Show y j A MRS HARRY PutH r yr 13 0 Mc CIURE W N U 1 y yi i n NINi nU NINETEEN L The LN-The Th The e S Story rosy S o o Fir r L S le re Is ls fe re to M ke happy PPl uc Y ed t tor and ma mayor m or ar of or Cot CO ington F banker Mays tries i to o ru 1 and of or f l n rs rs I 1 br bribe be to t ti stop slop exposure ot of bad had banking ban deal She Is mother to I four our ch Idren ill treated by tl II tic e a de dc depre dePea on onKa cn pre Pea society editor for tor her fa fat a 1 Ka 3 h en or a who ho ho cr or t his qu Cot c a slap t L M s at tt the expense e of o the farow tarn faro g of nt 01 Mays iS f p pg She Is In to love Ith Ritchie w r CHAPTER IV I Continued Lii I La-iri La laughed laughed-a laughed a queer str in ned red sound Val at 1 do 3 3 sno s- s roo crio no v vi of lose lo loea ld a a t till you ve ye lived a with Ith ltha a man a quarter of a century And borne h hm m h hs s ch Idren Walked lure gh the shadow of ot death at his hist 5 de d and drunk of h b hs s strength Gro Gre TI m older cling ng to h m find finda leg comfort and peace against gamst gamst hIs heart bearL Al first with h m as he heIs heg Is g w II th thou you OU Wa t till you OU ve grown so deeply into your mate he s part of you Till Tall it almost frightens y ou ouI Di how bow much he means when ten you will sill Ill know about bout Then you ou a to KOU you ou i love i Love Loye like mine mme and M ke s Kathleen stared at Laura As if ii she acre lIere we a stranger Someone she had hid never seen before Laura s face sent ent tnt very white And now you think he s killed b h To leae leave lea e me hs h s ance ante He lie took his revolver with h m when hen hen he be left the office sa d R ebu ebu e bu k ly Iy Laura s slender shoulders were r g II d M like Ie he would never k I 11 ll h m self sef to leave me money He kno is stat s that to me he be is all the riches of the Indies and without h m I m rn a broken bro broken broken ken tase ase Kathleen was vas weeping Bitter ag agonized tears La Laura ura made a tre effort and went over to her herIt herIt It s going to be all right dar darling ling hog mg Kathleen took her mother shand s hand and la d it against her cheek I 1 d do t understand she sobbed I kno t sa d Laura Youth doesn t L It has so dreadfully much to 10 learn But you ou must not suffer like th lb s Mike could not break your heart beart or m ne It isn t h m The telephone r rang sharply When Laura came slowly Ij back to the lit 11 mg leg room her eyes ej es had a queer startled express on Mike has bas been do at the bank for hours bours Locked up w th the d rectors and the state bank exam ner Der she sa d and then went on onas as If she II were ere a 1 I awed ed Dona Donahue Donahue Donahue hue Investment Brokers did not open for bus business mess th s s morning They ye ve vefa fa failed ed to t the tune of h twenty henty enty mill on dollars Donahue ejaculated ted R The concern in wh ch Eugene Mays 1 liaS involved m Eugene Mays is dead sa d Laura Laura Lau ra He blew h s brains brams out ten minutes ago when they told h m that hs b s bank doors had to close Y r Mays personal fortune is corn com gone The crazy fool gam gambled gambled gambled bled the last d me he had on earth trying to recoup h s losses The Magu res were at d All Allot of them Sh and Jaird had Fired h red someone to look after the r place for tor the evening Tom and Mary Etta Etla had driven over after Alec and Lou Mike had brought R home borne from the off ce ce w th hum It as M he ke who was somberly som somberly bery berly revie t ng the extent tent of 01 tl U e disaster Apparently Mays has been on the verge ot of o ru n for months That s why hy he be snatched at such a desperate chance as the scheme And Ii 11 r Aped h m open And wrecked the town with h m added Tom bitterly Not qu te to ned M ke He grinned A great many people seEm lelm tm to have read the Clarion Clanon Even d 11 percent our revenues did drop fifty tifty per cent sf of er I attacked Mays Depos tors hate haie been draw ng t trie r money out forthe ot of h s e mst cost tut on like fury for the Past s x weeks The bank exam ex exam am ner net told me he had never seen ng lire like It it it CHAPTER Laura ura sm led at her husband Why y don t