Show L face el j ON LIMITED babi I 1 arvina by IDA BREED ea cognev C CAROLYN AROLYN TAYLOR looked at herself critically in the full length mirror then gave her reflect hon tion a smiling little nod of approval the smile was justified her mir bored image showed a lovely young woman of thirty two who looked hardly more than twenty five vivid well dressed confident she was more charming more desirable than the pretty young carolyn of eleven years before when she finished col lege that was the carolyn who all her senior year at college had to keep reminding herself that this was earth she lived on and not really heaven as it seemed because of leei lee lee who was tall and lean with intent blue eyes and delight delight fully unruly hair lee who loved her and treasured the secret of their engagement lee who was so sweet about bantu g to present her to the family as a beautiful surprise after commencement not even his adored older brother had been let in on the secret commencement time was to be the climax of everything that seemed important to her then with commencement still three weeks away it happened just after lee passed the final examina eions tor for his doctor s degree he was offered an extraordinary chance to do the very research work that he most wanted a unique chance for 6 an unmarried man prepared to de vote at least five years to the broj act carolyn remembered ho how w honor able lee had been in breaking the hews to her he might have let their engagement continue he told her tie e might have kept on seeing her deceiving her about their prospects acts tor marriage putting it off or promising to marry her at the end of the five years but he did not ot con sider that the right thing to do no it was only the part of a gentleman to tell her that it was best to break off she was not to feel hurt there was no other girl just his career he put anguish into carolyn s heart but managed somehow to impress her with the d of his own part in the scene even in the pain and shock of losing him carolyn told herself that lee was the finest person she had ever known that belief had never left her three years later she married jef ferson taylor a big broad west erner done in shades of brown she sometimes felt a slight disdain for jeff s substantial size remembering lee a aristocratic slenderness but she repressed the thought lots of fun jeff was and with a practical mind for business that made them enough money to enjoy a pleasantly luxurious life she loved jeff of course but there was a part of her self that she withheld one section of her heart and mind walled off that would always belong to lee she never spoke to jeff of this reservation only in secret did caro lyn now and then open the door on that precious might have been part of her and take it out to dream over but tod v as she looked at her delight fi self in the mirror it was not to dream it was with a plan for action she was back in new york after an absence of two years nearly every spring since her mar nage she had made the trip and had always stopped off for a brief visit in her old college town this time she was planning to follow the same course but with what a differ encel ence one of her old school friends had written her last year that lee towne had returned to their alma aima mater to direct the research work there so lee was bachand bac kand carolyn that she could have stopped him with a word but sh she e did not speak it this was the lee whom she had treasured in her heart for eleven years lee still tall but with ders stooped still lean but with a hollow cheated look lee his blue eyes intent now only with a near sighted peering expression h his hair no longer unruly because there was not enough of it to be just some wisps borrowed from one side tol cover a pale bald spot and it was obvious that for all he saw of the life we humming around him he might have had his eye bent to a micro scope as he walked RARE ON V V VS 0 0 F PRO 9 CN fr carolyn had to keep reminding herself that it was earth she lived on not really heaven was going to see him accidentally of course she had it all planned there would be a casual drifting about the campus in her flattering new spring suit lingering over a table in crofton house where every body dropped in at tea tame time then when lee appeared carolyn had this part rehearse rehearsed 4 in her mind she would give just the right look of pleased surprise just the right de gree of invitation to remember lee would see what he had missed all these years what would happen after they met what did she want to happen that carolyn did not quite know and she stopped short of trying to decide this was to be an adventure the adventure proceeded as if acted from a well prepared script carolyn chanced into crofton house at tea time two men at a nearby table stared at her with obvious ad mi ration they were younger faculty members that she did not know then somehow without the fare of trumpets that would i ave ve seemed fitting to her there was lee in the doorway without glancing around he went to a table straight ahead he passed so near to carolyn carolyn sat and stared helpless to force her gaze away from this changed lee what of the destini gray at the temples the im irn look of the scientist that she had pictured picture dl 1 the men at the next table were noticing her concentrated gaze shei finally forced herself to look away the next minute with no more more poise than a school girl she lumped jumped up and hurried away into the next wing of the building to the telegraph blanks leaving for home tonight instead of next week she began to write there was something reassuring about the thought of jeff s bulk she was glad that her husband was such a substantial person in every way such tace a thick hair too and straight shoulders she had never been as sweet to him as he de served but she would make it up from now on why he was the finest person that she had ever known back at their table the two curl 1 ous young men continued to late after they had watched carolyn rush from the room did you see her staring at johnny towne as if she were fas cina ted if it had been lee now you could understand it he a a handsome devil |