Show N NY I AY Y 1 IFO LOOSE LOOSEy y I cI SEQUEL SEQ EL TO WIFE NEA iEA Li THE STORY SO FAR May Seymour whose husband killed himself because of her love affair with Jim Carewe returns to her home town after a years year's ab ab- ab sence She disposes of her inherited inherit inherit- ed ad property leaves loaves the sale of her house in the hands of Ulyss Ulysses s X Forgan and with in her handbag sets o out t to find and marry a man with money At Atlantic City she meets a di divorcee divorcee dl- dl Carlotta Frolking and her friends Herbert Waterbury and Dan Sprague Both men pay court to May greatly to the distress of ol Carlotta who has been in love with Dan for many years May however sets her cap cap for fop Waterbury having made up her mind that he is the millionaire husband she is looking for She I spends almost all of her ready money on jewels a fur coat and I expensive clothes to create the im imI impression impression im- im that she is a wealthy I widow Finally Waterbury proposes proposes proposes pro pro- poses and May accepts him She plans to marry him within I a week before he has a chance to tc slip through her fingers and when I the from the sale of her house arrives she turns it over to tc him to invest for her in Dan Dar I Spragues Sprague's oil well But immediately she regrets it when Carlotta on or the eve eva of her departure for her California home warns May not fbi notto notto to trust Waterbury too far She I hints that he and Dan Sprague and a mysterious third bird man named I Oliver M. M Brunell Brunch work together to put over shady stock deals deais NOW GO ON WITH TH THE E STORY With troubled eyes May watched the train as it slid out of ot the station station station sta sta- tion carrying Carlotta with It it I Ionly It If only she could have just a minute or two more to talk with her her I What had the frivolous little but but- woman been trying to tell tel her That Dan and Waterbury and the mysterious Oliver M. M Brunell Brunch were a a. triumvirate that worked to together together to to- gether to put over shady stock deals That they were out and out crooks Care Carefully ully May went vent over Carlotta's Carlotta's Carlotta's Carlot Carlot- tas ta's words In her mind as is S she walked slowly back to the hotel hardly realizing where she was go go- go Ing If It I 1 were you I shouldn't trust HerbIe Herble Waterbury too far Carlotta had said i Good heavens thought May this I Iwas' Iwas was was' a fine time to tell her a thing like that when that when she had just Jus turned over to Herbie every sou she had In the wide green earth She groaned aloud as she thought o ot of what she had done done done- The fur coat she wore the dla dia- dia- dia studded mond-studded watch on n her wrist the black pearl ring these rIng these represented represented represented her whole fortune these fortune these and the she had signed overto over overto overto to Waterbury Moreover sh she owed a large bill a athe at atthe atthe the hotel She hadn't even paid forthe for forthe forthe the orchids that were pinned to the soft scented fur of her coat Nor for the dinner she sho had given last las night in honor of ot her engagement to Herble Herbie 1 Oh what a fool I was to par part with that money she thought though wildly Women are such simps simps- they ought never nevel to be allowed to handle their own mon money y Some lawyer or other ought to do It for them them or or a guardian guardian guardian- She stopped sl suddenly dd Where had she sho heard someone say that before Then she remembered Waterbury Waterbury Waterbury Water- Water bury himself had said It the night she had dropped her bag with Its roll of bills bUls It was not th kind of thing a dishonest man would have said was it Oh I 1 dont don't know know Im Im I'm so mixed up I 1 cant can't think straight May finally decided Only one OM thing was clear In her mind She would have to go straight to Herbie Herble and ask him to give her money back to her But if I 1 do that the chances are hell he'll get sore because I 1 dont don't trust him and refuse to marry me she thought She could see that Herbie Herble wasn't half so anxious to marry her heras heras heras as she was to marry him Wasn't that why he had told her that his young daughter was was- OPposed opposed opposed op op- OP- OP posed to the Idea of ot his giving her hera a stepmother And yet Carlotta had said that he ho had no daughter that daughter that he was a bachelor like Dan Of f course Carlotta might have been mistaken That was highly highly highly high high- ly possible she had a way of ot only half halt listening to what was said to her Certainly Herble Herbie looked like anything anything any any- anything thing but a crook His blue eyes yes had bad a frank open way of ot looking at you He had the air always ol ola of ofa ofa a man who had nothing to conceal and and yet wasn't there a slack cruel droop to his lila lips Sometimes they laughed unpleasantly too too too- Yes it would be better to get the money If possible And the way to i do It May decided was to pick pica out our out ourthe the largest most expensive diamond engagement ring in Atlantic City at once and to see to it that Herbie paid cash for it She could do that without hurting his feelings She glanced at the little watch on her wrist wrIst ten ten minutes after 7 7 It was Saturday night and the stores were still stUl open ODen Sh She hurried on to a drug store on the next corner and telephoned Herbie Herble to meet her on the boardwalk boardwalk boardwalk board board- walk In five minutes Tit lit fix him she thought grimly But when he came up to her her eyes were soft arid and her lips were tilted In the sweetest and gentlest of ot smiles She dimpled at him never guess uess what I called you for she said as she tucked her hand Into his and fell Into step beside him Never in a million years years years-I I want you to go shopping with me mel