you break down and confess that CovIngton has one peach of ot a Lord Mayor and kno vs t I Kati KaU leen lean saw the look that passed between tween them And her eyes m st sled d dl l 4 th tears lears Ho v v y could she have been h 10 bl bind 1 nd to the beautiful th ng that Misled eUsted between her tall fall er and her mother lother mothers Love so perfect it at needed ho Words s or gestures Understand leg thea so deep it at was as natural as the i a r they breathed Thank goodness sa d Alec Alee fer ter vently fervently ve tally Mr Swear took look ngen your yourIn en t des eles to t heart h art Dad or rather In LOU d d he found her small hand n Pressed it She never neer ne er gave J ether her T of ot hem us a minute s s peace t ll 11 he hank ank our OUT little uttie wad out of Mays Mike Ae IE ter daughter smiled at his newest daugh n law b him and Lou smiled back ata at a shy thy nervous little smile but v Wy Ty sweet rr Laura ura looking g down the long I crowded ded tut lul table at Lou s small bl ss as face t ace a Ina thought that God works in ous HIS wonders way to Pe orm chut Such a trag frag le Ie lWe I tile an else Yet Vet she Bhe held Alec as noth ng 8 b COLA COu d Because she believed In m and needed h m Ufa what hat M mM t ke I In Ind gar d ded e d h s s older son some anA an I hoPe Pi Colonel Shoup d do tact t act n nU L The LN-The e rosy S Graham nell newspaper spa per aid of o her rather father but 00 wont on t ad nit Tilt it II Instead she en engaged herself hersell to Stays Hays son ton but breaks the engagement In a fe te v days Tom 10 had hist separated from his hisIe t fe he had to move from the bigger city to get a lob job Mary Etta Efta held on to her secretary job fob and started to divorce But Laura brought the t o 0 together Alec Alee ho secretly married the to en the goat and st at ck ch to Mays to tile the b tier end Or d d he He s s never liked me a lot Says I go off half halfcocked halfcocked cocked as often as not Tom grinned The Colonel may be maybe stubborn but he s not a donkey He fumed around a lot when YOU began to spout about the bank And he cut out advertising with you For sp te to or ng Buthen But when hen YOU opened up on the Donahue deal the Colonel weakened And he kept on weaken ng until last week he trans transferred all the money he had in the world to a safety deposit vault And It s there st 11 Thanks to you IncIdentally I ve ye orders to resume our old business relations with the Clarion We 11 U want ant our regular day dal daily ly dally ads with the full Sunday spreads MIke sniggered S funny tunny ho v the folks have sUddenly decided practically in one afternoon that they can t do wIthout me or the Clarion They ve ye been shoot ng advertising contracts and renewals at us so fast and furiously since noon darned If it the staff isn iso t about to have the jitters Kathleen drew a long breath I Iguess Iguess Iguess guess after alter all she sa d m en an un uneven uneven uneven even voice a on for tor un tin unImpeachable unimpeachable Impeachable Integrity is more pre prec c ous than d Banks may break and investment brokers go but a good name goes on and on Mike s boyish face looked sudden suddenly suddenly ly Iy very gay and young Does that mean youve ou ve got over your peeve at your jour blundering old Daddy KIt KItten Kitten ten he asked He laughed but his eyes were not laugh ng Kathleen leaned over un tin until til her shoulder brushed his I a al adored you she whys Only lost I-lost I lost my way way-I way I m back on the tracks for tor good thIs t me And I-I I I I love you 1 ke squeezed her hand Kathleen with a shiver glanced do don n the table at her mother Laura was wearing the ecru organdy Her face was a little th It had been a trying summer But her clear brown brawn ej eyes e es were strangely beautIful Serene unclouded light lighted ed cd by bj b a deep and abid ng rig happiness She and M ke had bu It the r house on the eternal verities verl es And although the tempest had wh sUed above them the house had stood Great Scott in m all the shooting I forgot about Bitch Ritch e a exclaimed Mike I He s taken an awful jolt By Jove I r don t know how he s sever sever sever ever go ng to hold up his Ius head again agam What