Show A ta K TS T fl rg bm ya r tta r IT I 1 I 1 I 1 A ac i A tt 1 r L JL a 3 A B A A ai BT by MARY SCHUMANN copyright by macrae smith co service seral I 1 CHAPTER XII continued 24 hugh on his way out planned that he would have his mother mothe r invite ellen for dinner very soon or he would issue the invitation call up P and coax her a bit if she deemed ee med unwilling not tonight he t had to work late tonight and to mothe had invited the orrow Ira ijohn to ohn Ren shaws for dinner and the next night he had to go to th wel i leis well some tima soon Iler perhaps gaps next week but bui the Ren shaws could not come the next night and fluvanna went jo to a concert with margery and will faugh read the paper looked at a I 1 i trade journal and at nine feeling restless decided on a long ramble he took rowdy nelias dog with him a wire haired terrier which she could not keep in the apartment 1 hugh circled the boulevard and the park twice a walk of two or three miles drawing in deep breaths of the early march air which bras was keen and cold yet with a difference he Ile walked with a swinging step submerged in his own reflections rowdy investigated lawns where lighted windows drained away into I 1 the shrubbery then returned to him hugh did not know wi wien when en he became conic conscious ious that a woman was walking half a block ahead of i him she must have turned out unnoticed from a side street she 1 walked rapidly for it was a lonely place for a woman to be the dark woods on her right and on her left the houses set far back from the street young slight and faintly familiar i i suddenly she turned abruptly to ther her right and plunged into the wood she walked swiftly and without uncertainty until she dist api appeared pred hugh stood still he had recognized her by a forward movement alof of her sh shoulders lers or thought he ahad 1 why was she going into the bpark at this time of night timid I sheltered ellen the perspiration broke out on his forehead as he i remembered the small artificial alake lake t she was up to her knees in the a er and wading out when he deac reached ed her behe he lifted her in his arms and car aried ed her to a seat near the bank li she looked in his face dazedly aits its hugh hugh then in a low murmur why did you comet come 14 fate sent me ellen he answered simply he drew her head to td his shoulder because you were ere never meant to do that thing she gave a long sighing breath that at was more poignant the then n any sob it held so much h of tears unshed of misery hugh she wh whispered is it aches so here she laid her hand on her heart 1 I know ahause A pause then her voice again on i that tremulous respiratory note f yes you k know ow she dooper i against him shivering suddenly she sat up the water topped r from her sodden clothes 1 l she faced him her wistful blue eyes startled and examining she shook hook her head you are braver thai an I 1 stronger I 1 r cant go on she began to cry shuddering dry robs that licked his heart like aming faggots maggots fag gots he drew her to ner er feet let us walk no good sitting bitting here in wet clothes after that t ducking well walk ver very Y fa last S Hs see ee like this he led her out of the woods un le esi sting I 1 can you run come el in 11 run with me as far as the next corner 1 they ran for a long block then owed down to a walk tell you what well do you come e over to my house and get off our wet clothes put on some 9 of mothers ill fix you a nice ot oi drink then raid the ice eget e get us a lunch 1 we aeu 11 have a uce lee clubby evenin evening g comel come she e put her hand over her eyes you say im so beail ered his mother was not home when ey arrived lie he took her directly upstairs Pst airs turned on the hot water fl the roe bath get in there young oy dy and be quick about it ill yo our ave 6 ranged changed and be pounding at door in five minutes ahe jthn changed c anaed his clothes quickly 1 tn ran do down to the telephone and called the Pendle tons gavins nervous irritated voice answered ellen is here with us yes yes gavin stuttered ashes all right well keep her until tomorrow if you dont mind wait wait gavin had a colloquy with lizzie then muttered mother wants you to bring her home if I 1 do I 1 wont answer for the consequences replied hugh there was a pause while hugh heard tizzies Liz strident voice in opposition she evidently wanted to talk to him keep her said gavin suddenly see you tomorrow he foraged for everything he could find in the way of food cheese and ham olives white and rye bread fruit and cake when eller ellen appeared she I 1 er head all this to eat she nibbled then began eating presently at something he said the dimples came out and she laughed in iii soft merriment her own laughter startled her and a puzzled look came over her iq wag 0 1 V IW Z I 1 she was up to her knees in the water and wading out when he reached her face its beginning to seem ridiculous di like a joke how could I 1 some think life is a joke playing tricks yes it looks like that sometimes when we have set our hearts on something we dont get then we think that there is a malicious being who enjoys our scrapes a leering cruel practical joker it must be true her head drooped her tone was muffled he blocks each exit as you hurry from one to another he says laughing horribly stay in your prison it seems that way to it me and theres another way to look at it he may be a great wise force that foresees more than we can has a plan for us he lays on each one the burden ot destiny and says take this carry it it is my plan for you bear it the best you can grow under it and I 1 shall lead you out and b beyond the burden of destin ellen repeated in a dazed tone or a practical joker which is right the one which gives us courage said hugh with sudden conviction vic tion you believe that 1 I believe that he answered in a low voice in his effort to help ellen he had suddenly clarified his own vague groupings gro pings was conscious of the uplift of spirit which accompanies an illumination of thought so absorbed were they that they did not hear fluvanna enter she stood at the door in her velvet evening wrap surveying them with wonder and surprise ellen ellen ellen ran to her and ana hid her face on her shoulder so glad youve come darling murmured fluvanna caressing her ashes going to stay all night perhaps a week or two said hugh nothing would make me happier ellen knows I 1 would like to have her forever CHAPTER XIII gavin took off his glasses and rubbed the place behind his ear where they had rested then put them their on again and blinked at hugh lizzie zie will raise a fuss at length came his pronouncement ive not talked to mother yet but she is so devoted to ellen that I 1 think she can be persuaded to go said hugh six months in france and italy would restore ellen hugh had pleaded his mother would accompany com pany her he thought it would be well for his mother 0 0 have the change the family difficulties he had paused had been hard on her gavin frowned but lizzie you mean shell disapprove you must make her see how important it is it means more than ive been telling you gavin he leaned forward and rapidly told him of the incident down by the park lake gavin rose paced the room muttering unintelligibly u under n d e r his breath he came back you go to see her tell her oh my god ellen he slumped down in his chair hugh rose you want me to talk to lizzie yes IT 11 drop around there this afternoon he did not fear the interview with lizzie a fractional aart as much as her husband did gavin wrung his hand at parting ill pay expenses for both he b blurted lizzie received hugh i r the square expensive duglin ugliness ess of the pendleton living room TO BE CONTINUED |