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Show m sh wmm gl Efe ay Sylvia Taylor J THE STORY SO FAR: Joan Leland, eeretary, Is discharged by her employer, em-ployer, Arthur Mollord, Importer, who refuses any explanation for the act. She takes a secretarial position with Karl Miller, handsome proprietor of a night club. She is fascinated by him and when he gets her sister SybU, a new Job and takes her into his arms, her Joy knows no end. She meets his clu manager, Paul Sherman, who warns her about working for Karl, but refuses to give his reasons. Then Karl Introduces her to his partner, Eric Strom, and she refuses his secret invitation to dinner. During a ride with Karl they board a freighter-ship freighter-ship and when Karl asks her if be can show her the world she melts into his arms with an affirmative answer. Sybil notices that he never mentions marriage to Joan, but Joan defends him. Eric Strom seizes an opportunity to try to make love to her, when Paul Sherman walks in and knocks him out with one blow. Karl sends Joan with a package to the freighter captain. Paul follows. He takes her to a hotel grill. Now continue with the story. CHAPTER VII "Listen to me, Joan!" Paul said In a low voice. "You were right. I have been following you but only for your own protection. You don't know what you're getting Into. I've tried to warn you but you won't listen." "You have never said anything except ex-cept that I wasn't the type to work In a night club." In spite of her annoyance, an-noyance, she felt compelled to listen. lis-ten. "There are some things I can't tell you, but you must trust me. Do you think I'd be risking my own position po-sition this way if I didn't feel that It was terribly important?" Silently she stared at him. "I know you think you're in love with Karl," Paul went on quickly. "But if he is sincere, Joan, why doesn't he ask you to marry him? Isn't that proof enough that there's something wrong with the picture?" His steady brown eyes gazed into hers. She twisted her hands nervously. nerv-ously. Paul's words had quickened the doubt in her own heart but she said calmly, "I don't see that it's any of your business." He smiled wryly. "I'm only using us-ing that as an example to prove to you that Karl Miller is not on the level. Believe me, I don't go around meddling in other people's affairs without reason." The sincerity in his voice was unmistakable un-mistakable as he continued, "I can't tell you now what that reason is. All I can do is to warn you that Karl Miller will never marry you." Her voice was ragged with alarm. "How do you know? What right have you to say that?" "You poor kid! You're really in love with him, aren't you?" A lump rose in her throat. "He's wrong about Karl," she thought. "He must be. Karl loves me!" Paul went on, "There's no use kidding yourself, Joan! If you don't believe me, why don't you ask him and find out for yourself?" Joan raised challenging green eyes to his. "All right! Maybe I will!" Paul Sherman's warning had disturbed dis-turbed Joan. Paul had said that Karl would never marry her. Why? Paul had even challenged her to find out for herself whether or not Karl was sincere. She was awake early the next morning. Lazily she watched Sybil dress to leave for the beauty shop. When Sybil had gone Joan tried to sleep but it was useless. At nine o'clock she rose, dressed, and drank a glass of orange juice and a cup of coffee. Shortly before ten she left the apartment and went downtown. To satisfy her curiosity she walked past the shop where she had been employed em-ployed formerly by Arthur Mulford. It was vacant and a For Rent sign hung in the window. "Karl didn't lie about that then!" she told herself, recalling that he had said Mulford had quit the importing im-porting business. Why was she doubting him? Was it really because of Paul's warning? warn-ing? Or because of her own small doubts that she had concealed so carefully the last few weeks? As she walked down Grant avenue, ave-nue, deep in her own thoughts, a voice surprised her. "Hello, Joan! What are you doing out so early?" She looked up into the smiling face of Karl Miller. "What's the matter, liebchen? You look surprised." It was impossible to doubt him when she was with him. His mag netism banished her fears. "I am surprised to see you," she admitted. He took her arm and they walked slowly up Grant avenue past the shops, into the crowded narrow streets of Chinatown. Karl stopped at a sidewalk flower stand to purchase pur-chase three waxen gardenias. "We'll have lunch together," he promised, "and take a drive. Would you like that?" As they sat eating lunch, served by a bland, unsmiling Oriental, Joan felt a thrill of pride. The thought of losing him aroused a fierce emotion emo-tion in her heart. Would he ever transfer the tenderness he had given her to another woman?. How could she be sure unless . . . But Paul's words rang in her ears! "He'll never nev-er marry you. Ask him and see . . ." "You are worrying about something," some-thing," Karl said. "What troubles you?" What would he think if he really Paul Sherman's warning had disturbed Joan. Paul had said that Karl would never marry her. knew? When she remained silent, Karl changed the subject. "By the way, did you see Paul Sherman last night?" She hesitated for one cautious moment mo-ment before she said, "Yes, I did." Karl's smile was untroubled. "Ah? I am glad he found you. I sent him after you. I forgot to mention it last night when you got back to the office." Joan's eyes widened. Karl had sent Paul after her? Certainly Paul had not given her that impression. "Don't you believe me?" Karl asked softly and Joan felt the color rush into her cheeks. Karl, however, did not seem angry. an-gry. He paid the check and together to-gether they walked to where he had parked his car. It was not until they reached the beach that Karl stopped and said abruptly, "I know what you're think ing, Joan!" She stared straight ahead into the blue waters of the Pacific. She did not know what to say. "You are wondering," Karl Miller Mil-ler continued, "why I don't ask you to marry me." Her heart beat heavily. She could not bring