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Show W. NO. SERYICE. CHAPTER XIV Continued Olympia was pushed into the rear seat o the big car. The Senator clambered after her and took her in his arms. "Be brave, my dear, be calm," he said, through clenched teeth, and the cameramen got a very good flash of them, the Senator looking stern and noble, with Olympia In his arms, weeping like Rachel for her lost children. Police cleared the way. The big car rolled off. The crowd was a little surprised to hear the roaring of motors as the car went off. But they waited. They would be back, probably, in five minutes, with the lovely young girls in tow. But when Jim Allen, slowly rallying, struggled to his feet, wiping wip-ing blood from his face, they rose instinctively. If that blood wasn't beet juice, this was real drama. Jim Allen was helped to the platform. "Ladies and gentlemen!" he roared, still mopping blood. "That's our candidate! That's the man we Democrats stand for! What's an election to a man whose home has been ravaged? What are votes to a Democrat whose most sacred feelings feel-ings have been profaned? That's the candidate we give you one who will knock down his state chairman to go to the aid of his children! Ladies La-dies and gentlemen, do what you like with this rally. I'm going to help our candidate rescue our children!" chil-dren!" Evidently, then, it was no plant. As the constituents streamed out of the auditorium following Jim Allen, whose nose continued to bleed with theatrical profusion, their resentment resent-ment rose. These were their orphans or-phans who had been subjected to this outrage. "Call the police!" "Get out the G-Men!" "Give us our children!" "Down with Wilkie!" "Were the police po-lice asleep?" A pandemonium of cars swept away in the wake of the Senator. The wind-up rally joined the rescue. A dozen busses, hastily filled, followed fol-lowed more slowly. Only those luckless luck-less ones remained who had come on foot or by train and had no emergency emer-gency conveyance. These, left behind, be-hind, eventually clustered together and burst into noisy imprecations of the Opposition, interspersed with cheers for Sloppy, boos for Wilkie, and finally fell into a sustained chant: "We want our orphans! We want our orphans! We want our orphans!" or-phans!" Unfortunately, the Senator and Aunt Olympia were unaware of this loyal demonstration. They had retired re-tired from the campaign in a dead silence, over the prostrate form of good old Jim Allen, the state chairman; chair-man; followed, so far as they knew, by the unbounded indignation of an offended constituency. For twenty noisy miles, Olympia was satisfied to sob on the Senator's breast, in which burned a volcano of suppressed passion. Finally she found voice. "I only wanted them to rest a little, Del," she said humbly. "I left Ben to bring them. I thought of course they would be safe." "Be calm, my dear, be brave," said the Senator, patting her shoulder shoul-der with a hand that itched for Brother Wilkie's throat. "If they've harmed a hair of those children's heads," moaned Olympia, "I'll choke him with my bare hands, and what's more, I'll sue him." "Be calm, Ollie, be brave," crooned the Senator, between set teeth. So it was Aunt Olympia and ' the Senator with a belligerent police escort, who roared into the Republican Republi-can rally at Lancaster. As soon as the car came to a halt, the Senator crawled over Olympia's feet and started to get out. "You stay here! This is no place for a woman! This is going to be a knock-down, drag-out engagement!" His ferocity terrified Aunt Olympia. Olym-pia. She was as mad as he was, and just as determined to fight it out. But she wished he would leave it to her. After all, her first responsibility re-sponsibility was the Senator. She grabbed him with both hands. After the wear and tear of the long campaign, cam-paign, at his age, in his state of health, he was not physically able to cope with a set of blackguards who would stoop to such depths of lawlessness. He must not impair his dignity by engaging in a common com-mon street brawl with ruffians. Besides, Be-sides, he would get his glasses broken. bro-ken. So she hung on and was drawn with him from the tonneau. And the first thing she saw was Len Hardesty, standing with both ais outstretched against the rear jor of the sound truck, from which i the police had gradually edged the j crowd away. "Len Hardesty you you give me my children! You let them right out of there this minute or I'll call the police!" "Shut