. I'm old fashioned and—heavy minded, pos- sibly, and what-I said I mean.” “You said that you love me.” He ldughed. “Didn’t you know {it? When did you think I stopped? Con- veniently, on Mr. Mainwaring's appear- ance?” “You—you have been so horrid to me. You scolded so about evgry man who came near me.” “Yes, of coprse. A vile characteris: tle, no doubt, but it issnlnt and I do not blush for it.” but he is sympathetic, and he—he loves me.” “Does he, EAQith?" Debbil-Debbil, though hungry, ached suddenly. Papa’s voice was very sorry. 3 “And you say he loves you?” “Dan—I must have Debbil-Debbil! I have done ncthing wrong; it is only in—com—" i ’ “I—I can't leave—Debbil-Dehbil!" “Oh, yes, you can. Mrs. Readell left her boy ‘when she married that Pole, and: Carry sedges gave up little Gladys 5 Mamma made a funny little sound in her throat. “Poor- little Gladys! in the queerest way!” He dresses her 00000000000000000000000 Z, s e 3 450 g .- o “Yes. You'll no doubt be ashamea to recognize Harry in a couple of years; men have no taste.” This was, as you will agree, too dull. Besides, the god In the corner Wwas making hideous faces at Debbil-Deb- bil, and when a god makes faces at vou the best thing you can do is to clcse your eyes. And under Debbil-Debbil's eyelids there were such Tunny little stars, all streaked, as he lazily peeped at the god, with eyelashes. And when a voice goes out of the window and sits on a very far off gravestone what can you do but forget to listen? A few minutes latéy, when the voice had come back and the god ceased shutting his great mouth, mamma was sitting in papa’s lap, exactly as if she were a little boy, and he was saying quite softly, “Thank Qad!" Debbil-Debbil was a Christian child and went to church every Sunday, but it seemed as if papa was thanking the grinning god with the gilded ears for haying stopped making faces. “Suppose,” papa went on, a moment later, “we go to—well, to Italy for the winter Ye. “You and I and—Debbil-Debbil” Mamma rose, and, speaking very snuffily, said suddenly, “Yes—oh, Dan, dearest, how perfect! But where can the child be? I have neglected him so of late, I nave been—ashamed to look him in the face.” “That beast of a Watson forgot to give me my supper,” announced Debbil- Debbil, for he felt that his moment had come. “You little demon—you are there? “Yes. I watched the shadows danc- ing, and then you came—I'm se hun- gry, mamma.* “YO.\I should have told us you were mamma said, a little doubt- between a hug and a kiss. “Yes, mamma; I will—next time, truly—uly “All ht. young son. Cut along ith, it's a pity What do you say now to your supper. E to waste that to a spin up e drive?” Debbil-Debbil at his supper and went to bed. When you are very young there are bound to be some few things you can’t altogether understand, and you think about them until they get all tangled up, and then suddenly dis- appear, which may be just as well