Show r I I I Telegram Fiction Bread B rea d and an d Butter B u tt er Girl G. G Ir I Rob By Eden I CHAPTER THIRTY Paula went down the stairs slowly slowly slow slow- slowly ly ly- lyas as if she were counting them But she She didn't even realize she was on the steps although although although al al- al- al though her hands slid along the polished oak balustrade carefully Manners came up to her when she was in the downstairs hall her hand on the great iron latch of the door Miss Gwen on the phone Mrs Trevor S The girl looked at him nodded and swung the door open pen She had no idea what he had said or that it was Manners speaking She was only conscious that someone was addressing her and nd that she must seem to appear intelligent Manners glanced at her queerly when she went out the door He took a a step to follow her then de decided decided de- de decided against it and went back to report to Miss Miss' Gw Gwen n in in town that Mrs Tr Trevor vor was was- out and that he would have her call iu as soon as she abe came cams in For a long time after he kept seeing Mrs Trevor's face as she she nodded the peculiar strained expression in her eyes her lips so red and her cheeks 00 ao white LIed f The feeling Paula had had in her sitting room was still hadS S with her when she was It ih lit the open I air a brisk wind blowing through her hair That feeling that she was closed up in a hot small r room om that she wanted to get out of it breathe S freely once once more She took several several sev sev- eral deep deep breaths but they did no good then she started across the he la lawn n of f Keystone on her way 10 to use Doat noat house He lied to me she she said half hail to herself half aloud as she walked on slowly with the same measured I tread that had brought her down I Ithe the stairs He lied to me In the next breath she was saying sayIng say say- ing He didn't lie He killed Dixie He was telling the truth She passed a border of shasta daisies white petals with their butter butter but but- ter yellow centers and the flowers reminded her of an old game sh she had played in her childhood The Th words that came to her though were different words than she had hac spoken before to daisies Not he loves me he loves me m not but he lied to to tome me me he lied Hed to me not The jingle kept repeating over oves and over whirling around In her head until her mind s seemed emed a tangled tangled tan tan- maze The lapping waves took up the refrain and slapped aga the dock chanting it Paula didn't I Itry try to shake off the jingle She let it come and come ov over r and over she let her mind repeat it she listened to the waves echoing itHe itHe itHe it He lied to me he lied to to- tome me not not not- Did you want to take out one of the boats boats Mrs Trevor Ralph who had charge of of the boats asked joining her at the rail where she he was looking down at the water In a Daze She glanced up nodded to him much as she had to Manners in inthe inthe inthe the hall halt Then she gazed back down at the water Which one Ive I've just had Mr Jerrys Jerry's speed boat out for a R. spin and its it's in good shape Again the girl looked up and nodded and Ralph touched his fIngers fingers fingers fin fIn- gers to his cap and went away She didn't know who it was speaking to her any more than she knew Manners had spoken to her in the hall hail She only knew that someone someone someone some some- one was beside her that he had said something and she must answer some way The nod seemed the best answer because she couldn't speak audibly yet S I The jingle raced on and the waves continued repeating it Some of them slapped out the words more vehemently t than an others Some of them were almost vicious Once she looked back at the house then tu turned ned to the water quickly Keystone Key Key- stone where stone where Jerry was was she she didn't want to be reminded of it and it-and and its craggy craggy turrets The water was more comforting even if it was was was' talking to her speaking to her in her own words A faint sound of a motor came to her but she paid no attention to it It never grew very loud to her because the jingle was the foremost sound in her thoughts Ralph however thought the motor motor mo mo- mo- mo tor of the Gwen very sweet roarIng roaring roar roar- ing sweet as he took the boat from front its slip sup and ran it against the dock Ready Mrs Trevor he called above the motor noise I The lilting of the jingle stopped almost as suddenly as it had be be- be- be gun No more words spinning through her head No more words shouting from the waves Paula saw S the boat through a