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Show Hello to Love By HAL G. VERMES O UcClure Newspaper Syndicate. WNU service. X1TE SAIL In just ten minutes, sir," the steward said in reply re-ply to Lee's question. Running down the gangway, Lee sprinted through the dimly lit cavernous cav-ernous Interior of the pier, missing destruction by the speeding trucks piled high with baggage only through the prompt intervention of Providence. He rushed breathlessly breathless-ly to the waiting room and dashed into a telephone booth. Fortunately he found a nickel at once. "Operator! Operator!" he cried. "Get me Starwell one-nine-three-five. And hurry!" "Angel !" he shouted as soon as he heard a soft feminine "hello." 'This Is Lee. Can you forgive me, darling? 1 know I'm rushing you ; but my boat sails in a few minutes min-utes and I can't miss It, as I've got to be at a conference In London Lon-don on Friday. I've been a fool, Rhoda. But after that terrible misunderstanding mis-understanding we had two weeks ago I thought I never wanted to see you again. Oh, I love you. Rhoda. And dear, you must marry me. I know this a devil' of a way to make a' proposal, but It can't be helped. I've got to know before I sail for I'm not coming back, you know." Stopping only for a short sharp breath, he went on, yelling into the telephone in his excitement: "Please do this, dear. Catch the Greyhound which sails In five days and get to Southampton on the sixteenth. six-teenth. I'll meet you there. Everything Every-thing will be arranged nnd we can get married immediately. Oh, you must say, yes. Because we love each other. You know we do!" It wasn't until then that his listener lis-tener was able to squeeze in a word. When she spoke her voice was prim and precise. "What number num-ber are you calling?" she asked. "Isn't this Rhoda?" Lee shouted. "Rhoda Perry?" "I'm really very sorry," the voice replied. "But It is not. Evidently you have " But at a deep bass warning from the ship's whistle, Lee dropped the telephone receiver and ran wildly back up the now deserted pier. He jumped for the gangway, which was being lifted into the air. "Good-by to love!" Lee said the words aloud in the teeth of the wind as he paced the shadows of the observation bridge and scowled at the shore lights. The heels of another passenger clicking across the deck Invaded his thoughts. What was a girl doing up here? Staring intently inland, she looked as lonesome as he felt Perhaps Per-haps she, too, had left some one behind. Wanting to share his sorrow, sor-row, Lee took advantage of the informal cameraderie which prevails pre-vails on board ship. "May I offer you a cigarette?" he said, taking out a case and snapping it open. But it was as if he hadn't spoken. "Oh, -I say now," he protested, waving a nonchalant hand at the cold shoulder which held him off, "there's no use brooding. After all, life as the Americans say is just I a bowl of berries, and all that sort j of thing." It was then that she replied, confirming con-firming his wild guess and dashing his hopes with the same words. "Please do not speak to me," she said, without turning. "It is you !" he exclaimed. "Rhoda darling, this means that you do love me!", "No!" she said firmly. "Then why are you here?" "I musf insist that you do not speak to me again. Because " And then without warning she whirled about so quickly that he had barely time to lift his arms and catch her. "Darling!" she cried. "Hold me tight !" Lee promptly did as he was told. As she rested her head against his breast and sobbed he wondered won-dered at what curious creatures women are. A man never knew where he stood, he thought. Though ' matters seemed to have ended ' quite well for him quite. Still, ho ' would very much like to know how It all came about. "Won't you explain, dear?" he said. "So that I can be sure I shan't ever have to let you go?" "Look quickly !" she replied. "See those three lights in a row on shore there!" "Why, they're winking!"- "If they weren't," Rhoda said, her words mystifying him still more, "I would never have spoken to you again !" Lee sighed deeply. "It's positively posi-tively beyond my comprehension." "There wasn't a word from you for two whole weeks." Rhoda said. "And when I learned that yon were sailing for home, I hooked passage, too. But still I didn't hear from you. So when I left the house this evening, I told mother that I would be up here on the observation deck and if yon did phone at the last minute, she would switch the living liv-ing room lights on and off as a signal." "They my memory Is not as unreliable un-reliable as I had thought." His arms were definitely possessive now. "And your phone number Is Starwell one-nine-three-five!" Rhoda on tip-toe raised her Hps to his ear. "Not any more," she whispered, smilingly. |