Argosy All-Story Weekly, November 13, 1920 — page 94: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

a72 “{—I don’t know what’s getting into you, Robert,’’ Miriam interrupted. Robert could see that she was clouding up, and he steeled himself to resist a barrage of tears —the usual form of attack. ‘“‘ 'You’re—you’re impossible. Do you think I’m going to stay home and play nurse when we can afford another servant —you know we can.” “Of course we can afford another ser- vant—who said we couldn’t?” he coun- tered. His tone was firm—and he showed no signs of weakening. “It isn’t a ques- tion of money, Miriam. It’s the principle. It’s simply that I’m tired of humoring your whims.”’ “ My—my whims?” Miriam gasped. “Yes, your whims!” he responded, and he looked her straight in the eyes as he spoke. ‘“ For the past year or more this house has been absolutely ruled by them. I’ve been a slave to them—a human par- rot, caroling ‘me, too—me, too ’—and I’m through, Miriam; I tell you I’m through.” As he finished speaking he brought his fist down on the table with an emphatic motion that caused the family silver to rattle. ' Miriam sat for a minute as one stricken dumb, Then the tears descended like a flood. ‘““ Oh—you—you—brute!” she wailed. “Tt ‘ll be all right about your calling me names, if you want to,” unflinchingly. “I can stand that. Miriam, I wish you’d stop that crying— it’s getting on my nerves.”’ Because he dared not look at her—for fear he’d weaken—he applied himself stu- diously to his dinner. Gosh, it was hard to see a woman cry—especially a woman one loved as he loved Miriam. But it was for her good, he told himself, and for Judith’s —as well as hisown. ° “Keep firm, old man,” he cautioned himself. ‘‘ Don’t weaken.” For a few minutes the silence was broken only by Miriam’s sobs. Then she came to life with: ‘““ How—how dare you sit there and eat, Robert Edwards, when I’m so—so miser- able. How dare you—why do you pretend to love me— why don’t you admit you But for the Lord’s sake, | himself. ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. don’t? don’t.”’ ‘I do love you, Miriam,” he answered, with no especial emphasis. ‘“Yes—you love me,” she wept. ‘‘ You love me so much you want me to be—a nurse!” ‘““T do love you,” he repeated. ‘Well, it’s a funny kindef love, Robert Edwards.”’ “We won’t go into that again, Miriam,”’ he interrupted, rising from the table and starting toward the door. ‘‘ There’s no use arguing.” ‘“No, there’s no use arguing as long as you can have things your way,” she chided. ce S (Se ‘It may be interesting to you to know that from now on I’m going to have things my way. around this house—when I’m right, at least, Miriam. And you may as well understand that I’m in earnest about what I say. ‘To begin with, we’re not go- ing to have another maid.” “And Judith will swallow hairpins and things—and die,” she challenged him as he stood with his hand on the door-knob. “The Browns have a cook and two maids and a butler, and their apartment isn’t any larger than ours.”’ 3 ‘Oh, to hell with the Browns!” he flung at her. Any protest Miriam might have uttered would have been drowned by the noise of the slamming door. Once in his room, Robert Alexander Ed- wards prayed that he would have the cour- age to continue as he had started. You don’t love me—you know you Tif. THE new order of things had been in operation in the Edwards household about two months when Robert found himself one morning again taking inventory of The inventory showed him quite a bit ahead of the game. The two months had brought back much of his old assur- ance. He was getting back his erstwhile grip on himself and. the world. True, it had been no easy road. There had been more than one scene—scenes in which he suffered much. But never once MNiGDoOoks (EC) im