Show S. S TELE TELEGRAM RAM FICTION FICTION- S Substitute Sweetheart By BV Priscilla Priscill Wayne BEGIN HERE TODAY TODAr Although her brother Jerry forbade forbade forbade for for- bade her to do It Ruth Dayton Dafton 18 iS hai ha accepted a job ob posing as June Bradley stepsister of Jim Bradley wealthy young Chica Chicagoan oan who Is Ruths Ruth's ago age and whom Ruth resembles resembles resembles bles greatly Ruth h had d been persuaded ed to accept the job ob by Joe and Clara Bradley uncle and aunt of Jim In fn whose charge June had been placed by her brother I Ruth had been persuaded by Joe Joeand Joeand and Clara that the their their- r purpose in hir hiring hip hip- ing her herVas was Vas a humane one June une they told her was ill and could not go go with them to the tIle bedside of Jim who had been blinded and apparently apparently apparently fatally injured in an auto ac ac- ac The d deceit celt she was told was to soften rotten the last hours of a dying dying- man But In Chicago Ruth has found herself hersel in the midst of oC a plot She is convinced that Joe and Clara and Pascoe the m man n nurse they establish establish establish lish in charge of Jim are eager to bring about Jims Jim's death Ruth falls faUs In love Jove with Jim and he with her thinking she is June He has Joe arrange arrange their marriage so June will inherit his estate tate If It he dies di s bu but the marriage Joe arranges is a fake Cake one one Ruth Huth cannot confide her fears ears to Jim who Is too ill She Is held prisoner prisoner pris pris- oner once and has almost given up when the physician who has been in the tho plot to murder Jim though Jim though unwillingly unwIllIngly-finally unwIllIngly finally rebels He fights with Pascoe while the Bradleys Bradleys' are out With Ruths Ruth's aid he revives Jim who Is near death from poison polson given him by Pascoe As he a at attempts af- af tempts ls to leave the house he meets the Bradleys on the stairway fights with Ith Joe who wh shoots and kills him Ruth witnesses the killing then locks Into the room with Jim nd the unconscious Pascoe and calls police using ponce using the phone in n Jims Jim's room the only one not put out of by the tile conspirators NOW NOV GO ON i WITH THE STORY CH CHAPTER P TWO TWENTY TWO NTY-TWO Ruth dialed the number Waited Her hand trembled so she could scarcely hold the receiver to her car ear Her voice speaking into the Instrument Instrument In in- strument seemed weak and far faraway faraway awa away Please send help Right away awty A man pas has been shot Mur Mur- dered dared She Sho gave ga the house number num- num ber The street number Jim Bradleys Bradley's Brad Brad- cy's cys name Placed the receiver back on the hook Blindly she stumbled over ovar to Jim He Ic Te lay Jay very quie quietly ly Even her anxious ious bus ous eyes could now scarcely detect a 11 touch of ot life lIfe discern discern any flush In n the thinness gray ss of his fa face e. e She held her hand to his wrist The pulse faint irregular r perhaps but ut he still lived Instinct told laId h her r the ri right ht things to o do There were hot water bottles Ruth luth had st seen n seve several of them Helps Help Jim She She- filled two hastily put them at t Jim's Jims feet leet and back Spread an anther au- au other ther blanket over him Chafed hl his hands lands begging him to try try hard to o breathe deeply to struggle gle back to o lite She kept listening always for always for the shrill sound of ot the police pollee siren Surely the they would come quickly But the minute since she had summoned summoned summoned sum sum- them seemed like me h hours ur Joseph Bradley had ceased ed poundIng pound- pound Ing ng outside her door S He held a hurried consultation with his wife Weve got to getaway get getaway getway away way from here Even Clara shrank from the wild rage raga in hi his eyes yes This Is the way your scheme has hns as turned out My scheme Clara shrilled like a a. veritable fur fury My IMy scheme You call all it my scheme I suppose it was vas even even In my scheme to fo shoot Mc- Mc Guire We had a fighting ch chance nce belor that Wo haven't a ghost of f fa R. R chance now II Pack to Leave Well get a chance Bradley muttered Ill 1111 pack some ome things Joseph Bradleys Bradley's voice oice echoed over ver over over- the entire house hous Pack some things You f fool ol Its It's been your greed reed always alwa's y your ur greed that got gots ot otus us s In bad And now you want to pack pack mck Take a lot of ot things Get a book ook of ot travelers traveler's checks Get a aBut a- a But Ruth did not hear the rest of ot the he conversation Instead a slight slights s und sound attracted her attention TurnIng Turning Turn- Turn Ing ng she saw saw that Pascoe forgotten by her In the Ithe stress and the he excitement of ot the last few ml utes tes was on his feet feeL His His His' face v was s very pale pae B Blood streamed ed from a cut at his hiS' temple but his eyes blazed with a 8 wild in inane inane insane in- in ane sane fury In his hands he he- held a B small mall revolver its muzzle directly at Ruth Even In fn nf f fear ar Ruth noticed that that- his voice was very viry quiet very calm You telephoned for tor the police Yes Without realizing that she shedid shedid did Id so tho girl crouched between Pascoe and the sick man man her body shielding the the- latter's latter body Go With Pascoe Dont worry sister sister sister- worry Pascoe said aid He even smiled a little Hes done one for tor Our Ou job is u over Theres There's nothing left for us to do but to get awa away You mean mean- Youre certainty certainly a stickler stickier S for tor tord d detaIls taUs arent aren't you you Ister e Veil Well dont don't begin asking for a longwinded explanation now Were We're getting aw away Right noW noc Yes but Id I'd have to get some lome i cl lothes thes thes- thes W Youre wrong bab baby No time lime for or that now Come along along- now There was no mistaking the pointIng point point- pointIng Ing ng gun Open that door Ruth crossed over to the door As slowly as a. she could do it Surely Surey Sure- Sure I ly y another another- two or three minutes would bring the