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Show stouts' wis.is He Understood Women By RICHARD HILL WILKINSON (Associated Newspapers WNU Service.) AT TWENTY-FOUR Ranee Fiske was a handsome lad and very J much aware of the fact. He knew women and understood them. He delighted in conquests, prided himself on the long list of broken hearts for which he was responsible, re-sponsible, possessed no scruples and believed himself infallible. In brief. Ranee was a maker of love par excellence. ex-cellence. That was why Lorna Simms puzzled puz-zled him. Lorna was the belle of Holbrook where Ranee had gone to recuperate from a slight nervous breakdown. He met her the day after he arrived, and the forlorn, unhappy look left his eyes. It wasn't going to be so bad having to spend a month in this hick town, after all. In fact, he was rather glad he'd come, because Lorna ' looked as though she would be : worth the effort of conquest. Still she puzzled him. She didn't rise to his bait, didn't display any more interest in him than she did in the local youths, didn't seem at all flattered by his attentions. At first he was amused. He'd seen 'em act this way before, and knew exactly the system to use to bring 'em to terms. And so Ranee bided his time, waited two days, in fact, before making another try and discovered she'd practically forgotten him in the interval. This was annoying. For a moment or two he was actually actu-ally upset. No girl he'd ever known had reacted quite in this manner before. He analyzed the situation, assured himself that pretty Lorna was, after all, only a woman, de- packed his bags and walked around by Lorna's house a good hour before be-fore train time, to say good-by. Much to his disgust Lorna took his hand warmly. "It's really been nice knowing you. Ranee I I hope you don't think that my interest inter-est was wholly out of " She broke off, laughing and Ranee felt a wave of contempt surge through him. She was. after all, pretty crude about it. Telling him in such a sloppy manner man-ner that she really did care! As if he didn't know that! Well, she had gone a little too far. There was a limit to what a man could stand. He decided in that moment to go through with his plan, actually leave town for awhile and let her suffer. "It's been nice knowing you, too," he told her with nicely gauged sarcasm. sar-casm. "Perhaps we'll meet again sometime." "Oh, I hope so. I'd love to have you come up for the wedding." "Wedding?" ' "Mine and Gerald's. We're to be married next month, you know." "No," said Ranee, "I didn't know. But I think that's splendid. Just dandy!" He turned and left her and during the five minutes it took to reach the station, a host of thoughts paraded through his mind. He couldn't settle on anything definite, however, couldn't convince himself of the reality of the facts that kept pounding against his brain. The station platform, save for a solitary figure, was deserted, because be-cause it was still 45 minutes before train time. The solitary figure approached Ranee and blocked his path. "I guess," said the figure, "you know me. Well, I'm Gerald Niles, and ever since the day you arrived I've wanted to punch your nose. In fact, I promised myself I wouldn't let you get out of town without doing it. Only reason I haven't is because of Lorna. Sometimes she makes me mad with that kind heart of hers.' Just because everyone else thought you were a conceited, ignorant fool, Lorna took pity and thought it was her duty to ' befriend you. Well, that's O.K., except that I don't like the way you've been treating her. Why, damn it, you've acted as ' though you were doing her a favor, letting her ride around with you like that. And I maintain that a guy like you needs his nose punched, if he ever wants to learn anything, and in view of the fact that Lorna and I are to be married next month, I feel that it's my duty." , ' " Whereupon Mr. Niles swung into action and presently Ranee Fiske found himself sitting on the station platform with blood spurting from his nose and a dazed expression in .his eyes. Presently his distorted vision cleared and he saw Gerald Niles shuffling disinterestedly out toward the village. He felt tenderly of his injuries and a smirk appeared on his face. The facts which had been pounding at his brain suddenly gained admission and asserted themselves. And Ranee Fiske, maker of love par excellence, was for the first time in his life abruptly convinced of something besides his own ability in his chosen profession. She didn't rise to his bait,' didn't, seem at all flattered by his atten tions. spite her background, hence human, and sure-fire methods of approach. He buckled down in dead earnest 1 to the business of making a success of this new conquest and succeeded, succeed-ed, much to the annoyance of one Gerald Niles, a local youth who had designs on the gorgeous Lorna, in causing her to display toward him what he identified as keen interest. But the keen' interest was, as far as Lorna was concerned, nothing more than an amused attraction. She accepted an occasional invitation invita-tion to attend a movie and go for a drive with him, but she never encouraged en-couraged his attentions, never laughed more than was politely necessary nec-essary at his wisecracks. After two weeks, Ranee took account ac-count of stock. There was only one explanation: Lorna wasn't the yokel he'd supposed. She was smart and she was playing the game as subtly and as cleverly as he. Well, all right. If that were her attitude he had a means of frustrating any female fe-male when it came to matters of the heart And so the next time Lorna accompanied ac-companied him on a drive into the country he said casually: "Well, it looks as though I'll have to cut my visit short. Had a telephone call from New York last night and I guess I'll have to pull up stakes early tomorrow morning." "It doesn't pay," said Lorna nr differently, "to stay away from your work too long in these times." Ranee coughed and looked away over the hills. "I don't suppose," he mused, "I'll be missed a great deal." "That," said Lorna, "is because you haven't made many friends here. Folks think you're cold and hard and distant." She laughed apologetically. "I can understand why you feel you won't be missed. Though, frankly, I think it's your own fault." "And I suppose," he said icily, "the interest you've displayed in me was out of pity?" She looked at him in grave concern. con-cern. "Oh, I didn't want you to feel that way!- You mustn't!" Ranee stepped on the starter of his hired car and headed it for town. He was grimly silent and annoyed. an-noyed. So she was still playing the game, eh? She thought he would swallow that line like these local apple knockers. So she knew that that telephone call business had been a gag and she wanted to impress im-press him with the fact Well, he'd show her she was wrong! He'd actually pack up and leave, and see how she liked that! He'd give her three days before he came back and if she weren't ready to come to terms by then well, the system had never failed him yet. And so the next day Ranee |