Show One Wonderful Week by byC byC C S Forester Service Copyright by Dobbs Merrill Co TH THE E STORY Harold Norman Korman orman an or- or orphan orphan or orphan phan lives with his great aunt Matilda Matilda who reared him At her death ho death ho finds himself penniless At tho dose close of ot the war he gets work In a bank Taking a 11 ge B sage ge to Marjorie Clarence he finds ands her father tather In tho throes ot of tremens Harold prom prom- lace promises to tike M Into tho country next da dai They have an exciting day They miss the last train back to London CHAPTER IV Continued IV-Continued Continued 12 12 Cant be done said Mr Ir Buckley I got a job Meeting an old boy and hIs wife on the ele eleven en twenty from London and taking them three miles over oyer to But nut when you come back asked Marjorie pitifully Might be done then said Ir Bu Buckley kley and their hearts rose roce again until th they y had to hard to re- re retain retain re retain tain them at fit all all Where here d you want to go Morley Park Not as far as Lon London London don said Harold Do Do It for three quid said Mr hIr Buckley Harold thought of the three pound notes In his Ills and the two half crowns nS In his pocket and agreed eed feebly and thankfully th Right Right s ld Mr l Buckley Bucl ley with ith de decision tie tie- decision cislon I II be beck bick here by um by-um-ah um ah twelve twelve o'clock See you then Right night to He Lie shut the door The babes In the wood had only an hour and a quarter to wait walt They spent that hour and a Quarter quarteron on the roadside It was cold collI and dark and ond ble ible Herold thought frequently of the half haIr bun he had left behind when they started for home Even Eyen the thou thought ht of ot a n seven seyen hours sat on half bun was appetizing at the moment Marjorie sat with her ber feet In the ditch huddled In her rain rainy raincoat y coat coat and leaned n ag Harold s v knees In a sort of stupor of ot misery It was after the tIle village church clock had struck midnight that Mr Duck Buck Buckey's Buckleys Buckley's leys ley's car came rattling down th the roid ro hat s the address asked Mr r Buckles Herold told him Go toward Morley common he added feebly fed feebly ly z I II tell YOU von where to togo togo togo go when were we're getting near Then at last with a grinding of gears and a Jerk they were off ofT Mr Ir Buckleys Buckley's car besides beIng past Its first youth did not boast side curtains The wind of ot their progress swirled round their shivering forms torms blew str through the exiguous exiguous- A fIg ug on knees knee's and sought sou ht out remorselessly every chink and open openIng openIng openIng Ing in their clothing I teeth teet were cluttering chattering Harold put his arms about her and clasped her to him but tile the gesture was not one of ot aTe affection It was e eL as much one of self tie tie- defence de defence to Mar Mar- Marjorie fence as it was of protection jorie A chilly horrible hour and a c At Morley Park ParI worth North orth station Har Harold lIar lIar- old redirected Mr Buckles and at the corner of ot Afford Ashford road they stopped Harold helped a frozen Marjorie to and then handed over oyer a re reluctant re- re reluctant reluctant alight nn three pounds to Mr Ir Buckley nuckley At any rate they were home Perhaps It would he be in better taste not to describe that homecoming In Thereas There as was M s pitiful knock at the door boor Then Mrs Irs TillIng Till TillIn In Ing s opening of It-a It It a horrific tion In gown o n and curling pa papers papers denunciation of pr pers Her lIer I MarjorIe and then on her seeing Mar jorles s pitiful condition her roundIng upon Harold She baldly used him of ot seduction reduction She blared out nIl all sorts of threats about police anti and about then she And ch 11 processes slammed the door upon him and left leU Lim wilting on the doorstep Harold larold began his walk alb back to Fell View In a n decidedly unpleasant frame of ot mind lIe He was hungry and cold and tired lIe He had been threat threat- He lIe had bad spent vi with Ith pros cutIon much mone As nearly as he could the etiquette of ot these tell not knowing engaged to be mar mar- married married matters he was DS not at all sure that ried and he lie was as he be wanted to beIn beIn be days Destiny had In the last two habits had bad blacked upset all s a his eye and starved him and