Show 8 E I 1 A L STORY TT I 1 K novelized from the comedy of be satti name by fro of fihs ihs iby ati tell by U ac fa 00 SYNOPSIS a harry mallory to la 0 ordered to the fhe philippines Ilip pines alle he and marjorie Marj orle newton decide to slope elope but wreck of taxicab prevents their seeing minister on the way to the train transcontinental train to la tak ins ing on passengers porter has hae a 9 lively time with an fingl lahman and ira lathrop a yankee business man the alo per have an exciting time getting to th the train little jimmie wellington elling on bound for or ateno to get a divorce boards train in maudlin condition later mrs jimmie appears ap peara she Is also alao bound correno for or Reno with ame object likewise mrs lire sammy whitcomb 1 latter n tt er blames mrs mra for or her ter marital tn ari ta i troubles lea classmates Class mateo ot of mal mai korv or decorate bridal berth nev and mrs mra T temple e io tart start on a va vacation caon they decide to out cut loose and temple removes evidence of at hta his calling CHAPTER vill VIII A mixed pickle mrs whitcomb had almost blushed when she had murmured to lA lieutenant hudson 1 I should think the young ung couple would hove have preferred a stateroom and mr air hudson had flinched a tit tle llo as he explained yen ye of course we tried to get it but it was gone it was during tho the excitement over the decoration of the bridal section that bat tho the stateroom tenants slipped in 16 unobserved first came a fluttering woman whose youthful beauty had a 0 certain riale hue of experience saddening and wl sering the porter brought her itz in from rom the station platform led her to the staterooms state rooms concave door and passed assed in with her lu luggage gage but she lingered fingered without a veri peri al ai the ga gate te of paradise when the porter returned to bow her in she shivered and and then demanded oh porter are yo you u sure theres there a nobody else in there I 1 the porter chuckled but humored her panic 1 I aint seen keen nobody ih shall all I 1 1001 aoh ooh under ander the peat seat 1 w to his dismay she nodded hr bead violently lie he rolled hla his eyes ln wan derment but returned to tc tho the state room made a pretense of examination ind came back bach with witha a face full of bt re iss tS Burance urance nom theys nobody there take a mighty small size buri glar to squeeze unda that balder bald er herth h erth rth nom nobody there oh I 1 the gasp was so BO equivocal that he made bold to ask Is you pleased or disappointed the mysterious young woman was 00 oo much agitated to rebuke tho the impe lence she merely sighed oh im so anxious im not now he muttered for the he handed him a coin porter have you seen anybody on loard that looks suspicious Wirva body looks loohs suspicious to me missy but what was you expecting especial oh porter have a you seen anybody hat bat looks like a detective in disguise well theys one man looks a it he was disguised as a balloon but I 1 dont believe hes no hound well it if you see am anybody that looks ake a detective and he asks for mra afro fosdick mrs mm what alck at mrs ira fosdeck you tell him im not noi on board and she gave him another coln cassum Yas sum said eald the porter lingering willingly on such fertile soil I TU lell kell him mrs fosdick done tier her word she on bode yea and it a woman should ask aak you what kind of a woman wor the hideous kind that men call handsome and some oh aint they hideous them handsome women well oil it if such a woman asks for mrs fosdick shela my husbands first wife but of course that interest you norn nom desm if she comes tell her tell tier her oh what shan shall we tell her the porter rubbed his thick skull lemme Le rome see wo we might say you 1 I tell lell you what well tell her wean we tell her you took tho the train for new york and it if she runs mighty fast she can just juat about ketch it fine finel and she ehe ren regarded added his geilus with another coin and porter ile he had not budged porter it if a very handsome man with luscious eyes and a soulful smile asks for me ill him off the trains 11 oh no nol my husband my present husband you may let him in now is it all perfectly clear porter oh cassum clear as clear thus guaranteed she entered the stateroom leaving tho 06 porter alone with hla fits problem lie ho tried to work it out in a se seil eel il lemme seel if your present husbands absent wife gits on an bado bod a disguised as a handsome hideous woman im to throw him her off the train and lot let her hechim him come in oh cassum you may celyon rely on me lie he cowed and hold out but hla his hand hanh but she he was wall aona lie he shut fled on into th the car ile he had bad hardly left ett tho little littie space wore before the stateroom when a hand band some man with luscious luo cloua eyes but I 1 without any swi smile leat at all came slinking blinking along the corridor and tapped cautiously on the door silence alone answered him at first then when he had rapp rapped 1 d again he heard beard a muffled go away im not in ile ho put hla his lips close and softly called edithl edith 1 at af this hla sesame trio the door opened a trine trifle but when he be tried to enter a hand thrust him back and a voice again warned him off you come in but im your husband that s just why you come in the door opened a little wider to 16 give him a view of a downcast down cast beauty moaning oh arthuri arthur im so afraid afraid he sniffed with your husband berell here the trouble arthur what if your former wife should find us to gether g ether dut but she ehe and I 1 are divorced in soma states yes but other states dont acknowledge the divorce that former wife of yours la in a fiend to pursue us un this way no worse than your former husband hes pursuing purging us too my divorce was waa as good as aa my dear yes yea and no better the looking on an wight have judged froni from the ready tempers of the newly married and not entirely unmarried twain that their new alliance promised to be as exciting as their previous estates perhaps the man subtly a u atly felt the presence of those eternal eavesdroppers for he be tried to end the love duel in the corridor with an appeasing caress and a tender appeal but lets not start our boxey boey moon with a quarrel hla his partial wife ife returned the caress and tried to explain er plain im not quarreling with you dear ll 11 heart ait bui but with the horrid divorce laws why oh