Show TELEGRAM FICTION FICTION- I Substitute Sweetheart art II By Priscilla W Wayne I I I BEGIN HERE TODAY Ruth Dayton Is held prisoner In Inthe Inthe the tho home of or Jim Bradley b by Joseph end and Clara Bradley Jims Jim's uncle and aunt The elder Bradleys and Pascoe Pascoe Pascoe Pas- Pas coe a a. male nurse hope to prevent Jims Jim's recovery from an auto accident accident acci ace dent and steal his fortune When the doctor threatens to expose them they kill kUl him and escape Ruth Is held in jail Jerry Ruths Ruth's brother coming to the Bradley home to find her Is forced by the fleeing Bradleys to drive them to a mountain hideout where Pascoe joins them Rea Reagan Reagon on Jims Jim's attorney arranges Ruths Ruth's release from jail and she goes to Jim at the hospital They renew their pledges of ot love Jove Jim believes Ruth Is his wife be because be- be pause Jause cause of a fake take marriage arranged by Joseph Bradley Jim while Jim was ill at home Ruth had ben been coerced Into aiding the deception Meanwhile the hunt Is Js on for the plotters plotter Jim Is recovering rapidly and must soon be bB told of ot the deception that has been played Ruth fears he will not forgive her NOW GO ON WITH THE STORT CHAPTER 33 Life Lite In the sheltered hideaway cabin in the tho Rock Rocky mountains mountain was wasa a a. nightmare to Jerry In the morning Pascoe Pascot came out outto outto to hint him and took away awny the handcuffs handcuffs hand hand- cuffs cus and anklets Get up he commanded Jerry obeyed Moving was an agony because of ot the stiffness of ot his legs and back Sleeping on the ground through the storm and exposure exposure ex et ex- ex had gi given en Jerry a cold His limbs ached and his throat was parched and sore I dl dont don't know why they brought you along Pascoe grumbled but now that youre you're here believe m me youre you're going to earn your board and andIc Ic keep ee p. p I dont don't want any board and he keep ep Well Wel Wela a a. lot Jot of us have to take things we dont don't want You get into the cabin there right pronto and ana trot out some of that skill about keeping house you said you had And watch your our step Were We're armed here There are aro three of ofus us against one Well We'll have to l let t yo you be up and around or you cant can't work But dont don't try to get away We Ve could catch you before beCore you'd gone prone yards and after that be believe believe believe be- be lieve me we wouldn't make malte it easy for lor you We Ve haven't any too many supplies here and I for one would just as soon not have four mouths to e cat t up What hat we have So look looh careful young feller teller Breakfast was not a a. very ry appetizing appe appe- appe- appe affair The pancakes were soggy and lifeless fried in rancid lard that had been packed awa away In Ina Ina Ina a can There was canned meat and coffee of ot sorts made a degree more palatable by canned milk and sugar I r thought you ou bragged about how well fixed wed we'd be up here Clara Bradle Bradley railed To hear you boast about how you had equipped this cabin anyone would think it ought ough to Lo be a second Grand hotel Bah BahI Soggy Pancake She threw a R. soggy loggy pancake toward toward toward to to- ward the stove If ll you cant can't do better than that she told Jerry then so far a. a as Im I'm concerned Pascoe can carry out any of ot his littie little little lit lit- tle tie plans he has for tor you Shut up Clara Joseph Bradley demanded growl ana anU grumble grumble grumble grum grum- ble at your own funeral Ill I'll admit this this' grub isn't very much Ill I'll admit admit admit ad ad- mit its it's even vile but beggars shouldn't be choosers Were We're here and its it's all weve we've got You'll put up with It It and quietly or Ill I'll know the reason wh why Oh yeah Claras Clara's voice oice was coarse vulgar It was hard for Jerry to realize that his haggard old woman was really the rather handsome well poised well wll dressed woman who had hired him back in n Chicago Well make me Pascoe put back his chair Rose abruptly Well Ill I'll tell you one thing Youre You're going to lo shut up both bothof of you I If weve we've got to live Jive here were we're going to do it as S peaceably asP as P possible I wont won't stand for you to tobe tobe tobe be at each others other's throats all aU the time Ill I'll tell you that Subject Over And as no though for him at least the subject was over along with the tho vile breakfast he walked out of ot the cabin Joseph Bradley lighted his pipe Get your little muo henchman started at hi his housework he sneered he better beUer do up the sl si sleep ep- ep ing quarters first firt 1 Aching In every limb but obedient obedient obedi obedi- ent eat of necessity because of ot the re revolver revolver revolver re- re volver Joseph Bradley laid upon the table within his own reach Jerr Jerry went to work The hours hour were leaden Jerry made up the bunks bunk wash washed d the few cups and plates and pans swept the cabin Pascoe and Clara were almost wild with n nervousness Clara lay down on her bunk tried to go to sleep Then she sat up and put cold cream on her face Joseph Bradley at his I game of smoking and sitting chided her roughly Rub that rotten rotten rotten rot rot- rot rot- ten stuff off your face It makes you ou look Jook even more wrinkled than you really are In anger