up, Olympia," he said. "They can't come out. They haven't any clothes on!" "They haven't any clothes " Suddenly Sud-denly Aunt Olympia remembered. She had forgotten to take the suitcase suit-case from the trailer. "Del!" she cried. "They'll catch their death of cold!" And would have collapsed, had she not been supported by the Senator and a couple of policemen. The girls, watching from the narrow nar-row little windows at the top of the rear door, had seen the beloved and sheltering, though agitated, figures of the Senator and Aunt Olympia. Limpy opened the door defiantly. "Len Hardesty!" she screamed. "You give me my Uncle Lancy, this minute! You give him right here!" The defiant voice then rose to a familiar wail. "Aw, Uncle Lancy." When had Uncle Lancy heard that appeal in vain? He did not hesitate a moment. He relinquished Olympia Olym-pia to the arms of the policemen with all the dignity of an old Roman, Ro-man, in smart fall coat instead of toga, and bore down on the truck. He didn't say a word. He waved his arm and Len Hardesty stood aside. The Senator stumbled up the steps. "My poor children " he began. But Limpy interrupted. "Come over here to this mike and give them a piece of your mind," she ordered. "They said the most I Outraeeous thines ahmit vnn. Thpv said you were a hopeless inefficient and turned the lights on us to prove it. Tell them. Uncle Lancy!" "My dear " he remonstrated gently. "Here's the mike," said Limpy. There was only one thing to do in the presence of a microphone. Uncle Un-cle Lancy cleared his throat. "Ladies and gentlemen!" he roared. The bands, which had been instructed in-structed to stop playing when the speeches began, stopped at the first syllable. The musicians wanted to get over to the truck themselves and see what was going on. "Ladies and gentlemen of the Opposition!" Op-position!" went on the Senator. "This is Senator Slopshire addressing address-ing you from my own sound truck which was in dastardly fashion stolen sto-len by one I have loved and trusted for many years. I shall neither love nor trust him again ... So I am accused of inefficiency, eh? Well, if to put trust in a man at whose pulpit I have sat for spiritual guidance, who has blessed my food which I gladly shared with him if to put trust in that man is inefficient, in-efficient, then I plead guiltyl Yes! I am a hopeless inefficient! I did trust him! "This is the closing night of my campaign for re-election. Thousands had gathered at Trentfare to hear my final message and my summary of the issues of this campaign. But the instant I heard that these children chil-dren of mine had been ruthlessly snatched from the swimming pool and dragged away on this chilly autumn night in thin bathing suits, still wet from swimming when I heard that, I stopped in the middle of a sentence. " I waived the issues. I relinquished the campaign. I sacrificed sac-rificed any votes to be gained there and rushed here at full speed to save my children. If that is inefficiency, ineffi-ciency, yes! I am a hopeless inefficient! in-efficient! "Crouched beside me, here in my sound truck, are these three girls, three American children, bereaved young orphans. They are still in the wet bathing suits they wore when kidnaped, they are shivering and blue with cold. Their very lives have been endangered by this despicable act. I could stand here for hours expounding the issues of this campaign; it is a great opportunity; oppor-tunity; but I relinquish that opportunity. oppor-tunity. I sacrifice any votes to be gained here. I go to take my children chil-dren to warmth and comfort; I go to see them safe in their little beds, with what precautions may be taken to save them from the danger of this terrible exposure they have suf fered. If that is inefficiency, ladies and gentlemen, yes! I am a hopeless hope-less inefficient." "Give them some Bible," said Limpy grimly. "They used Bible on you." The Senator hesitated briefly. He hadn't been brought up on the Bible like Brother Wilkie and the girls. He had a special clerk to handle his quotations. He tried desperately to remember something. ".'As ye sow, so shall ye reap,' " he finally roared. "I thank you." "Come on, girls," he ordered ana immediately left the truck. Again cameras were grinding, lights flashing. flash-ing. The Senator saw nothing, heard nothing. As he told Olympia afterward, after-ward, he was so burned up he didn't even remember making a speech. "Come on," he thundered to the girls from the bottom of the steps. They hung back shyly, fearing the crowd, the cameras, the