why did we ever interfere with them he made a brave effort with we ended two unhappy marriages edith to make one happy one but im so ho unhappy arthur and so afraid he seemed a trifle afraid himself and his gaze was askance as he be urged but the train will start soon edith and then we shall be safe mrs fosdeck had a genius for inventing unpleasant possibilities but what it if your former wife or my former husband should nave a detective on board PA A detective poof I 1 ilo ho snapped ed his fingers in bravado yon are w ith your hue husband band arent y you oh in im illinois yes she admitted I 1 very dolefully but when we come to iowa im a bigamist and when wo we come to nebraska youre a bigamist and when we come to wyoming w were ore no not t married at all ail I 1 it was certainly a tangled web they had woven but a ray of light shot through it ft into hla his bewildered soul l but were all right in utah come dearest lie he took her by the elbow to escort her into their sanctuary but kui still she hung bung back on one condition arthur that you leave me as soon eoon as we cross the iowa state line und and not come back till we get to utah remember the iowa state line oh all right he smiled and seeing the porter beckoned him close lind asked with careless indifference oh porter what time do we reach the iowa stata state line two jwo efty avo in tho the mauning mav nIng sall bah two fifty five a TO 7 the wretch excia exclaimed aimed two fifty five a m bassah the porter repeated and w wondered wh why y this excerpt from the timetable time table should exert such a dramatic effect on the luscious eyed fosdick he had small time to meditate the puzzle tor for the train was about to be launched upon its ita long voyage lie he went out to the platform and watched a cou couple P to making that way As their only luggage was a dog basket he be supposed that they were simply come to bid some of his passengers goodbye good bye no tips were to bo be expected from such transients Rients so he allowed them to help themselves up the steps mallory and ilia his marjoree Marj orle had tried to kiss the farewell or farewells halt half a dozen times but she could not let him go at the gate she asked the guard to let her through and hadr beauty was wait bribe enough again and again she and mallory allory AI paused he wanted to take her back to the taxicab bu but t she would not bo be dismissed she must spend the a BO 0 available second with him last la st hii ill go as aa tar as the steps or of the car she ehe said when they were arrived there two porters portera a sleeping slee pint car conductor and several smoking saunter ers profaned prorated me tryst so bo she I 1 whispered that she would come aboard for the corridor would be a quiet tana lane for the last rites and A n d now ilow that he had bad her ber actuary on the train malloris Mal lorys whole soul revolted against letting her jo go thy vision of her standing on the platform sad eyed and torn lorn whilo the train swept him off into space was unendurable ile he shut his eyes against it but it glowed inside the lids and then temptation whispered him its old why not white while it was working in his soul lukea like a fermenting yeast beast he was saying to think that we should owe ono all I 1 our misfortune to an 1 taxicabs breakdown break down out of the anguish or her loneliness crept one little complaint qt K you had really wanted me have bad two taxicabs 0 oh how can you say eay that I 1 tad had the license bought anil and the afie waiting iles hes waiting yet and the ring te deleres leres the ring lle he fished it out of his bis waistcoat pocket and held it ft before her as a golden amulet A lot of good it does now said bald marjorie you wont even watt wait over till the next train ive told you a thousand times my love lovev he protested desperately it I 1 dont catch the trans transport ill be court marti aled it this train la Is late im lost if you really loved me come along with me iler her very eyes gasped at atlhia this astounding toun ding proposal why harry callory la llory you know its impossible like a sort of benevolent satan he laid the ibe ground for hla his abduction leave me then to years yeara without you out among those manila women she shook her bead in terror at this vision it would be too horrible for words to have you marry one of those mahogany sirens Ile beheld beld out tho the apple better co come in e along then but how bow can 17 I 1 were not marled lie he answered airily oh im sure aure theres a minister on board but it would be too awful to be marri married edwith with all the passengers gawk ing no I 1 face it goodbye honey She Sue turned anway but be caught her arm dont you love me to distraction ill wait far tor you too three years la is a long watt wait but ill wait if you wl will il with such devotion he I 1 could not tamper it was too beautiful to risk rask or endanger or besmirch with any danger of scandal lie he gave up blis bis fantastic project and gathered her into his arms crowded her into hla his very soul as an he vowed ill wait for you forever and ever and ever lier her arms swept krould mound hla his nee neck k and she gae gave herself ia up as s an exile exile from happiness a prisoner of ota a love goodbye good bye my husband to be ba goodbye good bye my wife that was to tave bave been and will hlll be maybe goodbye good bye goodbye good bye goodbye good bye goodbye good bye 1 I must go yes you must one last kiss one more one long last kiss and there entwined in each others arms with lips wedded and eyel eyelids ids clinched they dung clung together forgetting everything past future or present loves anguish made them blind mute and deat deaf they did not noc hear the conductor crying his bis all aboard down th the long wall of the train they did n not at hear the far off knellon knel ellof Tot the bell they did not bear the porters banging the tha IA 1 AA tg y w A K ws i oss wv A g i 1 l rev walter temple vestibules vesti bules shut they their did not feel the floor r eluding eliding out with them and so the porter found them thed en gulfed gulfee in one embrace swaying and swaying and no more aware of the increasing rush of the train than we other passengers on the earth express are aware of its speed through tile the other routes on its ancient schedule the porter stood with hla his box stev step an in his hand and blinked and won dered and they did not even know they were observed TO BE CONTINUED |