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Show Ijr? m nn r? n ra n I By beh nmES uiiLLinms ''tt Ben Am William. f- "" " -. ! i CHArTKR XIV Continued . 30 "hil smiled happily; and then he 'V;;ied to M.iry's letter, aud sobered ;','. in; and for a moment he held it i'liis hands, remembering their last 'f-d from Mary with bitterness. was tempted to destroy this lot-t'' lot-t'' unopened; but at last, like one Storming an unpleasant duty, he oil the end of the envelope and . v out the letter inside and began """end. nd at the first words, his eyes ened, and his breath came hiss-r. hiss-r. a ly and he sat up sharply in his th. The letter was from Paris. ry had written: ;j;"r Phil: ar- us Loran killed Miss Wines. He has '? me so. a-- J try to tell you Just what happened. ' " link 1 told you he was here. His was getting a divorce. We met by .dent; but he seemed fascinated by V- My Argentine and I weren't get- along very well. He's gone back C; - outh America now. I began to real-.. real-.. " " that Mr. Loran had something on his -r"- d. He was drinking a lot. and look-C': look-C': sick; and then he began to give me . ...jents. pretty valuable ones, and I '--' ed him w hy. and he was drunk most Tr.. he time of course he began to talk be reached soon after dawnhe said nothing to Mrs. Sentry. When she saw his high spirits and asked some question, he said evasively, "Oh, just looking forward to seeing Barbara, Bar-bara, that's all!" They alighted at the Cleveland station, and Dan and Barbara were there to greet them, and Barbara was quick in her mother's arms, while Phil pumped Dan's hand. Then Barbara came to kiss Phil, her eyes dancing; and she linked her arm through his, and Mrs. Sentry and Dan were close on their heels, and they came to Dan's car. Phil, watching Barbara, thought she was become beautiful. It had never occurred oc-curred to him that his sister was beautiful before. He had thought of her as a nice-looking youngster; but now she wore a subtle radiance of glowing eyes and clear skin and steady lips that were strong even when they curved in quick laughter. Phil said, "Dan, you've made a beauty out of Barb!" "Old Doctor Fisher," Dan chuckled. chuck-led. "Every treatment guaranteed. guaran-teed. A raving beauty after three ?fiiil!:' Iffl ks. m '5' ! 1 1 m t's Been Fnn. Perfect. I Shouldn't Have Wanted It Any Other Way." .-,-out some great wrong he had done !, and about making amends, -rhis went on for weeks, and he's been r--"t of cracking up all the time. I asked t . l questions, but he'd shut up like a m. But when my husband left me, Z ' got maudlin and wept about what s happening to me. and blamed him-f. him-f. and finally, night before last, he ?ged me to forgive him and I asked m what, and I finally got it out of him. f le had Miss Wines in Maine in August. e guide Led for him. And he says 3 ; tried to blackmail him. and his wife s already threatening to divorce him j collect big alimony, and he was ired. Then Miss Wines sent word to a to meet her in the office that night hot - haif-past eleven. He was going to , J fyr York, anyway; and he decided to - to scare ber so she would let him ":-ne. He had a pistol he had carried rej"the War. and he took it to scare her Ji. He says he took out the magazine, Lyught it was empty. He got on the S" w York train and put on his pyjamas ir his clothes and called the porter J ,3 told him he was going to sleep, 'i then slipped off through another car, d went out a different gate, and went ithe office and she was there. DPShe'd stolen father's key, he says. He ered her the money there was in the ;e. and she said she wanted a lot more in that, and she said she was going to 1 Mrs I-nran. and started out And jammed the pistol against her back 1 -' she-passed him in the doorway, think-tr.2 think-tr.2 it was empty, intending to scare -,:-r. and it went off. s"-"5he took two or three steps and fell; d he saw the empty cartridge rolling ross the floor and picked it up, and 3f1 ;n ran to her and called to her to get w' , and saw she was dead. And he f ard someone on the stairs and turned I'Ct thoughts, and when father came, thaitJie jumped past him down mt y an- Ar)d he ' saw fa-Mi- & arted to drive away in 111' o c he had turned into a f O cz and might be arrested 3 i v. ieft it there and hurried s..:tJ 1" cc ".tion and sneaked on the i saw him. c-; z r "c r- nt to the American em-s em-s o told them, and they got ru' - Fy are going to arrange 'i j . 'can hear everything we ;'i:t M'Can get him to go over ,5 f :, -g S I'll try, Phil. They say ej-. ' p .Msn't enough to prove it. sp"-- '33 ,liave heard from the po-iie. po-iie. ' - get this. I read about c c. riutation; and even if I 1 c. H Loran to talk again, this c let father pardoned. 'i t i P ? I to nelP me- But maybe 1, c -' take up for my deserting r -fay. it s all I can do. I5tt " - Mary. 'CfPhil read this letter through with 1 Juicing eyes; and when he had done, q st read it again more slowly, till 1ery word was fixed on his brain. Jnd there was great triumph in m, and a deep jubilation. His st thought was to rouse his moth-I moth-I tell her. But she was asleep, ft pd if she knew this tonight, she f" ould not sleep again. She would sist that they leave the train, go !jick to his father . . . And he thought of Barbara; Barbara, Bar-bara, who of them all had never ".ltered in her faith. And in the lpd he hugged this secret close. It lUJihuld wait, he decided. Wait till riC-Oimorrow. Wait till they were with ieiarbara. Barbara had a right to & 2 the first to know. ' So In the morning they were jused early, since Cleveland would months of marriage, or your money back." Then they were stowing themselves them-selves in the car, and Phil saw that it was new, and thought