Show SINNERS IN HEAVEN 1 PART FOUR 15 15 Broken Harmony Harmon I I Miss Dave Mrs only remaining sister placed a marker marIer In her book then laid it down wn upon a n small table tier Her er tRee face assumed the tile complacent expression of ot one ab about ut to perform a pleasant duty in accordance with her conscience I think she observed decisively Hugh nugh should be warned Mrs Stockley glanced up from the stole Etole she W was S embroidering Abou About what she asked I Barbara Her Hei sister made a gesture ot at annoyance annoy ance Cince which caused her to prick her finger this increased her Irritation I J 1 wish you would for once be explicit er- er e Mary Maryl I You Yoi have thrown out dark hints about Barbara Darbara ever since we heard of at her rescue Why should Hugh Bugh be warned Are Aro you you so 80 stupidly dense pense as you appear Alice Or are you you wilfully blinding yourself I I am no more stupid than the rest of my family I 1 hope hopel I snapped Mrs Stockley with much uch meaning Well then continued her sister Ignoring this improbability you must realize that Barbara will most likely return return very very chan changed ged Indeed from her ber one letter there seems no doubt about it ft That was was' queer very Queer very queer 1 I Mrs Stockley impatiently hunted among bundles of ot colored silks Of course she will be changed She is two years older and has suffered d ghastly ghast ghast- ly experiences She was ver very Ill III n at Singapore you couldn't expect long chatty lett letters rs I 1 I She spoke with unusual asperity Two years of ot her sisters sister's undiluted companionship had Increased an Inherent Inherent In In- herent Instinct toward ard contradiction while developing a self-defensive self alert alert- ness Both were necessary in the radius of ot two sharp ey eyes s ever quizzing through their lorgnette two ears which seemingly gly reached all over the house and a caustic tongue ready to reduce other peoples people's foibles or few ideas to shreds Such gifts used n at the expense of ot common acquaintances are a different different dif dif dif- ferent matter of ot course Ah I Miss Da Dayles les r returned turned to the tile of conscience with renewed relish You are as ns blind bUnd as as- as Hugh Hugh- Mice Alice I saw him this afternoon q quite excited over meeting her ber tomorrow He wants to have the wedding after Christmas of ot course course it was not my business to sa say anything I Whether tills this se self discipline could have been maintained had had not other people been present is open to ques ques- tion You dont don't und understand Bab Bab as well en as 88 Hugh and I do you see ret returned her sister complacently No she agreed but butI I understand Man i Her lips Ups closed with a snap to give effect to jo the world of meaning Iner in her er words Dont you jou OU realize Alice AIke that Barb Barbara ra was as attractive And nd she has been flung for two years into the society of ot a man who who who- well had well had extremely loose ideas and Bohemian ways ways ways-a a man whose influence ence would be most questionable for any young girl Mrs Stockley flushed Are you Insinuating Insinuating In In- that Bab flab would be w weak ak enough to allow him to Influence e her After her careful upbringing too foo Why looseness of any any sort would be abhorrent abhorrent ab ab- ab- ab to her I 1 Her surroundings bave have always been strictly moral I II dont don't Insinuate anything but I wouldn't trust that man far in such circumstances i P 1 We have yet to learn how he behaved She did not allude t to him In her letter No But she But she did her utmost to get taken back to search for his body Surely her chief desire should have hav been to hurry home to Hugh 1 Mrs Stockley smiled impatiently You are making mountains from molehills Mar Mary She did that purely from human humanitarian motives i it was was only right right and natural Hugh tho thought gh so He liked Captain Croft Hugh Is too trustful that's why Iam I Iam Iam am sorry for him Frankly AU Alice e I Ido do donot not believe a man and und woman could ouid live In such isolation without coming to to grief I haye have seen too much of ot human nature nature- My dear Mary what what'd do you you mean You Jou don't dont dont don't- Her lier sister held up a dignified hand to stop all Interruption You must face It Alice Allee E Everybody Is t talking and end wondering Of Ot course It depends entirely upon the man I dont don't Imply that all nU men are beasts beasts beasts-as as some u women wom- wom om omen en would who had seen as ns much of or the tile world as I have If he had a strong spiritual nature nature nature-a a clergyman per per- Imps haps But that man 1 I She pursed her lips Ups Mrs Stockley gazed at nt her her own face lace paling her liar finger twitching the forgotten stole I Coming to grief I she repeated horrified Do you rou dare suggest my daughter would so disgrace her name and family us as to allow allow- My dear Mary fury It 1 is preposterous I I would dl disown dis cil- own such a child But Dut Bart Barbara ra Why I 1 would trust her alone with any man ronn for forty years earsl I She wouldn't dream of at such things Besides Cap Cap- tam tain Croft was WOR Mrs Fields Field's cousin of good od family himself