Show ake ir FICTION ADVENTURE LIMITED ajsa m HI r by IDA BREED ra L eo comee I 1 ji C CAROLYN AROLYN TAYLOR looked at herself critically to in the ull full length mirror then gave her reflection a smiling little nod od of 4 approval the smile was justified her mirrored image showed a lovely young woman of thirty two who looked hardly more than twenty five vivid well dressed confident S she e was more charming more desirable than the pretty young carolyn of 0 eleven years before when she finished college that was the carolyn who all her senior lenior year at college had to keep reminding herself that this was earth she lived on and not really heaven as it seemed because of lee lee who was tall and lean with intent blue eyes and delightfully unruly hair lee who loved her and treasured the secret of their engaged engagement ent lee who was so sweet about wa wanting to present her to the tha y family as a beautiful surprise after commencement not even his adored older brother had been let in on en the secret commencement time was to be the climax of everything that seemed important to her then with commencement still still three weeks away it happened just after lee passed the final examinations for his doctors degree he was offe offered redan an extraordinary chance to do the very research work that he roost most wanted a unique chance for an unmarried man prepared to devote atlease at least five years to the project carolyn remembered how honorable leehan lee bad been in breaking the news to her lie he might have let their engagement continue he told her be ba might have kept on seeing it her er deceiving her about their prospects tor for marriage putting it off or promising to marry her at the end of the live five years but he did not con sider elder that the right thing to do no it was on lythe part of a ge gentleman etleman to tell her that it was be best at to break off she was not to feel hurt there was no other girl just his career he ha put anguish into Ca heart but managed somehow to impress her with the difficulty ot of his own part in the scene even in the pain and shock of ct losing him carolyn Cit rolyn told herself that lee was the finest person she had ever known that belief had bad never left her three years later sh she a married jefferson taylor a big broad westerner done in shades of brown she sometimes felt a slight disdain for jeffs substantial size remembering lees aristocratic slenderness but the she repressed the thought lots of tun fun jeff was and with a practical tica I 1 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 elf that she withheld one section of her heart heair and mind walled off that would always belong to lee she never spoke to jeff of this re reservation only in secret did carolyn now and then open the door on that precious might have been part of her and take it out to dream over ever but today as she looked at her delightful self in the mirror it was not to dream it was with a plan for action she was back in new york alter after an absence ot of two years nearly every spring since her marriage she had made the trip and had always stopped oft off for or a brief visit in her old college town this time she was planning to follow the same course but with what a difference encel one ot of her old school friends had written her last year that lee towne had returned to their alma mater to direct the research work there so lee was back and carolyn V ro I 1 0 P I 1 N 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 everybody dropped in at tea time then when lee appeared carolyn had this part rehearsed in her mind she would give just the right look of pleased surprise just the right degree of invitation to remember lee lea would see what he had missed all these years what would happen alter after they met what did she want to happen that carolyn did not quite know and she stopped short ol 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 11 nearby table stared at her with ob obvious 1 ous admiration mi ration they were younger faculty members that she did not know then somehow without the fanfare of trumpets that would have 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 that she could have stopped him with a word it u ut t the she did not speak it this was the lee le whom she had treasured in her heart for eleven lee still tall but with shoulders stooped still lean but with a hollow cheated look lee his blue e eyes y es intent now only with a nearsighted S peering expression his hair no longer unruly because there was not enough of it to be just some wisps borrowed from one side to cover a pole pale bald spot and it was obvious that tor for all he saw of the life humming around him he might have had his eye bent to a microscope as he walked carolyn eat ant and stared helpless to force her gaze away from this changed lee what ot of the distinguished gray at the temples the impressive look of 0 the scientist that she had bad pictured picture dl I 1 the men at the next table were noticing her concentrated gaze oh she finally forced herself to look away the next minute with no more poise than a school girl she 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 jeffs bulk she was glad that her husband was such a substantial person in every way such nice thick hair too and straight shoulders she had never been as sweet to him as he deserved but she would make it up from now on why he was the finest pe person r son that she had ever knowal back at their table the two curious young men continued to speculate after they had bad watched carolyn rus rush in from the room did you see her staring a at johnny towne as if she were fascinated cina ted it if it had been lee now you could understand it he hes a handsome devil |