Clara Bradley tossed the cold cream tube away and tried lying down again to entice sleep The hours of the seemingly never ending day dragged on Night Three doses of soggy pancakes of oC canned vegetables gulped with black coffee coHee and its eternal accompaniment of canned milk Night Jerry again safely se secured secured secured se- se cured from running awa away was given the luxury of sleeping wrapped in inI ina ina I a blanket on the tho floor of oC the cabin Morning brought the tho same ugly cheerless regime The same loathsome loathsome loathsome loath loath- some some food the same samo petty bicker bicker- Ings grown sharper now and uglier The situation was not helped by bythe bythe bYi the fact that they were running low on tobacco Pascoe who smoked one after another was nervous He fairly screamed at Clara as she reached over for the third from his package right after breakfast Cant you see iee that's my last Jat package 1 Theres a dozen in it It Clara countered Well Vell even so they're mine Vh Why didn't you bring your own Why are you mooching mine 1 I didn't have a chance to bring any You had as much chance as a. I had Oh shut up you two Joseph Bradley tamped down a of tobacco Why dont don't you smoke a pipe like Jike a civilized man Ive I've got the makings for tor days and days Pas oo Le Leaves Yeah you would think of yourself yourself your your- self seU Clara shrilled Load up on tobacco tobacco- for yourself but never once think of for tor me me That would be your style Shut up will you Joseph com corn Ill let Jet you have some of ot my tobacco A good idea Pascoe was re relieved relieved re- re triumphant But Clara shot gloom back Into the conversation Where are the papers And then the argument was rIght back where it had started C COn On the morning of the tile third day Pascoe cigarettes now for lor almost 21 hours was desperate Tm rm goIng going going go go- ing out and anti get some he declared He He- had tried unsuccessfully to smoke Joes Joe's tobacco rolled roiled In news and wrapping paper Joseph Bradley tried to dissuade him Take my advice and lay low Dont lIst listen listOn n to him Pascoe Clara said angrily Hes got to to- to bacco Hes He's satisfied He can telus tell tel tellus us to lay Jay low But Pascoe decided to risk going after alter the tobacco And a beefsteak beefsteak beef beef- steak he said Id die if It I ate another mouthful of ot that canned junk All AU day after alter Pascoe left ett Jerry worked making makin never a suspicious move trying to act as much like an automaton as possible He was wae glad that sleeping Inside had kept kep his cold from getting worse glad glac that hed he'd got some rest that would give him strength to carry through his desperate plan That revolver lay always on the table within reach of ot Bradleys Bradley's hand Jerry had passed it sweeping sweep weep ing or carrying water many times Today he continued his routine moving slowly about his work keepIng keeping keep keep- ing alert always and watching his chance Now that Pascoe had gone he ho hofelt felt he would have to act Opportunity Opportunity to escape might never again knock so strongly The real opportunity came in the late afternoon Bradley sat In the chair he occupied occupied occupied pied two-thirds two o of his waking waiting time the revolver close to his hand But Bu Bradley was getting tired too loo He had always s considered himself a aman aman aman man of iron nerves but he ho was de deciding deciding tie tie- that three more Interminable day such as the ones just passed would break the Iron nerve of ot any man v This cabin was just as ns Clara said an abomination Life LICe lived JIved like this even if it thoy they had supplies to keep it up indefinitely just wasn't worth living Surely the hue and cry of or their escape had died down now Surely using some degree of caution they could venture away from this place Ho He was thinking deeply His pipe held motionless In his hands His eyes were almost unseeing as asbe ashe ashe he be tried to think through a stile safe means of ot escaping from this place maybe of getting clear out of at the countr country of ot making a complete getaway getaway getway get get- away away- way way- That one minute of ot Intense menIa mental mental men men- Ia tal absorption had hat been Bradleys Bradley's undoing With a catlike leap born of ot determination determination determination deter deter- desperation and his own agile youth Jerry cleared the space from the tho stove to the table hi his hand clutched the revolver and h he sprang back just as lUI Joseph Bradley whirled around You dirty little double crossing crossin devil Joseph Bradley said Jerrys Jerry's nervous tin fingers ers touched touche the trigger and the revolver wen went ot off with a terrific roar Joseph Bradley leaped back Th The bullet missed him whizzed past an and settled in a log just back of ot hi his head But the sound had unnerve unnerved Bradley now far from being a airon an iron man He fairly sobbed in h his sudden fright Please dont don't shoot shoo again We Wo can talk this thing over Surely wo we can come to some somo under under- standing Jerry had regained his nerve H He stepped back so that the pointed revolver covered both Joseph Brae Bradley Brad Brad- Icy ley and Clara now stumbling excItedly ex ex- from her bunk Copyright 1936 1938 for The Telegram To be continued |