herself to meet those piercing pierc-ing blue eyes. "Joan!" She felt his hand strong and warm over hers. "Look at me!" he commanded. Blindly she raised her eyes to his. "Will you marry me?" She could not believe it. She stared at him as though she had not heard. "No answer? You do not love me?" "Oh, Karl! Of course I do!" "We can't be married for two or three months yet," Karl said. ' "I want to get the club going first. Then we'll take a long honeymoon, maybe to South America. Would that make you happy?" Tears trembled in her green eyes. "Happy? I'm so happy I can't speak." "You must learn to trust me, Joan! I would have asked you before be-fore to marry me, but I wanted to be secure financially. You understand?". under-stand?". "Of course I do, darling!" How could she have doubted him? Paul Sherman had been so sure that Karl would not marry her! How wrong he had been! How wrong Sybil had been! Karl had been misjudged by them all. "I'll never doubt him again," Joan vowed as they drove back to the Club Elite. She sat contentedly with her arm tucked through his. No girl had ever been so happy as she was at that moment. All fears had been swept away by Karl's proposal of marriage. When they entered his private office of-fice he drew her to him, kissed her and said, "I have a surprise for you." "What is it?" Her eyes shone like a child's in their happiness. Karl smiled as he opened his safe and drew out a small velvet box. Snapping open the lid, he took out a ring, a magnificent emerald set in plain platinum. It was a large stone, beautifully cut. "Oh Karl! Karl! It's gorgeous!" "An emerald to match your eyes," Karl said as he slipped the ring on her finger; Suddenly the words of Eric Strom came back to her: "A woman with green eyes is very rare ..." Why must she think of Eric Strom now? Like a warning of evil in the midst of her new joy. Hurrying home at six o'clock, Joan displayed the ring to Sybil "We're engaged, Syb! We're going go-ing to be married in two or three months." "Karl asked you to marry him?" Sybil asked unbelievingly. "That's a beautiful emerald, Joan! Must have cost a fortune." "You don't seem very enthusiastic." enthusias-tic." I "Frankly I'm not," Sybil confessed. con-fessed. "I suppose you would have been better pleased if Karl and I had quit," Joan said coldly. Sybil was silent for a moment, then said, "You're not going to be mairied for at least two months?" "That's right. Sybil what's the matter with you? You act so mysterious mys-terious lately. Is anything wrong?" "Not a thing in the world," Sybil denied. "I just wondered, that's I alL" ! Joan could not worry about Sybil's Syb-il's meaning now. She could not worry about anything. Karl wanted to marry her! His ring gleamed on her white hand! She could scarcely wait to see Paul Sherman and tell him the good news, but Paul did not appear at the Club Elite that night or for several nights to come. The days passed rapidly, magically magical-ly for Joan. "You'll have to get a new secretary," secre-tary," she told Karl. "My mind is definitely not on my work." He smiled at her. "There's plenty plen-ty of time for that later." And then one night, as Joan sat alone in the office typing, Paul Sherman Sher-man made an appearance. He was as good-looking, as debonair and cheerful as ever. "Did you miss me?" he inquired. grinning at Joan. "Karl sent me out of town." Joan smiled. She was going to enjoy telling Paul. He had been so sure about Karl, so prejudiced. "Not much," she informed him airily. "A lot has happened while you were gone." "Such as what?" "Karl and I are going to be married," mar-ried," she said proudly. Paul's expression changed. He advanced ad-vanced towards Joan's desk repeating repeat-ing incredulously, "Do you mean that Karl Miller has asked you to marry him?" There was something in his face that took the joy out of her announcement an-nouncement but she said calmly, "Yes! You were wrong about Karl." "I was wrong all right," he agreed savagely. "I suppose nothing I can say now will make any difference." Joan smiled. "That's right." "When is the happy event taking place?" "In about two or three months. We're going away on a long honeymoon." honey-moon." "Is that so?" Joan was really annoyed with him now. The least he could do was admit ad-mit he had been wrong. "Well, it's your funeral, my girl!" Paul said, and jamming his hat down on his head he bolted out of the office. Joan smiled as she turned back to her work. Perhaps Sybil had been right. Maybe Paul was in love with her. But he certainly had a peculiar way of showing it Sybil seldom mentioned her sister's sis-ter's approaching marriage. She was behaving strangely these days, saying little, staring into space foT long periods. And so life moved on triumphantly triumphant-ly until the week before Christmas. It was a rainy, windy winter day and San Franciscans thronged the shops armed with umbrellas and galoshes. The stores were open at night now and Joan found herself elbowing el-bowing her way through the crowd She had dined downtown preparatory prepara-tory to buying Karl's Christmas present. "Ten past eight!" Joan exclaimed, glancing at the clock on the corner. cor-ner. 'Til have to come back tomorrow." to-morrow." She took a taxi to the Club Elite and arrived breathlessly in Karl's private office. He laughed at her excitement. "Does Christmas alwavs nffot this way? "Only this one, darling! This one is special." There was no doubt in her hean as his lips touched hers. No premonition pre-monition of disaster. She was completely com-pletely sure, completely happy. It was nine-thirty when the office door opened to admit Eric Strom "Ah?" Karl said, and Joan W ticed that his voice was annoyed "You come early." Eric shrugged indifferent shoulders. shoul-ders. "You wanted to see me?" "Ja!" Karl said, rising. Eric went to the cleverly concealed con-cealed little bar, opened it and reached for a bottle. Karl glanced at Joan. "Go to the dining room. I'll send for you in about ten minutes." Joan obeyed but she was wor ned. She did not like the way Eric had looked at Karl. Evidently there-was there-was bad feeling between them Bui why? (TO BE COXTIKUED) |