Show Seale d- d I ITH TH THE STORY ORV At a public dance Marlin Forbes A n newspaper man cut cuts cutsIn cutsIn In on Rhoda Whites W hate s 9 dance danco with Max x Le Lewis Lents I whom horn Martin In- In In dislike Ho He OS 0 over er- er hears A conversation between een and A 1 woman which he hr reAlizes concerns Rhoda He Ile re- re recall re-cilli re call calle a blind blind ad Inquiring the tho outs of oC Rhoda l McFarland land land and lenses senses a n no newspaper per sll y He lie believes belloe bello e that Is Rito Rho Ritoda da a real name She refuses refuse to deny or admit It However It rec lIs her childhood In Cali- Cali California California Cali California fornia Her ner mother dead she hAd been hippy h until misfortune befell her father Cather Professor Mc- Mc SIc SIc-P-irland I A Associated with the blow Is la her hor uncle V Royce They rno move mo e to Chicago where s hero here her father Cather Is la engaged to In mysterious work wort Rhoda takes t up CHAPTER Continued II-Continued II Continued 3 3 f I The only qualms of panic pinic she slie e eser eer er felt when going about alone on her e excursions to the shops the library a n near nearby by mo movie mode Ie theater took the lie form torm of or a n belief hellet that she he had trad Peen him or that he lie was as following her herIt herIt It If he was the source of the Hie money they Ih lived lied ed on then It meant that he knew where here then the Ih livid u and that he knew was for tor some reason she couldn t fathom biding Ills his hi time But she he was wasas as as a matter of ot fact tact too and Ifill happy even too well occupied to think about him much Really neally shed she d never lacked friends But ut her ller often otten repe repelled In not Dot to tell who tho they were or where they came from to ans answer anser er no pcr personal onal que questions at all brought It about thit most moct of ot her friendships were ere with Ith members of the stilT stiff of the hotel rither than with Ith residents resIdent There was one e exception a amon among time guests a n middle aged pretty woman who always wore a black black a widow I Rhoda supposed She didn't ask man sue was so co deaf that you vou had to shout hout to make hear She was vas going to a school where you learned lip reading so co that you could tell what hat p people ople said cald b looking at them without iring he-iring theIr voices at all The school was us downtown down downtown downtown town In one of the bl big buildings s of ot the loop and Sirs Irs George whose f de de tf n ness s had come upon her lier hated to venture down Into that confusion con confusion iu fusion lon alone Her need was ns a gOth godsend to Rhoda who ho volunteered to go with her every ery morning morning- She went Into the class with Ith Mrs George and laying having nothing else to do she fhe sat and watched and learned lip reading herself It took Ir Mrs Ira George three months to learn but In halt half that time Rhoda was Infallible at it It made life lire more amusing She liked to ride In the elevated elected and watch people tal tall talk dos do down don n at the end of the car And when she che and her father had dinner In the restaurant his lils long preoccupied silences did not leave ea e her restless She Slie would be sampling con conver conversations ver from all over 0 er the room It was as a n reil bereavement nt when hen Mrs Ir George left the hotel and went to e 1 ew York to the But the best friendship of tho those e four Kota 1 years didn t be bes In until after Mrs George hid gone It was s Ith Bacon whose rather incredible first name wa was the public stenographer Rhoda land bad been sa In good morning to her Ier tad sometimes stoppIng be beside her desk desh for a word orl or two for months But In her lone loneliness liness after Mrs Irs George hid gone one she formed sli-formed formed the habit hallit of longer visits when ben she saw sa Miss Bacon wa wasn n t busy busy Miss Bacon was as not Rhoda per ceded etl as old as she had thought ht her being rather stout tout and her ss caring spectacles made her look so 0 But she had bad a jolly young oung voice and a nice smile She didn t ask any prying ques Ions She talked quite a good dellin dell In a nice friendly way ay about her 0 oven n affairs Probably she he was wis ther r 1 lane lanely I ly herself sot ot that she site hadn tan t any relations but that they didn t do her any good Her lIer father It seemed hid h had sex se several eral wives wises h es who ho had died one after another and the children didn t like one another well ell ind nd quarreled quarreled Florabel had been the youngest oun est and shed she'd had a horrible time until she sited d n to learn a trade that made her Independent Independence was sacred word Everybody she a said Id e even een en a girl who was almost sure to get et mar marnet married net ought to have e a trade I then hen tr it anything unexpected happened shed she'd got something to tie tic to or Of course not It if site she shea s rich she added I m not rich Rhoda slid t It least I don t think we e are I 1 ether ither ex x pests to be pretty soon toon I with I h I could learn stenography I suppose It S 3 11 awfully hard liard Its Its It's spelling that Is root most Ira 1 I lorabel told her Can Can y ou f spell IJ ell 