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Show j a- A TELEGRAM SERLA? . . I J SECOND BEST LOVE Wben Kay Barelsjr. SO, wins SIOUO s 1 bank Bight, her father. Oene Barclav, i susteete ebe use the money to etart a new kind of life aver from their I squalid, home and her eloreDly etep- motber, stable, and hw three whining whin-ing babies. Kar goes to Hollrwood to try as get a secretarial y, ud. if Kslbie. assin ess handsome Larry bet, mone star, who presented the award to her at the theater and whom I she secretly lores. After a 10-month k fruitless ssaren for work stay obtains a posluoti ss sseretary to Brsnda Brent, beauuful but eoarme picture star, when Claire Hopewell, Keys I mens, aulta to be married. Kay esse l-eny sasav -SHass waea be ceils lor ftrenda. v discovers Dave Frenlntn. ' Brende'e deserted husband, lurking otiteide the tar's window snd bs tells Xsv be wsnts to kill Brands. Kar eonrtaose Deve be should Isave and than she soes to Larry for sdnce. Breads takee Ksy with hw to Meilco, where the actress plaas to get s quiet 01 versa. CHAPTER U Mexico was colorful. Interesting In Its swift transitions from ths sordid to the beautiful. Brands took a house and, within week, found an attractive escort. She danced and dined, went on motor trips, was much sought after by members of the American legation lega-tion and successfully carried on her latest affair. Days went by with no line to writing so seldom, very, very bad. "And I'm sorry, very, very sorry. The flowers cams last aight, darling, and I sat beside them all evening long, thinking about you and how much I love you." This was quits true, sxcspt that Kay had sat beside the flowers and thought about Larry while Brenda danced at ths Casino. Shs wrote on: "And the bracelets brace-lets you sent, I have them oa my two wrists. They are slavt bracelets which bind me to you. It mskes me happy to wear them for you. "Soon I shall be back In your arms again. In about a month, the lawyer thinks. "Until then my heart will stand on tiptoe, waiting for ths day to corns. Kay signed it, "your own Brenda." Flushed ever the letter, shs took It to Brenda, who was hotly berating berat-ing the maid for some imagined omission. Ksy waited. "I wrote to Mr. Corbet," she said when the battle ended. "Will you see If It's all right?" "Don't bother me," crossly. "Send It along." Kay mailed the letter. The next Her dreams had been so real, so consuming, that shs suffered physical physi-cal pain as they crashed around bar head. Seeing her, Larry rushed forward, his hand outstretched. "Mexico hasn't agreed with you," ha said, looking down at her with an anxious frown. "It's a good thing you've come back where I can look after you." - She wlahsd hs wouldn't say things like that, smsll crumbs which he couldn't possibly miss from his bounty, but which tortured her with their mere friendliness. "I'm all right," shs said gallantly. "Ths trip was a little tiresome." Larry bundled her into ths car with the maid. He himself took Brenda home. To Kay It was a flat homecoming. No more letters to writs te Larry, no mors burning answers to read. Larry bad expanded under Kay's messages of love, they had redoubled his adoration for Brands. "And I wasn't going to let her have him," Kay thought miserably. "A fins way I took of turning him from her," LsuTy. nia letters came reguiariy. Sometimes Brenda opened them, often not Occasionally she dashsd off a few wo i da. Kay decided they must bs potent Words, as Larry's massages and telephone tele-phone caila, letters and gifts were never ceasing tribute. One day Brenda, dressing for a luncheon at ths embassy, called Kay Into her room. "Look, Barclay," shs said, carefully care-fully smoothlnc lipstick oa her rather pale line. "Larry Is getting stuffy. I haven't time to write, you know that Impatiently she wiped the crimson crim-son away and startsd again. "Why don't you write for me?" "But, Mlas Brent slightly hocked. "He'll never know the difference. You can copy my handwriting perfectly." per-fectly." It was true. Kay had baea obliged to sign Brenda' letters for a long time. "It's an order, Barclay," Brenda said, smiling sweetly at her reflection reflec-tion to test ths lipstick. "But what shall I say?" Incredulously. Incredu-lously. "Tell htm I love him, that Pm counting the hours until I seem him agaia . Any eld thing. He isn't bard to please." Kay slowly left the room. Going te her desk, shs picked up a pen. The enormity of what she had beea asked te do frightened ber. At the same time it was warmly delightful to be writing to Larry. Adjusting her fingers to Brenda's ban writing, an