s happened to Ritch e de demanded demanded demanded Kathleen m in a fierce little littlevoice littlevoice vOIce She glared at her father And I don t th it s funny of ot you to laugh if it s as bad as you say Help Help M I ke flung up h s shands shands shands hands and gave R e a mock moek plead ng glance Call off the kIt kItten kitten kitten ten before belore she claws me to p ece over a younger handsomer man Kathleen blushed furiously and RitchIe laughed He fussed at h s necktIe It I in an n t really bad he sa d but buthe buthe he looked as if of he wished he could crawl nto a hole It s about those art cles des I sent the agent in 10 New ork New lark ork He er He er I guess maybe the I b g aren t as v as I thought Anyway he s sold the t hole I series seTles he concluded miserably I 1 o Fir r drunk s a daughter Lou Knight alter after ho he had taken her to his mother shouse a house when her father d ed rescuing a crippled pled boy In a fire Ere Shirley married at last to t Jaird New sum who also was out of work but tI tl e couple pa en their things buy a ham hamburger hamburger hamburger burger Mays kills himself and the bank banI closes when hen his crookedness comes to light Laura Laurn and Kathleen d tote love a e for tor more money than I expected to see In five years Thais Tha That t s just lust it It cried Mike laugh ng rig till the tears ran down his cheeks R was as all set to starve In an a all att tt c for tor truth s sweet sake And now darned if he isn t ton ton on his IDS way to becom ng a bloated I plutocrat Ritchie s mouth twisted Fate s like that he said It overwhelms you with the success you iou ou don t want and slaps you down when it comes to the things j you ou do Ritchie s glance met Kathleen Katheen sHer s sHer SHer Her gray ej eyes e es were ere hard and in inscrutable Inscrutable inscrutable She looked away w th a sharp ache ng at her heart Maybe Ma be Ritchie has got over want wanting wanting mg ing me she thought her eyes st at ng nging mg I want to talk to you Kathleen saId R after dinner in m a harsh peremptory voice Yes Ritchie Meekly Kathleen followed hIm do don n the path wh ch led around the house to the grape arbor at the back The July night was breathlessly st U 11 USo So still Kathleen Fathleen thought Ritchie must hear the pa throb of her pulses I broke my engagement to Gene Mays this morning she sa d at last m a small tremulous voice I know drawled Ritchie WIth WIthout without without out looking at her When I got back to the office he be d been calling for you every five minutes He seemed to think he could force you to marry him or the like of that But I d him of the Idea H s made a hard line Ime He won on t bother you aga nIt nIt n nIt It was never really an engage engagement engagement engagement ment she whispered He d do t teven teven teven even kiss me Not once I couldn t let him She heard Ritchie catch his breath sharply but he said nothing I never grew up until today she told h m her vo ce cc breaking on ona ona ona a sob Not tint 1 I I real zed what I mIght have done to Mike I ve ye been so blind Ritchie All confused and mIxed up I don t deserve that you should bother w th me Ever But ButI I-I- I I He turned swiftly His arms caught her up Crushed her to him He had al alva s been her private te teI I 1 He always would be H s kisses taught her passion and ecstasy ecstasy ecstasy sy An almost intolerable ecstasy Cheat her here Love Lovel Kathleen Katheen knew If she Ived I ved forever she could not be grateful enough for the ach ng rap rapture rapture rapture ture of Ritch Hitch e s arms h s kIsses ThIS moment was worth anything It cost Ever Sweetheart whispered Ritch eI eI e eI I love you cr ed cd Kathleen On the veranda Laura leaned back against Mike like s arm She was think ng as mothers do of her brood They had been menaced Each of them even her mate But they were safe this n her chil children children dren and her lover They had come out on the other s de of the storm clouds There were rambo v vs s in m the skIes Life is pretty grand after aCter all saId Laura out of 01 her deep content M chael chae Magu re chuckled as hIs arm t about herIt herIt her herIt It is he sa d because you ve ye always played it that way THE END |