Show FI 0 if of the mi n ule fry by I 1 HELEN R MARTIN I 1 Copy copyright richt by dodd mead co service CHAPTER X continued Continue a 23 lie ile drew a long deep quivering breath well he be would have an explanation of 0 this mystery it if he had to drag neely by force into the parlor car to trice face either tier her empty chair or her living counter counterpart I 1 meely I 1 she turned with a bound and at eight of him her dull face ace expressed surprise and pleasure well of all thins things I 1 mr crelghton creighton yet I 1 sellme well me im that took back sir air crelghton I 1 what brang you to new york oia ovi come on she said making roam roo ni for him beside her and set down here side bide by each aint sly my lands she alie exclaimed as lie obeyed her aint abt you feelen good mr creighton you look book that patel most like a dead one I 1 what alls ails you anyhow are you bebby carsick car sick I 1 got awful carsick car sick coln but comin im feelen right good I 1 was to new york over to look tor for a place im a right good cooker and I 1 heerd they paid good cooks in new york tork as much as five dollars a week with room and board betl so I 1 says to pop aop I 1 says she stopped short reached tor for a coat that was crushed between her and the window slipped it on and stood up come st crots croix she spoke naturally the games up of course lets go back to our chairs if youre not embarrassed to walk through this train with my pompadour I 1 I 1 thought this the quickest easiest wa cra 1 to make you see sec how I 1 N do it B r m in the way of being a profit fr bv caress cUc si st croix and h amy my strongest point iier countenance countenance was concerned and as sitting opposite him film in ID the parlor car she considered his white faced suffering suIT ering was she cruel ashe wondered but surely this was coming to him lie he deserved it and yet he looked so ghastly perhaps he might kill himself and it would be tier lier fault 1 well would that be as bad as what ke he had plotted to do to meely ton it would inot catl I 1 til ill tell you st croix all about it it if you want to know she suggested in a troubled voice tier her face almost as pale as ills fits own im sorry if 1 ive urt boyi r i au t T T ir ft vo w f y yo u 7 re going to hurt me not you the girl you pretended to be he said huskily and such a firl would not have been hurt A girl ilke you cant judge for one like mee blee of the breed better than you cnn ann st you yon would have ruined her life tor for her not it if shed been what she seem teemed cill 1 lie insisted Ms his voice low pitched led and hoarse what she seemed was an ignorant stupid but perfectly decent girl I 1 arid and after the pitiful note mr ton wrote you which you thought was about me mel I 1 it was about his d daughter aughter nettle who he knew was in love with you it was she that sent you that fudge how the h I 1 you ever managed the devilish coup couil I 1 lie he exclaimed desperately pera tely the queer thin thing st croix was that there a thin thing premeditated about it it all just happened I 1 just fell into the thing step by stop step ill tell you ill begin with tile the mole I 1 knew that w was as a landmark for you I 1 so I 1 put flesh colored court plaster over it and powered the spot with flesh colored powder ile he stared at her helplessly the big mistake you made was in not knowing I 1 was the teacher of fit weiliam penn fenn school nettle kettle ton you had us rolled mixed I 1 was the teacher and I 1 boarded at the cliton ton farm cut but but he stammered then marvin helped you put this thing over on me I 1 oh dear not nol lie ile had nothing to 1 0 with f w I 1 wear to me lie fie know I 1 I 01 1 i 16 I 1 atre re st croix demanded with jealous suspicion and resentment well he be certainly did suf suspect hect me for a fraud and a bluff when he heard roe me teach leach united states geography 1 but he know anything more about me than you did now ill tell you ALLI ALL ive always been mad to BO 90 on the stage or the screen I 1 managed to scrape together enough money to go to parla paris to study dramatic art a few months then I 1 got a small part in an english repertoire company that played in the provinces and I 1 earned enough to by bif my passage to america the only place I 1 was told t where screen stars earned an j thing it t was vas an awful risk my coming here 1 I 1 had so little money but I 1 reas f ared ray lay any ankus tiDus parents by telling if them thecil that it it i got stranded id send out it ill an a 0 a to tico the or Cre etz lehton liton family meantime us its marvin has jilted me mother and father decided there was no obligation upon us now to tell your family of my adventure and my ambition until we saw how I 1 succeeded on the screen it if at all I 1 but atut it lias has surely been understood nil all along sylvia that I 1 was eager to take earvins marvins Man Mar liia vins place there any place to take st croix may think in his bis pride that he jilted me but the fact of the caso case Is that I 1 jilted him first I 1 never would hear of 0 marrying either of you yon I 1 hut but my poor parents needed your money so badly they always hoped id change rny my mind and so they never broke it to any of you that id bricked backed out well I 1 came over to america in the utmost ignorance of everything I 1 should have known rather expecting to take hollywood by storm feeling quite condescending in offering my talents intents which I 1 myself greatly admired to tile american managers and aad not knowing that hollywood was three thousand miles from new york 1 learned a few needful facts on the way over sly my deck chair happened to be next to a young american woman who had bad been a country teacher she told me all about herself how she over in june with kith the student teacher excursion and had met and fallen in lovo love with a man on the ship a young college professor profess r As saon soon as landed at plymouth gotten m married traveled all summer and were now on their way home she told me the first thing shed got to do when she got home was to send in her resignation to the country school she was to have taught if she had not met her fate and gotten married when she mentioned the state county and township where she was to have taught I 1 recognized them amra v I 1 v uz f I 1 6 6 f 11 I 1 fig vf I 1 Z r ir i I 1 I 1 you made alade love to that girl and would have despoiled and flav hs shed hed her as the address of 0 the Creigh creightonn tons next thing I 1 was telling tier my story and when she learned how little money I 1 had she was appalled and when she told me hollywood was three thousand miles