against the gray, monotonous level of her days. She was alone when
George was away on trips; she was not less alone when he was in town. He
had formed the habit of joining "the boys" in the evening; he was surly
and noncommittal with his wife, but Julia, hanging about the lower hall
door or playing with children in the street, always heard a burst of
laughter as he joined his friends; everybody in the world--except
Emeline--liked George!

Poor Emeline--she could easily have held him! A little tenderness toward
him, a little interest in her home and her child, and George would have
been won again. Had he but once come home to a contented wife and a
clean house, George's wavering affection would have been regained. But
Emeline was a loud-mouthed, assertive woman now, noisily set upon her
own way, and filled with a sense of her own wrongs. She had discussed
George too often with her friends to feel any possible interest in him
except as a means of procuring sympathy. George bored her now; as a
matter of fact, Emeline had almost decided that she would prefer alimony
to George.

Goaded on by Mrs. Povey, and a young Mrs. Sunius, affectionately known
as Maybelle, Emeline went to see a lawyer. The lawyer surprised her by
his considerate brevity. Getting a divorce was a very simple affair,
much better done than not. There were ways to make a man pay his alimony
regularly, and the little girl would stay with her mother, of course; at
her age no other solution was possible. Emeline felt that she must know
how much expense she would be put to, and was gratified to find that it
would cost her not more than fifty dollars. The lawyer asked her how
soon she could get hold of her husband.

"Why, he'll let me know as soon as he's in town," Emeline said vaguely;