7 SpellIng Oh I think so Rhoda said Spell Lug log len In l nt t hard la is It ItT 7 It It was as for me 1 lorabel told herBut her herBut But Rhoda n as It turned outa out a was one of or those I lucky uch v people who ho simply can t misspell a word ord that they ve se e ever eer been een In print I I could teach YOU ou mi self volunteered I Id d like to first rate I haven cn t much to do hardly eer cv es er cc In Inthe Inthe the ml middle dle of ot the morning or In the of time tile afternoon There never er was aS a more enthusiastic tic pupil and I lorabel seemed is s e e cited e about It as she was as herself She he worked over oser 0 cr the preliminary el e J until her hand han cramped crampe and then until 1 It t came ul again She bhe was as d at eHr entry every le lesson son to sur sr n By Henry Kitchell Webster leb Copyright by The Th Dobbs Dobb Merrill Co Co U SOrTie sonic prise prIe by how much more kii h knew and and and she sIle never failed By lly the end of two months she could write a clean If It she didn t try to go too fast and she wn was taking slow dictation that lorabel I rend read not from prepared exercises but out of oC the thene ne newspaper or anywhere any here Then one day a client appeared at atthe atthe atthe the desk In the middle of the lesson Rhoda caught up her notebook and heft fled but not very Cry far tar c only to the nearest t sofa hen W hen the man hid h fin dictating lct his letters and gone gonea a away ay she Hn went t bae back to Let Let me see lee if I can cant t write rIte them from my notes site slie pleaded lie Ie till tilled ell ed loud enough for me to hear him nil all right and I know 1 se e got es e eer er ery thins thing lorabel I had been rather shocked and she mule made Rhoda promise e not tint to todo todo do It u igi In but hut she did let her scribe her lier note notes on the h typewriter pe rIter and antl there were ere only a few small mistakes mistakes hat hat they thc did after that with clients the thc knew was ns to ask permission for Cor to sit beside the desk and tale take the dictation for tor practice They were werl mostly awfully n fully nice about It People wore were re like that In the main according to s experience experience- kindly glad to help one out of a dim culty It if It didn t mem mein tal lag Ing much trouble ind sometimes when it did The thing she slie couldn t understand was as why hy they the had been so cruel to her father lie never ne could hive hl meant whatever hate er It was hed he'd done one to hurt curt an anybody body In the world Yet as ng site she II with Ith better understanding some of the things that had happened In the la last lt weeks wees before they left home to come east the whole hole town must have hae ha e turned upon him as if It he bed d been a leper They d broken brohen him i somehow She couldn t believe my more that the lie happy happ time Ume ho he lied d used to talk the about the long holiday when hen they d roam the world doing whatever er the they pleased would would ever e come But the scheme tint that was as to make male it possible obsessed ed him more and more lie He almost al almost almost most never neer talked to her lier now he didn t e even een en want her to rend reid to hIm And he couldn t be vc very ry well either Ills face had a queer blue color sometimes sometimes some times that frightened her lIe insisted it was as nothing an and when she found out accidentally that lie he d been to see seethe seethe seethe the doctor who ho Ih lived ed in the hotel lie he told her It was wis for a touch of or indi indigestion estIon I lorabel was ur urging ln her now to go out and find herself a regular job She he wa was better fitted for it than most of the graduates of the schools and as good as she he he d ever get et until she shed she'd had Ind some ome actual business perl e e c peri once wanted anted to do o It but she felt she che couldn t without without telling her father about the plan before putting it In execution So she slie put ofT off sa saying saving In she sheI I would go ln looking for i 1 job joh some orne time hut but that she didn t see ee that there w as asam asam am hurry At the end ot of one of these com converse she he ic S1 something in her lier friend s face tint made her lier ask aSh with a In her lier I IS h L there inv tny special hurry hurr tint thit you vou ou 1 I now bout I lorabel visibly hesitated over hu hr answer I I sort of hated to tell you ou she said cald 11 h hi hy I m ni not to be here sety el y much longer longe on e lou ou 1 ou see sec Im I going to mirry Mr Ir Ga Gage e lou ou I 1 now And of course tint means I 1 m going to Denver Dens Dem er to live I Its e end And nd oh limb i I 1 d like lIJe to see you vou OU settled before I r got go Rhoda toted to remember the little tittle SCene followed She d said in her hurt bewilderment some sonic pretty mein things about Independence and so on nd shed she'd made matle cr cry they Iliev I he d ma made e It t up though within the th hour Site She helped shop hop and ind she slie lle went to the wedding and saw the couple off oIT on the train She ill ed Mr Ir Gage herself lie He Heas was as fat like lorabel I and jolly lIe looked rather rattier solemn though through when hen hebald he hebald bald good by to her tier lie ga gave gale e her