from new york and that it took five days and uve five hundred dollars to get there I 1 was panic stricken elen so we tied up a plot tier her parents home was in reading heading penn sylvania and her husband and slie site were going there until his college opened she invited me to go home with will them and she would give me tier her normal school diploma arid and lend in me e the use of her name amelia ton now no longer longe r her name and I 1 could po go and ap ate tier her school tor for a few months until id saved enough to go to hollywood nol lywood she was really a young woman of quite a feverish imagination I 1 do assure you iler her ton relatives had never seen tier her very distantly related so I 1 could pass myself off to them its as their cousin the tiling thing appealed opp caled to me not only as a n solution of my penniless predicament but as a jolly adventure en especially ally as I 1 knew the file school was in tile alie neighborhood of the Creigh creightonn tons home id have a chance I 1 thought to look them over without their knowing it of course st croix I 1 meant to make myself known to your family very soon cut but I 1 had riot not realized how difficult that was going to be I 1 got in deeper every day and it was such fun I 1 want to give up tip my lark and my freedom find and become lady and it was all such a marvelous roar school of 0 acting for rue me I 1 was proving to myself that I 1 could act mastering that dialect bilth ith its extraordinary inflections and succeeding in taking you yon in st croix so far beyond my highest hopes 1 jt it was when you were pointed out to me st croix ot at that barn dance that tile idea first came to me to pass myself oft off to you as a pennsylvania Perin syl dutch girl for I 1 thought it would give nip me nuch auch a chance as no girl had bad ever had before to learn to know ray my possible future husband hu 1 im afraid st croli croix murmured you think you learned to know him too well 1 tro orm afraid st croix I 1 dudl do you think it was fair to take me unawares like that wily why not suddenly a new realization come came to him that flint turned him a degree cold er than lie already was hut but if you were the teacher he why then it was you yon that man in was all the time seeing at that it was to you my fattier father paid five thoa then sand dollars to pet get away awall I 1 my mr 0 d dl I 1 yes that flint a leenel what ini im going to see bee your fattier father about I 1 arn home to england with that money to feed my starving ph parents rents now im going to make a clean branst of it all to your father and then if hell let me borrow what ive still got of that five thousand pit ill go to hollywood with it the only blot on my family escutcheon she sighed Is toy my having taken that bribe from your eatherl fat lierl but I 1 needed it will you tell me demanded st croix frowning darkly Is marvin in love with you im aure ure I 1 dont know lie ile never told me so the one time I 1 met him unprofessionally 11 and you are perfectly confident are 3 ou that marvin had no do suspicions at fill all as to who ullo you yoa acre ere 1 I fancy lie he had several suspicions oh st croix its going to be awfully embarrassing facing them all aall I 1 especially your awful father after my talc ing that money from himl it maars mak me shuddery shuI derl rl when we get there st croix let roe walk in behind you will you and I 1 promise to bring up a good solid rear in the procession 1 oil oh but im nervous about etl to see you sitting there looking like lively ton and talking straight english Engli sli its the d t knockout ive ever experienced st croix almost groaned I 1 do the part to the lifer she amazingly appealed tor for applause now I 1 can go to hollywood not only to offer myself but my piece as well for ive written a seen scenario arto of this weird wild escapade st croix that they cant resist 1 see yourself in a movie and find out just how just what youre like I 1 sylvia I 1 lie he leaned forward and took tier her hand they had their end of the car pretty much to themselves give up this hollywood ideal you know how t I 1 love you now how she repeated thoughtfully as she gently withdrew her hand yes I 1 know how but look herel youre toure not going t to 0 hold nie me to account for treating you like the creature you pretended to be I 1 what sort of a creature was I 1 pretending to be you know what I 1 mean sylvia yet you made love to that creature A mans standards she shook her head over it are certainly low high enough when it comes to choosing a wife Sylv sylvia lal then let a womans comans standards be as high when choosing a husband you dont know life my dear or you say such tin an impossible thing lly aly own standards are far more fastidious than tile the aTe average ragel gracious it if marry me ru ill worship and reverence oad and adore you all my life long ily dear st croix I 1 cant imagine anything more uncomfortable than being reverenced reveren ced li Ii eavens I 1 youve known meely ton much longer find and better than youve youe known cousin sylila and im afraid if you married me be far more likely to bully and browbeat the mock meek and lowly meely than to worship reverence and adore the lady sylvia youre so used to bullying roe me I 1 risk it you actually believe I 1 could ever for a moment confound you with the stupid vulgar girl you pretended to be you made love to that girl and would have despoiled and ravished lavished ravi shed her ber ile he winced and looked shocked please Il case such words on your lips bunk I 1 r losh bosh you would have done to her what you consider indecent even to speak speak of to roe me do you think I 1 forget what you told her of your feelings about your marriage marr luge you said to her 11 1 I will marry my cousin because I 1 shall enjoy the pre stig ga this marriage will give to me and to my children you even hoping tor for love in your marriage that you would find outside of marriage with girls like meely 11 1 1 I seen iou aou then sylvia you were planning to marry one girl while you were trying your best to seduce fiD another otherl and in the face of that you dare to speak of marriage to me yes because I 1 love youl you I 1 was mad about nicely and you are site she with just the difference that turns desire into worship im afraid st croix that marans Marl nS repudiating me Is more to my taste you see sec my dear cousin I 1 know too well how you are to womanhood how sou dishonor it and ravage it again lie he winced and drew back 1 I cannot bear he be frowned disgust in his ebes to hear such coarse language on tile lips of a girt girl I 1 respect I 1 TO BE CONTINUED |