himself- Martha the old sen servant ant ant hustled in at this moment with bedroom candles She Bho plumped them down upon the tohle and her old fare fuce beamed at nt an for garrulity over Barbaras Barbara's re re- turn When snubbed ahe dhe deI departed arted i By CLIVE ARDEN Copyright by br Th The Bobbs l Co Mrs Stockley faced her ber sister candle In hand with an air of outraged dig dIg- alty conversation Mary she sho he said your I tonight has hns shocked me inexpressibly I II I. I I Insist on your never breathing a n word of ot your our suspicions suspicions either either to Hugh or Barbara If It she has any any any- painful memories she she will confide in me Of course I did not know Inlow Capt Captain Cap Cap- t tam tain ln Croft well nor like him i bu but but- poor child child Her Hex sufferings may have haye been worse than I ever Imagined Goodnight Good Goodnight night night r With unusual decision she opened opened- the drawing room door and went to she ehe awake thinking bed But lay Iny long over her sisters sister's remarks 1 One alone stood out dearly clearly gathering force with every minute Everybody y Is talking and wondering Ever Everybody body eagerly devoured all scraps of t news but the the supply W was wasP 8 scanty After being brought to Singapore Singapore Singapore Singa Singa- pore the h heroine roin remained there ill unable to be moved for tor a time A A. certain reticence surrounded this illness Illness illness Ill ill- ness prostration being given as the natural cause No trace of at ata a a wIllie white whiteman's mans man's bod body was fou found d by the expedition expedition tion sent post haste to search the Island Only the charred remains of a hut and a few dead natives were discovered discovered dis dis- dis covered in the north In the south a 1 I small tribe of ot furious armed s offered a n wildly hostile reception making mak ing lug approach difficult refusing any Information In In- formation other than a poisoned ned ar ar- ar- ar row had pr presumably presumably sum sum- ably recovered and wreaked his ven yen vengeance vengeance upon the body of at his late an nn- When well enough the girl had im irn implored frantically frantically- as QS one distraught for tor f facilities es to return h herself f t to search This Tills awakened a ri n new w inter interest st adding piquancy to th the situation But II i d ki t i f Impatience was Wasa a Novelty such quixotic madness could not be indulged by level-headed level authorities What could a g girl rl accomplish where hosts of of men had failed No The Tile Island had been thoro thoroughly explored The hostile faction of at th the natives was In p possession i her return would be mere suicide or oi worse She was sent to England Q as soon as ns practicable But the De Te brothers ever thirsting for tor adventure understanding pei perhaps haps more more of 01 other her sufferings ings and the true facts than they chose to publish carried out to the the end their oath to Croft Only on the boat did they bid her farewell then farewell then they returned to their charts and their seaplane NothIng Nothing NothIng Noth Noth- ing save death so 50 they vowed to her In their exuberant French fashion fashJon should deter deter deter- them from learning final news of ot the man mun whose personality had had won their gener generous s admira tion The key f to more more Intimate romantic drama was not forthcoming Speculation Specula Specula- tion l flourished What would be likely el elfo fo to happen In such circumstances s1 Would propinquity bring love In Its train Anti And If It S so so- so This entailed endless endless endless end end- less discussion discussion on heated arguments lents What would be right and what wrong Which would need mo most t c courage urage to to resist or or- or There were women who thought the reverse The fact of ot the girl being already engaged shed a further of the tile dramatic over the adventure nd making malting the uncertainty all aU the greater Perhaps Per Per- Ver- Ver haps laps no problem had arisen after all But If it had Did the tile two have clear convictions on onI I either cither side i and above all courage to tobe tobe tobe be true to them This was the vital point all nIl longed longe to know The pair became Invested with romance Women laid their heads together and wondered Dark surmises were murmured concerning that Illness at Singapore Sentimental girls forgot their matinee or cinema Idols and cut Crofts Croft's photograph out of newspapers rs half half- wishing they themselves had been wre wrecked with him Meanwhile through the darkness of winter nights and drabness of at monotonous monotonous monotonous onous days doys the ship plowed her wa way to England Englund which bore one from the closed gates of an earthly paradise with agon agonized zed er eyes ill dazzled b by tilt thi lights she had left there to tr trim m the little littie lamps of or her home II I II I The boat train was late Little groups of people wrapped In b heavy aVy coats oats and furs s stood about the platform at Charing Cross chatting tog together to- to g pother gether ther or promenaded slowly eying their fellows with furtive Interest or absorbed In their own reflections Hugh became convinced that both the station clock and his lith wrist watch