police She tried to estimate the length ot of f time since she hc had called them Decided that she must have been beena a full 10 minutes filling hot water bottles trying to mako Jim just justa a a- little littlemore more comfortable Open Door Door Evidently Pascoe oe sensed what she was trying to do Quit stalling Open the door Bradley is out there Hes He's furi furl ou oils ous Furious s even with you I 1 said laid op open n the door Ill I'll take care of oC Bradley Pascoe was losing losing los- los ing ng some of at his calmness And what If It I dont don't open It For an Instant Ruth faced Pascoe Pasc-oe defiantly But only for tor an instant Then Pascoe made an expressive gesture toward oward the unconscious man on the bed You value his life Ufe Pascoe's gesture hi his brief words vorUs Implied much m Yes Oh yes est Then open the door Ruth obeyed Just go before me down the corridor Pascoe com corn The corridor was empty I I Down the back way Pascoe said There are arc wraps In the back corridor that wll will do to wear away He was inclined to be a bit jocular I T think our best bet bet bet- Poll Police Siren Suddenly Ruth Ruth's heart was doing doing do do- ing quick flip flops of relief A sound shattered the air Always before before before be be- fore in the few tew times she had heard it Ruth Dayton had hated hat the sound sound but but now It was music to her ears The shrill r reverberating shriek of a police poUce wa wagons wagon's ona siren alren Pascoe muttered a quick startled oath hesitated for one second at ata ata a n. window trying to see what was happening That instant was was' enough for Ruth She darted into an open room and closed the door quickly after her Had she known it It she was perfectly perfect perfect- ly sat from tram being followed That Instants Instant's glimpse of the police pollee car stopping right at the front of ot the house had been enough for tor Pascoe He was interested in a a pretty face Certainly CertainTy But there are hundreds of pretty retty faced girls In the world And a arnan aman man has only one life UCe and one lifetime of ot freedom When Ruth left her shelter In the room Pascoe was gone On the front fron stairway officers were examining the body of McGuire Ruth standing standing stand stand- ing mt ft t the head of ot the st stairs ln could see seO and hear De Dead d 1 S Dead Yes Shot right through the heart See A brief examination There I Is little to be done for lor a dead manThe man The officer n authority mounted the stairway to whets where Ruth cring- cring I Ing ng in horror from the sight below waited S You sent in the call Yes Youre Mrs Bradley Yes Immediately afterward Ruth luth was sorry she had made that statement Unfortunately she tried to o correct the statement became so I confused and so incoherent that she made a very poor impression I mean yes des I mean th that t we were married this morning What I mean means is s that I I.-I I. I dont don't believe th the marriage marriage marriage mar mar- was was legal legat Inspector Dugan considered himself himself him him- self a pr pretty shrewd judge of human nature His mind worked worle f fast fasL st st. Here was was' wasa a d dame dame all m e all women w were re dames to Dugan and Dugan-and and here was a pretty dame dam who was so so scared at sight of a dead IVan man rian that she could scarcely scarcely scarce- scarce ly y speak and who wasn't certain whether she was married or not It seemed queer on the tho face of it Looking back over that half halt hour it t seemed to Ruth that the results of ot the po police 11 ce interview were mev- mev table Ruth sat stiffly on a chair in the corridor while the blue coated officers officers oUi- oUi cers took full charge of at the situa situa- tion One policeman stood at the thedoor thedoor door of Jim Bradleys Bradley's room keep- keep keeping keeping I ing ng strict watch over the sick man man and his surroundings and of ot the I frightened girl who sat s so quietly I in n the corridor just outside the sick room Other policemen men guarded the house holding back th the quickly gathering crowd of people curious to o know what was happening Ruth begged permission to go to Jim Theres nothing you OU can do the he officer told her My c- c lons are t to keep you right there The police potice surgeon is is on his way It If f there's theres anything that can be done for him him I he jerked his head In hi a a. a gesture toward the tho sick room if W theres there's anything ng to 10 be done for lor him they'll do it it itI I r could make him more comfortable com com- I I could be with him Hes comfortable I looked Hes He's breathing Anything either of us could do In the next few minutes wouldn't Y do him any particular good The ambulance will soon be here The fhe police ambulance arrived Heavy footed looted men carrying a n stretcher went into the r room om Dugan asked Ruth to talk with him in an upstairs living room Clara Bradleys Bradley's living room It seemed weird to enter the room Clara h had d always occupied it before belore whenever the girl had seen Been it Her things lay sc scattered about now ju just t as as she had left them It was quite evident that Mrs Mrs Bradley had bad run up here after the murder of ot McGuire snatching things together to take with her heron heron heron on her flight despite the protestations of at her more cautious husband Sit down Dugan said Might as aswell aswell aswell well be comfortable We Ve may be be here quite a a. a while awhile Ruth s sat t down She was suddenly suddenly sud Bud denly glad to obey The events ol of the day had been crowding fast upon her been married Lets see youve you've to Bradley how long Did you say only since morning Ruth tried to explain Tried to tomake snake male her explanation sound gound plaus plaus- ible But she knew with ever every sentence that she only made things worse Dugan was as frankly a aYou You say youre you're married to him but ut then again you arent aren't certain youre you're married to anybody Right Ruth c could uld have sobbed in anger at the sarcasm sarcasm in his voice olce She knew she was fighting a losing battle To Be De Continued Copyright 1036 for tor The Tel Telegram ram |