uninteresting scrawl, aha began. "Darling." she wrote. Writing It - aba trembled. "I have beea bad to my dearest as y sne wrots anotner, ana we next and the next. She grew happy, radiant, constantly con-stantly thinking of her letters to Larry. Soon an answer cams to ths first forgery. Brenda read It and laughed scornfully. "Hs lapped It up," shs told Ksy. "You must bs good, Barclay. Keep up ths good work." Aftsr that she tossed Larry's letters, let-ters, unopened, to Kay, who read them with a fast beating heart. Kay lived In a dream world, forgetting, for-getting, or almost forgetting, that Larry's eager responses were meant for Brenda, not herself. No Opposition In February Brenda was free. With no opposition the case was a routine affair, receiving almost ao publicity. Kay had been constantly on ths lookout for Davs Franklin, but with no alga from him, she felt her fears to be unfounded. He had kept his promise and gone back to Illinois. Ha was forever eut of Brenda's life. Again the flurry of packing and again ths long trip back to Hollywood. Holly-wood. Larry met their train. Incoherently happy. PaaslomUsly hs kissed Brenda while a photographer snapped their picture, joyously hs admitted to reporters re-porters thst he was definitely "that way about Brenda Brent and added, raising his eyebrows at the dimpling Brenda, that the data of their marriage would bs announced soon. With this settled, he looked around. She stood away from the group. srenua eiarreu worn on anotner picture. She was busy and hurried, consequently impossible to please. Stamped Feet Wben shs stamped her feet, threw things about and screamed, Kay always al-ways came to the rescue, wondering whst Larry would think could he see his love In a tantrum. "He'd probably think her cuts," she thought "Men are like that" But Brenda and her temperamental temperamen-tal fits were anything but cute to Kay; they were an old story, a tiresome tire-some old story. Somehow shs always quieted her, either flattering her Into complacency compla-cency or changing the hectic currents cur-rents of her thoughts. Kay longed to quit, to never again see Brenda's face. But that was not to be thought of. Her only chance of seeing Larry waa through Brenda. And Kay had come to the desperate desper-ate place where her heart demanded the opiate of Larry's smile, his occasional oc-casional good matured word, his kindness and sincere liking. Pitifully small things to sase an aching heart, but as very necessary. One day, shortly aftsr the return from Mexico, Claire, now happily keeping house for her adored Ted, dropped in to see Kay. They went Into the email office, Kay's arm around Claire's waist, her spirits lifting at ths sight of her. They asked the usual breathless questions; "How are you?" and Tm fine, how are you?" and "Did you have fun on your honeymoon?" and "How was Mexico?" Under the chatter Kay noticed that Claire had gained pounds and pounds. Claire, mustn't do that Ted liked girls to be slim and smart I And Claire noticed that Kay was ' tired, had lost her shiny look. I "How are you making out with' ths brat?" Claire asked at last I "Ail right I guess," listlessly. "I do everything from warming her bedroom slippers te writing her , love lettsrs." Clair laughed. "That' what you' get for living her," ah said. "I1 warned you against it" I "Oh, weU what difference does; It make?" depressed agaia after the Joy of seeing Claire. Clair regarded her thoughtfully. "What's wrong, Kay. You're different dif-ferent "You weed to be well, so starry about everything. Don't tell me there's a man la your life?" I "Goodness, no. When would I hsve tims for a man?" Kay re-. IBauaaes ea rellswlas reset 1 Second Best Love (ContMveS rrem Pfeeedlae Psae) totted with an effort at her eld gayety. "Well, Brenda has Urns for 'em. plenty of 'em. "Wouldn't yon think Larry Corbet Cor-bet would see through her? "He's at Gigantic you know. Ted sees him every day. ' "He says Larry never looks at a girl, doesn't know anyone exists except ex-cept Brenda." f'Hes the faithful, hound dog type." Kay tried to keep her voire light 'Ted says they'll be married as soon aa Brenda'a picture is finished. Lordy, what a comedown for Larry." "I don't know. If be loves ber enough, and obviously he does, he won't mind her peculiariUee." Kay looked down at her -tightly folded hands. , Clair laughed easily. "Maybe you're right. There's my Ted, I could kill him sometimes, but I go on loving him." When Clare bad gone Kay ahut herself in her third floor room and wept forlornly. Te be continued Saturday. Copyright 1S3. Register and Tribune Syndicate. |