a. blur at first Ralph through a blur When the blur faded and the Gwen and andS Ralph became settled before her S eyes she took a a step toward the stairs Soon Ralphs Ralph's hands were helping her in Where would yo you like to go today he asked Im going alone alone today today- today today- RelIef Re Re- Relief lief that she could talk that her voice was steady and that with the words she had spoken the feeling feeling feel feel- ing of the hot too small room was gone She could breathe She took tooka a deep breath then another and Th k Think you can manage You haven't run with Gwen much She's She a easy and I II I- I I 1 can manage And she sat down before the little mUe teel Chilly wind Id I'd better send back f for r a sweater veater for you you you- Im Tm not cold Ralph though opened a box Under under un un- der one of the seats of the little boat and pulled out a white woolly sweater that belonged to his young master This he held out for a sec see ond or so and when Mrs Trevor didn't take it laid it on the seat beside herMay herMay herMay her May get choppy a little later I wouldn't stay out too long Jong he warned as he be swung himself back on n the dock Plenty of gas th though ugh I i filled her up this morning H He watched the little boat speed away too away too fast for a start but then Mrs Trevor didn't know how to handle it as Miss Gwen and Mr Jerry did She had driven It several times Umes when Ralph was with her yesterday and the day before but he was right beside her telling her what to do She was taking that curve too fast too and too clean Paula was hardly conscious that she was ras in a a. boat She didn't feel j j'S j'S S S the boat slicing through the water wates so swiftly that a clean ribbon ot of foam trailed after her She didn't t feel the spray that dashed up wetting wetting wet wet- ting Ung her hair her face splashing now and then into her eyes She didn't feel the cut of the wind about aboul her body She wasn't cold although 1 her blue sweater was wet and her hes blue flannel skirt Ikirt was almost E drenched Getting Away But she could breathe She could i I feel the air going down in her hes lungs clean good air She could i feel it trying to wash away th the words Jerry had said to her her the the words words' that had stabbed into her hes heart into her body Into the very verb r lungs that wanted to be cleansed And as she breathed she felt cleaner herself fresher Green trees ahead of her a little i sandy beach and a dock house anc and I dock built of weathered wood unpainted un un- painted A launch tied up to th the S dock She saw the name on th the S boat The Archer Kurts Kurt's island She was here Sh She had no idea why she had come but bul she was here Smoke island Landing Landing Landing Land Land- ing at the unfamiliar dock didn't frighten her she simply brought up ug the Gwen banged it smartly against the side of the dock stopped I the motor and got out When she was running up the thi little path from the beach to th the S cabin there was no memory ot of that first trip she had taken up i iso it so unwillingly nor the last one s so thankfully It was a path simply a path that led Jed to Kurt to Kurts Kurt's cabin and she wanted to see Kurt she wanted to see his cabin The door was closed when she got to the porch but she didn't knock She never thought of knock knock- ing She turned the knob and nd walked into the room The two dogs Annabel Annabel Annabel An An- and Michael ran to her baring barking bark bar ing joyously They liked visitors nad they recognized her at once Kurt was a his easel at the theother theother theother other end of the room There was no surprise in his eyes when he looked up There was in Toms Tom's though when he put his head out of the kitchen door to see who the unexpected guest was V Well VeIl I ell Ill I'll be be- be he ejaculated th then n nI closed the door promptly Down Annabel Kurt ordered sharply Down Michael Paula sat down on the couch and drew another long deep breath If anyone had told her when she left Keystone that she would go to Smoke island she wo would ld have in indignantly in said no that no-that that is if she had been able to talk Yet here she was at the end of her journey She had come here herself She leaned down and patted the shaggy lle head d of A Annabel who was lying at her feet It seemed natural nat nat- ural that she should be patting one o of Kurts Kurt's dogs natural even that she was on the island in Kurts Kurt's house house and and that Kurt was with her standing by the hearth filling his pipe looking down at her Continued Monday Copyright 1396 for forThe The Telegram |