frozen him with n a woman him and entangled nothing of practically shutting to say of and locking In his face the doors his club Quite a good start butIn but In own the opinion of Destiny nothing noth more than a start Destiny giggled aln Into UV into UV hysterically and 1 bUIU hat to see what her conjurer conjurers s top could find Ond for further surprise she him Harold Harold HaroM plodded feebly across Morley orley fell rell to i The best wily way common footpath narrow YIt V was as along alon a dusty In summer summer sum sum- summer muddy In winter and wound among the gorse mer which bushes from one side of the common to the other There was non n a soul about It being half balf past one it lithe In Inthe the morning As Harold ascended a R slight rIse anti and turned a n corner of the path a a hundred yards ards from the road rond he be saw sass 8 a motor car with Ith glaring headlights sta stationary at the roadside under a street lamp There were yere two men furious furIously at work changing n one of ot the back ck wheels another was as striding up and down beside the car Imp ip an and 1 anxiously So much Liar Dar Darold Harold old noticed dully Then things b be- be began began gan to happen harpen Another pair of glaring headlights headlight appeared far down the road In an Incredibly short space of ot time they the tore up to the stationary car With a shriek and clamor of ot brakes the new al stopped de d beside the other car Instantly half halt a dozen dirk forms detached themselves before It had even properly stopped and hurled es upon the three men There was a struggle and a sharp cry As Harold watched open mouthed some come one brol e c a from the struggling struggling gling mass and fled leil on to the cornmon com common common mon Some one else shouted and plunged after him the Hie writhing bun bundie bundie the die heaved simultaneously and a hand shot chot out of the confusion lon caught aught the th pursuer s ankle and brought him down downhead head he first with a shattering crash upon the pavement pa ement But Dut at the same Instant two red fla flashes hes split spilt the dark darkness darkness darkness ness behind the headlights and two smashing reports echoed across the common One bullet screamed through the theair theair thair air two t 0 yards ards from II rold s ear makIng mal mak makIng Ing him leap as though stung The Theother other apparently found a more sub sub- sub l billet for the wretched retched m tn running In Harold s direction pitched head 0 over oser er heels like a shot rabbit rIght at Harold s feet Automatically Harold bent over himIn him himIn himin In the faint light he was as conscious ot of ofa ota ola a bearded and spectacled face con contorted forted agony The stranger clearly clear clearly ly Iy was as not dead for he struggled to tc tor tor r 1 r I He Struggled to Raise Himself to a Sitting Position raise himself to a sitting position HIs coat and waistcoat were torn wide open In the front so that his white shirt showed up plainly His right hand clutched a n bulky black object which revealed Itself clearly to lIar Har Haold Harold old s goggling eyes as an automatic pistol Ills His left hand held a small leather case from which dangled two broken straps The strangers s eyes met Harold sand c s and flashed with de- de despairing de despairing hatred u He lle made a convulsive sive movement with tho the pistol but buthIs buthis bu his arm gave aye ave way before he could poInt it at him and he fell back willa with witha a 11 groin As he did so with one last failing effort he dashed the leather case Into Harold s face All tills this happened with unbelievable rapidity It was not more than fise fh c seconds after Harold had topped that thai I low rise that Harold found hImself clutching the case In his hands and still bending over oser 0 er the dead or unconscious unconscious stranger 1 Then hen came another shout from the motor cars Two or three throe men were Vue plunging toward him two t 0 or three more were huddled In contorted attitudes atti atti- attitudes attitudes tudes on the pa pavement em nt Somebody shouted Again there came a flesh and a report and something cut through a furze branch at Harolds Harold's elbow The only ones thing Harolds Harold's mud muddied tiled died brain could think of ot was to set hIs weary legs Into once more lle He turned and bolted ll across the dark common TO HE nE CONTINUED |