lights. "I'll go first," said Helen bravely. "Stop crying, Limpy. Keep your head upl We've nothing to be ashamed of." Very pale, unsmiling, with young head high dignified, even with wet curls clinging to brow and cheeks Helen went down. Adele followed, looking straight ahead of her, eyes wide, lashes unlowered. "Oh, my darling," groaned Len Hardesty as she passed, but she did not turn her head. She was shivering; more from nervous excitement than from cold, for their heated emotions had warmed them. But the crowd did not know that Angry cries went up, Opposition though they were. "Disgraceful!" "Disgusting!" "Poor things!" "Isn't she lovely?" A lady took off her fur scarf and placed it on Adele's shoulders. "Take it, darling," she said sympathetically. sym-pathetically. "I'll come and get it some time." Limpy came last, looking small and woebegone, with childish, tear-stained tear-stained voice. She could not raise her eyes, she could not see. Uncle Lancy was waiting for her. As she stumbled weeping on the step, with a grand gesture he took off his smart fall coat and put it about her, picked her up in his arms and carried car-ried her to the door of the car. Aunt Olympia tried to take her away from him, but the Senator was firm about that He held her tightly. tight-ly. There was a little confusion getting get-ting into the car. Helen and Adele had hurriedly crept into the rear seat, but since both Uncle Lancy and Olympia wanted to sit with Limpy, they got out huddled now in warm automobile robes generously contributed contrib-uted by tearful sympathizers and got In the front seat with the driver. Martin was at the wheel, Ben Baldy being so wrought up over the occurrence occur-rence he could not be trusted to drive carefully. Limpy at last was warmly ensconced en-sconced between uncle and aunt each with an arm around her and trying to pull her away from the other. i "Leave her alone, Ollie," said the Senator, with unaccustomed acerbity. acerbi-ty. "I'm trying to warm her up." "I'm warmer than you are, Del!" she said angrily. "Her place is in a mother's arms!" Limpy diplomatically continued to weep bitterly and submitted to pulling pull-ing from both sides. "Home, Martin, fast!" said the Senator. "But drive carefully," said Aunt Olympia. "An accident would make them nervous." For many miles the car sped along in complete silence except for & $ He held her tightly. I the screaming sirens of the biggest police escort accorded any candidate candi-date in any state in the 1938 campaign. cam-paign. Finally, in a small voice, Limpy spoke. "Uncle Lancy, perhaps I'd better bet-ter make a clean breast of it" she said humbly. "You may as well know the worst I I made a sort of a speech." Uncle Lancy patted her knee with his free hand. "Did you indeed?" he said heartily. "That was nice of you, Limpy." "It wasn't so hot," she confessed. "I'm afraid it was a little too extemporaneous ex-temporaneous ... I didn't seem to have much to say." . "I have the same trouble myself," my-self," said the Senator encouragingly. encouraging-ly. "I often wonder how I can talk as long as I do when I have so WPTV little tn " "What did you say, Limpy?" asked Aunt Olympia, jealously edging edg-ing into the conversation. "Oh, I didn't say much," admitted ad-mitted Limpy. "I I just said Uncle Un-cle Lancy is a swell guy." Uncle Lancy was so touched that he started to reach for his glasses but remembering just in time that Aunt Olympia would get Limpy away from him if he did, he resigned himself and settled back in the fog. "A very commendable sentiment," senti-ment," he said approvingly. "I've often wanted to say the same thing but I never could find just the opportune op-portune moment for it. You have to get a good break to work in a thing like that I congratulate you, my ! dear." j i "Be quiet" said Olympa rudely, j "The girls are too tired to be talked to." Hilda, though she had not expected ex-pected them for hours, .received them dourly but without surprise. She did not even raise an eyebrow at sight of the girls, in swim suits, swathed in automobile robes. It was not easy to surprise Hilda. "Where are the prizes?" she inquired, in-quired, with irritable interest "Prizes!" boomed Aunt Olympia. "Wasn't it a beauty contest?" said Hilda. "Seems as if to me they're dressed for it" She helped Aunt. Olympia give them hot baths and rub them down with rough warm towels; gave them all the hot lemonade they could drink and warmed their beds with hot- water bottles. Uncle Lancy telephoned tele-phoned the doctor to find what preventive