I Herbie Herble laughed but a worried look came Int into his eyes Women have said that to me be before before be- be fore and Its It's always meant trouble he said nervously What do you want to shop for at this late ho hour r ron on Saturday night Best time of the whole wee week for bargains said May with great cheerfulness Why w were we're re going shopping for my engagement ring of course d dear ar Its It's bad luck not notto notto to have one It If Is asked Waterbury I never heard that before Look before Look here her May cant can't we we let this go until Monday Monday Monday Mon Mon- day morning I have a a. business engagement tonight with Dan Dan Dan- ooh Oo what a fibber you are May broke In Dan Sprague Isn't even in Atlantic City Carlotta says he le followed Francis Lee up p to New NewYork York York York-so so you'll have to think up upa a better excuse than that old timer Suddenly Waterbury stopped and shook her hand from his arm He faced aced her with angry eyes I dont don't get ret all nfl this engagement ring stuff he ie said I should think you'd wait walt until I bought one and presented it ito to o you as a lover should Instead nt of nn trying to jack black-jack me Into buying one for y you You jou You u-You You act Just like the cheapest little gold-digger gold alive Well that's a sweet thing to say to me when me-when when you have thousands of dollars of mine May exclaimed I If theres there's any gold digging going on around here youre you're doing it with your own little shovel shovel- Waterbury threw back his head and laughed What a little spit fire it is he said drawing her arm through his and pulling her close to him We Ve mustn't quarrel like this sweetheart sweetheart- He bent his head to hers and lowered his voice to a whisper Im having a a. ring made for tor you kom Irom rom the tho ring that was my mothers mother's mothers mother's mothers mother's moth moth- ers er's and my s they were brides ho told her It was wa's to have been finished today Lets Let's go back to the hot hotel hotI l and see If they've sent it from Tiffany's The magic magIo name of Tiffany swept all doubts of Waterbury from Mays May's mind for the tho moment Sho She knew that people of wealth and substance patronized that famous house She sat waiting on a marble bench In the lobby while Herbie Herble went over to the desk t to Inquire about his package Her lIer eyes followed fol fol- ol- ol lowed his tall well-clothed well body Yes he was good looking in a a. mature ina- ina ture ure way way way- Not tho the man of her dreams exactly ex ex- but n a very vory good Imitation I And what wa was wan tho the man of her horv dreams like anyway May wondered won won- dered Once upon a a. time he ha had been the boy who sat behind her In school and later Inter on he had been a movie actor she he had seen only on the screen Then there had be been n a reckless love lova affair with Jim Carewe I x 1 suppose there Isn't any outstanding out out- standing love affair In anybody's life Ufe May lay though dreamily as she watched Herbie Herble come back across the lobby toward her We Ve have bavo havea a little flirtation here and a a. little thrill there and first thing we know were we're old and cold and gray And that's about all there Is Js to it HI But Dut while she was saying it to herself she knew v it wasn't true She phe he remembered her own widowed mother who had loved the memory of ot the father whom May had never seen as ps May herself had never loved lovec any man manIn In the flesh I ll She remembered Sunday afternoons after after- of pf her childhood when she h lad none gone oI e With her mother to o a lone lone r. f 1 ly corner of the tho cemetery to tend the flowers flowery on her fathers father's grave She remembered how her mother had cried on those distant Sunday afternoons afternoons after after- and how she sho had cried too I not knowing VIn why I Yes It must be given to some women to really care for a 11 man But not to me May told herself a kind of ot triumph 1 must be hard as nails nails' Waterbury shook his head as he came up p to her No my package hasn't hasn't- arrived he said with a amock amock amock mock tragic air Nothing for me but a letter Do you think YOU you can can wait walt for your engagement ring until Monday without cracking under the strain Well Ill I'll do my ray best May promised him and as he sat down beside her she he slipped her hand Into i his Herble Herbie tell me something Why didn't you ever over give your first wife that ring of y your ur mothers mother's for her engagement ring I Herble Herbie was silent for a minute or two Well you see see he b began gan at last lastly ly mother was still living sixteen years ago when my wife and I were married An naturally she wanted to 0 keep the tho ring so longas long longas as she lived I see see May nodded her head musingly The Tho reason I asked askelI you was because C Carlotta says you never had a wife She Sho says you haven't a daughter either and she also s says ys that you have no farm up near PittsfIeld Now what have you got to say to that Waterbury opened his mouth to speak and his t tongue ngue over his dry lips Ups and then leaned back suddenly sudden sudden- ly as as If someone had given him a push Why Why what what he stammered stammered Why Why what what else did Carl 11 to say about me 9 J Nothing much May Maar calmly except that YO you youl bachelor like Dan A And I tl md and he were In on a lot lof lotfe or ci ordeals deals with a man named named pi B Brunell unell J Oliver M M. M Brunell never Brunell-never never of such a man man man- said Wat Watt rt May laughed I 1 he was the man who h to your father she said Y 5 those are his Initials OuM 0 JI At that Instant her the letter he was holding hand It was a pale blue o 0 looking letter and up upon n typewritten Oliver M JJ I Esq Ban and below that Wate own address here In Atlantic il To Be Continued |