humped into his coat and was off in a shower of
language that left me no come-back.

Believe you me, I was glad when he had squoze out through our typical
apartment hall and the gilt elevator had snapped him up. For to hand me
ten thousand to spend on welcoming a bunch of other women's husbands
was, to soft pedal it, rubbing it in. I was only about as upset as that
spilled milk that was cried over and no wonder at 18 cents a qt. Well,
anyways, it was no light thing to face, going on with this work and
Jim's letter scarcely dry from my tears. But having promised over the
telephone and being given no chance to refuse in the parlour, I would
keep my word if not my heart from breaking.

Because, anyways, if I was simply to do nothing to occupy myself except
maybe a few thousand feet of fillum and rehearsing my special dance act
for the Palatial and my morning exercises and walking my five miles a
day and all that quiet home stuff which gives a person too much time to
think, what would I think, except a lot of unprintable stuff about any
administration which was keeping him in a town like Paris, France? And
the only comfort I could see in sight was to work hard to give the boys
that _was_ coming a real welcome and remember that Jim never was a
skirt-hound--that I ever saw.

III

Having reached this resolve I decided to go on the walk I had mapped out
anyways, because what is home with a disappeared snake in it? And so I
started, and as I come past the door in the lower hall, which its marked
"Superintendent," which is Riverside-Drivese for Janitor, what would I
hear but Rudie singing to himself out of the fullness of his heart or
something.

I went out in wrath and the spring sun and after a while I begun to
feel less sore and miserable in my heart, partially because of the fresh
air and partially through irritation at the stylish trouser-leg that
both of mine was in. But the day was too sweet for a person to stay mad
long. Ain't it remarkable the way spring can creep into even a city and
somehow make it enchanted and your heart kind of perk up and take
notice--do you get me? You do, or Gawd pity you! It's the light, I
guess, just the same as the audience holds hands when they turn on the
ambers with a circular drop for a sunset or something.

And by the time I had walked along the Avenue and seen all the
decorations which was already put up for the first regiments home, I
commenced getting real fired and excited wi