pre-ventive measures should be taken and was relieved to learn that everything every-thing that had been done was the right thing, and that they need only be kept warm and quiet until they had thoroughly recuperated. "And if they catch anything, we'll see what to do next," said the Doctor, Doc-tor, which Uncle Lancy faithfully retailed to Aunt Olympia. As a final precaution, Aunt Olympia Olym-pia made each take an aspirin and five grains of quinine. Hilda closed the windows and lowered the blinds. "Now, just calm down, my dears, and go to sleep," said Aunt Olympia Olym-pia soothingly. "If you feel wakeful wake-ful or nervous or a chill coming on, ring immediately for Hilda and she'll give you more hot lemonade and quinine. And thank God it's over. You've been to Waterloo and now you are safe and warm in your little beds on St. Helena. Don't get up tomorrow. You can have your meals in bed. There'll be quite a rumpus and more reporters nosing around, but keep your door shut and I'll strangle a few, if necessary. Stay in bed a week if you want to. I'll very likely stay with you. And don't worry. I'll bring you Len Har-desty's Har-desty's head on a platter first time I get my hands on him." Then she turned off the lights and closed the door. She headed at once for the room she shared, rather grudgingly, with the Senator. "Another pitcher of hot lemonade for the Senator," she said to Hilda over her shoulder. The Senator was already in night- biuii ttiiu kj d u u c anu wdiiii Clippers. Clip-pers. He was smoking a cigarette. "Did you take their temperature?" tempera-ture?" he demanded. "Did they have a chill?" "I wish you'd be more grammatical, grammati-cal, Del," she said irritably. "How can three girls have one temperature tempera-ture and one chill? Did you change to your flannel nightshirt?" "My dear, it's a very mild night. You know I never change to flannel till the first snow." "It's a chilly night, or I miss my guess! I've got trouble enough without with-out pneumonia." She fished roughly about in a drawer and produced the flannels. "Change," she ordered briskly. "And be quick about it" The Senator made the exchange rather than start an argument. "Did thejr seem feverish?" he asked. "If Limpy caught cold and she's still shivery I'll sue thct louse," said Aunt dlympia, to whom sueing was a far more menacing procedure than a mere wringing of necks. "In fact, I'm not sure but I'll stand on my constitutional rights and sue the American system. You'd better get in bed, Del. Here comes Hilda with your lemonade and whisky. You'd better take these two quinine, first." "You only gave them one quinine," qui-nine," he remonstrated. "More grammar. One apiece," she reproved him severely. "Anyhow, "Any-how, you're older than they are and have less reaction . . . You don't feel anything coming on, do you?" The Senator got into bed. "Yes, I feel a fade-out coming on," he said, with a smile that was not rueful. "And it was worth it. Did you hear me take the hide off Brother Broth-er Wilkie?" "If he just manages to trip over that carpet they blackmailed me into buying and breaks his neck, it'll be cheap at the price . . . Give him two jiggers, Hilda." "You've had a pretty easy summer, sum-mer, so it won't make any difference differ-ence if you lose a little sleep tonight, to-night, Hilda," she said. "I want you to keep an eye on' the girls and if any of them seems to be catching anything, you call me immediately im-mediately and 'phone the doctor. And don't disturb us. Don't ever disturb us again as long as we live. If anybody calls up, you say the Senator's running for chief shiek of the United Mohammedans and is in a conference with Allah. If reporters report-ers come, give them rat poison. We don't want to see anybody or hear anything for the next six months. If you need help, call the police." "Won't you be wanting coffee?" asked Hilda, almost hopefully. "Yes. We'll be wanting coffee when we ring for it and that's all we will be wanting. Be sure to keep an eye on the girls and let me know if they start chills or fever . . . Col-fee, Col-fee, nothing else." "Won't you be wanting the morning morn-ing papers?" "Heavens, Ollie!" ejaculated the Senator, and the unwonted profanity showed how wrought up he was. "I forgot the press. Do you suppose they got pictures?" "Well, thank God the girls have straight legs," said Olympia. "No, Hilda. No papers! Never any more papers as long as we live! Good night, Hilda. Go and look in on the girls, will you? If they need anything, any-thing, let me know." (TO HE COXTlSVEDj |