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U.S.A_ - John Dos Passos [145]

By Root 8613 0
old Mrs. Staple and talked of notes his wife had gotten hold of and that he was afraid his wife would use unwisely. Janey could see that his wife was a disagreeable peevish woman trying to use her mother's money as a means of keeping a hold on J. Ward. She never said anything to the Tingleys about J. Ward personal y, but she talked a great deal about the business and they agreed with her that the work was so interesting. She was looking forward to this Christmas because J. Ward had hinted that he would give her a raise.

A rainy Sunday afternoon she was typing off a confi-dential letter to Judge Planet inclosing a pamphlet from a detective agency describing the activities of labor agi--338tators among the Colorado miners, and J. Ward was walking up and down in front of the desk staring with bent brows at the polished toes of his shoes when there was a knock on the outer office door. "I wonder who that could be?" said J. Ward. There was something puzzled and nervous about the way he spoke. "It may be Mr. Robbins forgotten his key," said Janey. She went to see. When she opened the door Mrs. Moorehouse brushed

past her. She wore a wet slicker and carried an umbrel a, her face was pale and her nostrils were twitching. Janey closed the door gently and went to her own desk and sat down. She was worried. She took up a pencil and started drawing scrol s round the edge of a piece of typewriter paper. She couldn't help hearing what was going on in J. Ward's private office. Mrs. Moorehouse had shot in slamming the groundglass door behind her.

"Ward, I can't stand it . . . I won't stand it another minute," she was screaming at the top of her voice. Janey's heart started beating very fast. She heard J. Ward's voice low and con-ciliatory, then Mrs. Moorehouse's. "I won't be treated like that, I tel you. I'm not a child to be treated like that . . . You're taking advantage of my condition. My health won't stand being treated like that."

"Now look here, Gertrude, on my honor as a gentle-man," J. Ward was saying. "There's nothing in it, Ger-trude. You lie there in bed imagining things and you shouldn't break in like this. I'm a very busy man. I have important transactions that demand my complete atten-tion." Of course it's outrageous, Janey was saying to herself.

"You'd stil be in Pittsburgh working for Bessemer Products, Ward, if it wasn't for me and you know it . . . You may despise me but you don't despise dad's money

. . . but I'm through, I tel you. I'm going to start divorce . . .""But, Gertrude, you know very wel there's no other woman in my life.""How about this woman

-339-you're seen round with al the time . . . what's her name . . . Stoddard? You see, I know more than you

think . . . I'm not the kind of woman you think I am, Ward. You can't make a fool of me, do you hear?" Mrs. Moorehouse's voice rose into a rasping shriek. Then she seemed to break down and Janey could hear her sobbing. "Now, Gertrude," came Ward's voice soothingly,

"you've gotten yourself al wrought up over nothing . . . Eleanor Stoddard and I have had a few business deal-ings . . . She's a bright woman and I find her stimulat-ing . . . intel ectual y, you understand . . . We've oc-casional y eaten dinner together, usual y with mutual friends, and that's absolutely . . ." Then his voice sunk so low that Janey couldn't hear what he was saying. She began to think she ought to slip out. She didn't know what to do.

She'd half gotten to her feet when Mrs. Moorehouse's voice soared to a hysterical shriek again. "Oh, you're cold as a fish . . . You're just a fish. I'd like you better if it was true, if you were having an affair with her . . . But I don't care; I won't be used as a tool to use dad's money." The door of the private office opened and Mrs. Moore-house came out, gave Janey a bitter glare as if she sus-pected her relations with J. Ward too, and went out. Janey sat down at her desk again trying to look uncon-cerned. Inside the private office she could hear J. Ward striding up and down with a heavy step. When he cal ed her his voice sounded weak:

"Miss

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