[Illustration: Elinor (Norma Shearer) attends a Bohemian party at the apartment of Templeton Druid (Ward Crane). (_“The Valley of Content” screened as “Pleasure Mad.”_)] THE Valley of Content BY BLANCHE UPRIGHT [Illustration] A. L. BURT COMPANY Publishers New York Published by arrangement with W. J. Watt & Company COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY W. J. WATT & COMPANY _Printed in the United States of America_ WITH LOVE AND DEVOTION I DEDICATE THESE PAGES TO Marjorie Rambeau MY BELOVED INSPIRER THE VALLEY OF CONTENT CHAPTER I Over the immaculate, freshly ironed white cotton cloth on the little table set near the window in the kitchen-dining room of the Bentons’ tiny bungalow, a paper-shaded lamp glowed rosily. From its tempered rays, the plated knives and forks and spoons, polished to a shine that forgave the nickel spots of usage, caught a pinkish tinge, and the bowl of wild roses from its place of state in the center of the table returned blush for blush. But neither the rosy light, nor the roses themselves had anything to do with the bright flush that adorned Marjorie Benton’s face as she arose from in front of the oven of her brightly shining kitchen stove. She felt of her burning cheek with the back of her hand. The twittering remonstrance of her canary in its cheap little brass cage, disturbed by the metallic clang of the closing oven door, turned her gaze in his direction. She shook her head ruefully. “More cooking for women and there’d be less rouge, eh, Andy?” she asked, and an understanding “tweet-tweet” was her reply. Her glance wandered to the small alarm clock tick-ticking merrily from the shelf above her head. “Another ten minutes,” she murmured. The slowly moving hands of the time piece marked off seven minutes after six. “Hugh should be here then, and he does so like his roast just out of the oven. Hmm! So do I—” she went on, but a cross little look of dawning discontent crept into her eyes as she glanced at the stove distastefully,—“except that I surely would like to have someone else take it out for me, for a change. Wonder if we’re ever going to have a maid, or if I’m just naturally to dry up and brown to a crisp bending over a stove all my life!” Again she felt of her burning cheeks, as she turned toward the neatly set table. A mended spot in the table cloth caught her eye. She smoothed it over.