Show Telegram Te Fiction At t Last ast My Love ove by Phyllis Moore Gallagher CHAPTER 29 In the fall memories of 1918 flooded back with the drafting of the first young men for military mill mili tary service People talked about traumatic shock the gr greatest cause of death among bombed civilians and on the battle field and about the Blood Bank clinic in New York where hundreds of sympathetic souls were donating donating donat donat- ing trig their lifes life's blood so that it could be prepared preserved bottled and rushed by clipper planes to England People were still wondering if it London would stand up under the blitz bIltz And Richard Waltham made the headlines Not as Richard Waltham but under his own name Richard name Richard Carlisle Richard Richard Rich ard Waltham was just a name he had used in his desperate efforts efforts efforts ef ef- ef- ef forts to expose a German sabotage sabotage sabotage sabo sabo- tage plan to destroy 25 factories that were fulfilling their British war contracts It was New Years Year's day now and Dorothy Jane Richard Cari Carlisle Carlisle Car Car- i j lisle isle Richards Richard's sister Cynthia and Mrs Wickliffe were in the small drawing room of the house houseIn In Georgetown Dorothy said almost wistfully I 1 wish you'd never scooped that story Rich Rich- ard If you hadn't your syndicate syndicate syndicate syndi syndi- cate wouldn't be sending you to England Engrand next week When I I- I think of that Im I'm so afraid Richard Carlisle CarIlsle threw back his head in laughter But that's exactly why I wanted to scoop that story darling I want to go goto goto to to England Lord if it you only knew how Ive I've ached to be a foreign correspondent A A. war correspondent He made the words sound magic and Jane catching that magic felt her heart stirring And if I hadn't been up to my neck in that affaIr affair af af- af- af fair I might never have met you you Dorothy Richard went on Dorothy was silent a second and then she said slowly I know But London But London Richard I cant can't wait walt to get there he teased I 1 believe you like danger Dorothy accused him Richard cocked a dark brow at Jane I 1 cant can't say I like danger danger danger dan dan- ger he said grinning That was some night we had together wasn't it Jane Jane shook her head thoughtfully thought fully remembering that bleak little apartment and Richards Richard's shoulder stained with blood Dorothy and Richard To Be Married That was quick thinking on your part Jane he said ap ap- ap- ap I 1 dont don't like to think of what might have happened happened happened hap hap- to me If you hadn't written written written writ writ- ten that list to the druggist gist as you did and if he hadn't finally noticed those letters spelling HELP on the carbon copy of his own sales slip I didn't care You see I had memorized the whole thing All AllI I needed was the key to decode the papers The police caught Eric and Hans and spirited them away and I was free to go on with my investigation The FBI hushed the whole thing up they weren't ready to break the story not not until all the loose ends of the plot had been caught up and the whole gang could be nabbed with enough evidence to deport them all or jail em Cynthia Carlisle sighed And AndI I I-I I I didn't even know you were In Washington Dick I thought you were home writing your calm little articles But I was worried because you never wrote and because mother was wasso wasso wasso so highly nervous and the mere mention of your name changed her somehow I knew something was wrong and in connection with you and I I-I I I was so worried worried wor wor- ried ned sometimes that I I-I I I guess guess I 1 acted pretty strange at parties trying to be so gay when when all all the time I felt like bawling Mother knew Richard knew said gravely I guess I gave her a pretty bad time It wasn't exactly a picnic for forme forme forme me either Dorothy said And you still loved me His broad happy grin took in Jane Cynthia and Mrs Wickliffe She loved me he repeated when she thought I was a gangster That's something isn't it And that's one of the reasons Even as he sp spoke ke the clock on the mantel chimed four silvery notes and almost simultaneously simultaneous simultaneous- ly the doorbell rang Mrs Wickliffe Wickliffe Wick Wick- liffe answered the door and an Episcopal minister came into the room smiling Dorothy and Richard Leave on Honeymoon Dorothy and Richard Carlisle were married at The gentle impersonal voice paused And then went on pronouncing pronouncing pronouncing pro pro- each word carefully I now pronounce you man and wife Richard bent his dark head and kissed Dorothy swiftly ar ar- ar- ar dently He was smiling down at ather ather her his dark eyes loving her Bill used to look at me like that Jane Jano remembered miserably And for one brief second she wondered where Bill was was She hadn't heard a word from him since hed he'd left the hospital not even a Christmas card Noth Noth- ing ins She missed him Shed She'd miss him all her life she knew and shed she'd never forget him she couldn't forget him Richard Carlisle Carlisle's gay voice shattered Janes Jane's reveries Dont you have a kiss for your new brother woman he asked grinning down at herI herI herI her I certainly do Jane laughed and tipped up on her toes on Sunday Next Monday Ill I'll be beon beon beon on the clipper bound for Lisbon and from there to London Mrs Wickliffe jerked upright in her chair But Jane Jane how how How on earth did you achieve that In several ways Jane said One of the nurses married and dropped out of ot that Washington unit going over I was eager to get to England Ens Im I'm too weary now to go into all the details of ot othow how I man managed ged it but Ill I'll be on that clipper Monday with Secretary Secretary Secretary Sec Sec- Hulls Hull's kind permission and I shall arrive probably simultaneously with the unit to which I have been assigned in London I had more than a a. good record at City you know Moth- Moth for a first lieutenant said They couldn't be the enemy If they were they'd have opened fire by now These sea lanes are arc crammed full of bloody mucks of wrecks It would be a different different different differ differ- ent story if we had enough warships warships warships war war- ships for convoy It was quiet after that and Bill joined his unit at lunch inthe inthe in inthe the wardroom Bill wondered what Rosamund Rosamund Rosamund Rosa Rosa- mund would do now Before sailing he had cut off her allowance allowance allowance allow allow- ance not entirely but to a fifteenth fit fit- th of what it had been He had also sold the house on Massachusetts Massachusetts Massachusetts Mass Mass- avenue and had Instructed instructed in In- In his father and his lawyers lawyers lawyers law law- not to tell Rosamund where he was Rosamund would have enough money now to live modestly in a modest hotel He hoped she wouldn't be able to take it that shed she'd go to Reno and divorce him serving him notice notice notice no no- tice of her suit through the newspapers She knew a great many moneyed men That kid Mitchell Maurer for instance He had always known that when his marriage broke up if it ithe he was ever fortunate enough to break it up it would end ona ona on ona a commercial note But he wasn't so sure what Rosamund would do now She cared a lot about her name her reputation Shed She'd liked being apart apart a apart part of the fabulous wealth of the Stanleys She might hold on under any conditions waiting for him to return or if she learned where he was waiting with the hope that he wouldn't return The first officers officer's voice shattered shattered shattered shat shat- Bills Bill's memories Th The officer officer officer of of- was pointing to the sea and Bill looked down too At first he ie thought it was a floating floating floating float float- ing oar or a barrel Then he lie heard the captain cry out lout I think that's a raft out there Rather think I see a signal from it Alter course Shortly the raft was close abeam of the Canadian vessel the engines were turned off abruptly and the big liner drifted drifted drifted drift drift- ed slowly toward the raft Bill leaning over the saw one fellow paddling wildly relief on his white gray-white face as the raft bumped the ships ship's flank Bill knew by the that those four young men were R RAF A F fliers The ships ship's ladder went over over- side and Bill watched one of the young aviators grab weakly at the rope start up it blindly and then fall backward from exhaustion into the churning water In one second flat Bill had kicked off his shoes and had dived overboard The water came up like a blanket of wet ice around him and all the blood seemed to burst in his head To be continued Ledger Syndicate |