his hlo card with his address on It und and told her hir to e 1 keep 11 It If anything e eser er happened to her he lie said tad ind site bhe found site She wanted anted any help She slie was as to write rite or telegraph She refrained from asking him hint what he thought might Of course she really knew 11 hen about a fortnight later an hour after alter she slie and her lier had finished their thur lite dinner the blow flit she hadn t been surprised at ill 11 SheI She he heI I ad hind had the doctor there thue within ten minutes minute but hut she d known then that it Il was as too late for his remedies to del delan di diany an any any real good The I he one thins tl tI at It was able to remember and impo Ie to for forget et was the her father tather ha had pleaded with Ith the do doctor tor for one snort mort di Ue lIe frantically believed belies helle ed cd that enough of the dru drug they were putting Into his Ills veins would give e him the little tittle handful of hours tint that was wi all ull he 11 needed did give he him more stuff stull out of the hypodermic syringe ringe but this It ItaM was aM morphine and aull under it he re- re relaxed relaxed re relaxed so tint for a u while he lie talked to her comfortably but hut confusedly lI lie thought It was as Just after fter her moth mother mother er cr died when she the five e years sears care old But n a little later after the nurse had come lie ho roused a as from front a deep stare starel 1 at In u tightened 1 w iy lad tried to tk IJ k to her lier w n 1 sing iving In the nure nurse n 1 awn as he did so The oats onh Intelligible words she had been able to hear when hen he lie lapsed Into un con were svere papers papers and sour our Uncle 11 The doctor had been giving s1 some In InstructIons Instructions to the nur nurse e Rhoda Inter Intercepted Intercepted him on his way to the door door u III he be wake e al up again she ashe asked hIm himlie He lie looked at her steadily a n moment before beCore he ans answered ered No Xo No m dear child he won t t This Is the end And then surprisingly hl his eyes e es flied filled up with tears You You re only a n little girl l lie Ie sal said as us If It It were a Il discos discovery cry on W on t you let me get set some come woman here In the hotel to take tahe you In until your friends can cnn come and an get you 1 And won wont t you rou let me telegraph now no for them 7 She told him afraid her ber voice solve olce wis betraying her sudden panic that she he would telegraph and that che shed rather go tad ind lie lip down b bi herself herselt In her lier 0 own n room TIle words must base hae sounded all rl right ht since Ince he lie assented a lIttle dubiously I sen en with the door shut shift she could hear her father Cather s terrible breathing She he wanted anted to think but she coup coul I Inot Inot not Site She could only listen It lasted a alon along along lon long time 11 hen It stopped the lie cessa cecca brought her bold hold upright In bed betl to drew her own breath for a matter of seconds second It came at list l with a sob of ot relief Site cried rather peacefully untIl after atter a while she he heard the nurse to tell her lier She burled buried her face In the tite crook of her lier irm and la still and the nur nurse l believing her hr asleep went away av t ain shutting the door titer herAt leer her At th it II quite suddenly her mind went to work orl Vint hu ha J her father been tr trying In Into to tell toll her lier In that last ticker of oC his consciousness Hut tidal lug ing about that she decided ut at last t do any good The rite frag fragmentary fragmentary words worked out to two op polite meanings s slIe He lIe ml might ht of course ha have e been tell tetI tellIng In tag her to go o to Uncle W and I that she d find his address among his Ills lie n n u ushe she w wis IS to look out for Uncle Wit II lIam ind not let him get po possession of the papers And since her lier uncle was as almost as much in ogre to her as he been four years sears ears a ago o It wis the latter interpretation that she adopted 11 hat liat the doctor hid Ind slid wis the thing tint t frightened her worst worst ou lou re only a little girl I That of ot course was wis nonsense Site She was as sixteen and lots of people thought she was as older than that She could pass for tor eighteen veil etI enough He lIe d said laid that only because he wis sorry her But sixteen was as still a child according to laYou law la You w eren t of age until you 1 0 were ere or eighteen or wis W It itis is 1 ent one And if Uncle knew where she site was as and learned of her s death he d come com and an gether get gether gether her and she wouldn t be able to get getaw aw a 3 from him etI W ell thep the only safe thing thine thin I for her to do o was wis to lEa dIs before he ho hid time to find out what shat hat had happened Looking biek bast now no noOn on those days after the passage e of two veers veirs so ed with Ith life tint they seemed pemel longer than the four tour tint thit hind pre pro preceded preceded ceded them she che wondered tint that she amel amete a mel mete e child or of n hid h been able I to follow out tint resolution so stead lly lIy that no one hid Ind tried to put an obstacle in her path Except pt for i 1 i tele purporting pui pm to come |