had stopped i yet th the watch appeared tobe to tobe tobe be ticking when every few moments he exclaimed It He LIe sighed turned on his heel and for the tw twentieth time started to walk the length of the platform platform plat plat- form fornI and back bock Impatience was waS' a nov novelty Ity also the state of ot excitement In which ll ho he found himself he hardly I knew how to cope with such sensatIon sensa sensa- tIon Two years year In his usual comfortable groove had changed Hugh very verr little He managed his fathers father's property hunted shot played games as of yore I If the tile tragic loss of Barbara had taken en the keen edge from his enjoyment of ot life making him hm a little older and antI graver It had not destroyed his Interests Interests Inter Inter- ests eats in the wholesome occupations which came his way After the first shock shack ha had abated abate he found himself a forlorn hero nm among his many friends who took him to their hearts and filled I lila his ls da days s so that brooding became im irn- irn possible Perhaps more than meres mere s sympathy lurked within within- the minds i of mothers with marriageable daughters i but that suspicion never penetrated his brain The girl who was part of his very life Ufe had gone to none none- other did he give a moments moment's tho thought And now this Twentieth T i century m miracle had happened d 1 J After what seemed seethed seemed a a- a dull dr dream am h he awoke Just where where he was as when hen so t to speak lie he fell asleep His feelings feelings' were absolutely absolutely abse- abse unchanged except perhaps that they were Intensified d by loss foss The he P pos possibility pos pos- Js- Js of t any al alteration alt rl I In th their lF ir relationship re relationship relationship re never everi even o occurred to 10 to him As has been mentioned before t he was not blessed or blessed or cursed with cursed with tion When be had nearl nearly reached d the barrier barrier barrier bar bar- rier a sudden tension became apparent I everywhere conversations ceased e s d heads all an turned one way way a flutter of expectancy y passed ov over r the thc scattered groups r Hugo Huge turned quickly The huge engine engine engine en en- gine approaching g glided ded slowly alongside alongside along along- side the platform f followed by t the the- train the e- e train etrain which i brought far tr travelers home again from Crom distant lands land Within a few minutes all bustie was bustle tle and hurry The he platform swarmed w rm d with excited passengers harassed porte porters porters por por- te s barrows luggage He searched hither hither- and thither forte for fort t tho te fig figure re he sought anxiety slowly rising within him hini As the cr crowd cro sd thinned h he took toole up p Jils his position Just mit Inside the barrier r where she was was bound to come Peering through the murky y light he hastily scanned each face that passed without success su When at last Jast but a few stra stragglers gler remained remained re re- re- re he lie made his wa way further further- down down- the the- platform a dull dun feeling of ot disappointment adding to his anxiety Casually his glance traveled over a athin a athin athin thin figure In a dink dark coat and hat sea seated l upon a b bench a kindly gr gray gray- y haired porter standing near suit case In hand hund As As he passed by a I vol voice he had once thought n never vel to hear again cau caused ed him to o turn sharply with a leap of ot the heart I shall be better in a minute Thank you porter Bab nab I 1 With probably the quck quickest sf- sf movement nent o of his hs life Ute Hugh reached the seat and seized the girls girl's hands In his own Th Then n nall all other words of ot greeting faded upon his lips i he lie was conscious of ot a sense of ot shock a nameless apprehension The general features of the face quickly quick quick- ly iy raised were those he knew but that was all This woman with the heavy heay lookIng haunted eyes the he strained set lips the he curious urious rigidity of expression bore n no resemblance to the sweet- sweet faced Impulsive girl who had clung round his neck at parting In the cabin of of the e airplane He felt checked curiously curiously curi curl embarrassed as If it with a stran stran- ger Still clasping her her hands he gazed nt lit her silently noting with alarm the e ashen hue spreading even to her lips Several Se times times' times she she essayed to speCk speak k and failed The Thc porter porte scenting romance romance romance ro ro- mance mance discreetly moved a f few w steps away At last H Hugh heard his lila name uttered red again ng and nd agala agal In in inn n n voice so charged with misery that hl s I apprehensions deepened and a n sud sudden len mistiness enveloped the tue surrounding un scene cene For she was clinking clinging to his hands like one In deep torment who vho for the first time time amid a storm of pf suffering suf- suf fering finds the anchor of ot an old friend And yet et If lie lii re received elved the Impression of ot fear In her hel manner she seemed seemed loath Joath to meet his gaze unable t to fo talk to him He was frankly puzzled but an Englishman with his horror of ot scenes can cnn he be trusted to bridge over an any threatening chasms |