Dan must be prospering, and wondered what their home would be like. It was an apartment, he knew; and when they were arrived, the apartment, though small, proved to be reassuringly reas-suringly sunny and comfortable, and the furniture could not be objected ob-jected to. Phil saved his great news, relishing relish-ing the anticipation of their great happiness. Barbara, through breakfast, break-fast, did most of the talking, only appealing to Dan for corroboration now and then, relating her arrival in Cleveland when she came to join Dan, and the first days in a hotel when, while Dan was at work, she sought for apartments, till she had a list for his inspection; and how they moved in here with nothing" but twin beds, a few towels and some linen, and so began housekeeping. house-keeping. "So first I furnished the kitchen," Barbara explained. "Just buying each day the things I actually needed. need-ed. And then the bedroom; and then I began on the living-room. After Aft-er I had things picked out, Dan would go see them before I decided. And I made all the hangings myself, my-self, by hand. I'm as good a sempstress semp-stress as Miss Simpkins right now, mother. And when we had everything every-thing in, I began to monogram our linen Why mother! You're crying!" cry-ing!" Mrs. Sentry said through tears: "It's all right, Barbara. I was just beic? sorry for myself because I missed sharing all that fun with you. I should have been here, helped, done most of it." She spoke to Dan. "I'm afraid your bride didn't come to you as well equipped and prepared pre-pared as she should have been, Dan." Dan grinned. "I haven't any complaint," com-plaint," he declared. "But maybe it was hard on Barb." "You idiot!" said Barbara gently; and to her mother: "It's been fun. Perfect! I shouldn't have wanted it any other way." Mrs. Sentry looked toward Phil, and suddenly her eyes twinkled. "I'll do better by you and Linda, Phil," she promised; and Phil's heart leaped, and Barbara cried delightedly: de-lightedly: "Phil! You and Linda? Honest? Oh, that's grand!" Phil could not speak, staring at his mother. Barbara was kissing him hard and happily, and Dan was shaking his hand, and then the telephone tele-phone rang in the halL and Dan went to answer it, and Phil said shakily: "But mother, how did you know " She smiled. "I am not blind! You and Linda wore it like banners, that day you came back to York." "And you don't mind?" "I've minded your not trusting me enough to tell me about It, that's all." "When will you be married?" Barbara challenged. "Soon?" Mrs. Sentry said smilingly: "Yes, soon, I hope." And to her son: "I wasn't sure I could let you go, till we saw Barbara so happy, Phil. At home I had too much the feeling that things were ending; that there was nothing to look forward to. But things are just beginning here, with Barb and Dan. And you and Linda can make a fine new beginning begin-ning too." Phil's throat was full; be thought: This is the time to tell them. He reached In his pocket for Mary's letter. But then Dan came Into the room. He came quietly enough; yet his very quiet made them look at him in sudden attention. PhU saw Dan's face white and set; and Barbara saw Dan's face I too, and was in his arms In one swift movement, staring up at him, crying: "Dan. What Is it, Dan?" Dan said in a low tone: "It was the office that called, Mrs. Sentry. They've Just had an A. P. bulletin, with great news. Gus Loran has confessed to the French police that he killed Miss Wines. The Governor Gover-nor says Mr. Sentry will be pardoned par-doned at once, will be free today." Trains are tedious things; but planes move swiftly. Yet to Mrs. Sentry, that day while they seemed to hang motionless in a cloudless sky alive with sunshine so bright she thought It could never be obscured, ob-scured, the swift journey homeward appeared to be interminable. But it was not The panorama below be-low them, moment by moment, changed; the mountains beneath them slid behind; new cities far ahead came quickly into view, and then, distant yet beautiful, the sea . , . Before they landed at East Boston, Bos-ton, Phil had seen Linda waiting, far below. In his arms, held close, her lips tight to his, she whispered only his name, Phil. Phil, Phil, her lips moving against his. And then: "He Is waiting for you, Phil. For you all to take him home together. Eli is here with the limousine, and I've my car " He rode with her through congest-, ed streets to the shabby portals of the prison; and the limousine pulled up behind them. Upon arrival there she said: "Dan and I will go on ahead, Phil. Just you, whom he loves, to meet him here and bring him home." And she whispered, "But hurry to me. Phil." Phil nodded, his eyes blurred so that he could not see. Of what followed fol-lowed he remembered little save the strong grasp of his father's hand. Then they were In the limousine, lim-ousine, Phil on one of the small seats, half turned to face Barbara and his father and mother in the seat behind. They crossed the bridge above the murky railroad yards, and Phil saw how pale his father was. But beyond, driving beside the river where the sun shone clear, Phil thought: It will put color in his cheek again. It will not take long. And he thought: We are all very silent And then he nodded, understanding. under-standing. There was too much to say; and yet there was nothing that was not already being said by Barbara, Bar-bara, her hands tight clasped on his father's arm; by Mrs. Sentry pressed close against her husband's side. They crossed the river, passed familiar fa-miliar corners. Soon now they would be at home. And Linda would be waiting . . . Phil turned in his seat to face forward, for-ward, he turned to look ahead. (THE END) |