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Show THE SAUNA SUN, SAUNA, UTAH THE BRANDING IRON . - - CHAPTER By Continued. IV is i Of course theres a performance tonight. I'll dine with Jasper. Ill His have to see Betty first . . thoughts trailed oft and he fell into that bot-col- d confusion, that uncomfortable scorching fog of mood. The cab turned into Fifth avenue and became a scale In the creeping serpent of vehicles that glided, paused, and glided again past the thronged pavements. Prosper contrasted everything With the grim courage and tragedy of France. He could not but wonder at the detached frivolhigh-pitch- these ity of these spinners in the sun. How soon would the shadow fall upon them, too, and with what change of countenance would they look up! To him the joymoney-spender- s, ousness seemed almost childish and yet he bathed his fagged spirit in it. How high the white clouds sailed, how blue was the midwinter sky! How the buildings towered, how quickly the people stepped! Here were the pretty, painted faces, the absurd silk stockings, the tripping, exquisitely booted feet, the swinging walk, the tall, upspringing bodies of the women he remembered. He regarded them with impersonal delight, untluged by any of his usual cynicism. It was late afternoon when Prosper, obedient to a telephone call from Betty, presented himself at the door of Morenas house, just east of the Park, off Fifth avenue; a very beautiful house where the wealthy Jew had indulged his passion for exquisite things. Prosper entered its rich dimness with a feeling of oppression that unanalyzed mood of hot and cold feeling intensified to an almost degree. In the large carved he waited and curtained drawing-roowere prefor Betty. The pared ; there would be no further need of service until Betty should ring. Everything was arranged for an uninProsper stood terrupted near an ebony table, his shoulder brushed by tall, red roses, and felt his nerves tighten and his pulses hasten in their beat. The tall child . . . the tall child . . . he had called her by that name so often and never without a swift and stabbing memory of Joan, and of Joan's laughter which he had silenced. He took out the letter he had lately d received from Betty and it and, as he read, a deep line cut between his eyes. You say you will not come back unless I can give you more than I have ever given you In the past. You say you intend to cut yourself free, that I have failed you too often, that you are starved on hope. Im not going to ask much more patience of you. I failed you that first time because I lost courage; the second time, fate failed us. How could I think that Jasper would get well when the doctors told me that I mustnt allow myself even a shadow of hope! Now, I think that Jasper, himself, Is preparing my release. This all sounds like something in a book. Thats because youve hurt me. I feel frozen up. I couldnt bear It if now,' just when the. door Is opening, you failed me. Prosper, you are my lover for always, arent you? I have to believe that to go on living. You are the one thing In my wretched life that hasnt lost its value. Now, read this carefully; I am goinr to be brutal. Jasper has been unfaithful to me. I know It. I have sufficient evidence to prove It In a law court and I shall not hesitate to get a divorce. Tear this up, please. Now, of all times, we must be extraordinarily careful. There has never been a whisper against us and there mustnt be. Jasper must not suspect. K counter-sui- t would ruin my life. I must talk it over with you. Ill see you once alone just once before I leave Jasper and begin the suit. We must have patience for just this last bit. It will seem very long . . Prosper folded the letter. He was conscious of a faint feeling of sickness, of fear. Then he heard Bettys step across the marble pavement of the hall. She parted the heavy curtains, drew them together behind her, and stood, pale with joy, opening and shutting her big eyes. Then she came to meet him, held him back, listening for any sound that might predict interruption, and gave herself to his arms. She was no longer pale when he let her go. She went a few steps away and stood with her hands before her face, then she went to sit by the They were both flushed. Bettys eyes were shining under their fluttering lids. Prosper rejoiced in his own emotion. The mental fog had lifted and the feeling of faintness was gone. Youve decided not to break away altogether then? she asked, giving him a quick glance. lie shook his head. Not if what you have written me is true. Ive had such letters from you before and Ive grown very suspicious. Are you sure this time? He laid stress upon his bitterness. It was his one weapon against her and he had been sharpening it with a vague purpose. Oh, said Betty, speaking low and furtively, "Jasper is fairly caught. I have a reliable witness In the girls maid. There is no doubt of his guilt. Prosper, none. Everyone Is talking of It. He has been perfectly open in his tea-thin- tete-a-tet- tea-tabl- e. attentions." Every minute Betty looked younger and prettier, more provoking. Her with its clever smile was bright as though his kiss had painted It. Who is the girl? asked Prosper. He was deeply flushed. Being capable of simultaneous paints of view, he had been stung by that cool phrase of Battys concerning Jasper's guilt" cnlld-mout- Katharine Newlin Burt Copyright by Katharine N. Burt Ill tell you In a moment Did you destroy my letter? He shook his head. Oh, Prosper, please!" He took it out, tore it up, and walking over td the open fire, burned the papers. He came back to his tea. Well, Betty? The girl, said Betty, is the star In your play, The Leopardess, the girl that Jasper picked up two Septembers ago out west. He has written to you about her. She was a cook, if you please, a hideous creature, but Jasper saw at once what there was in her. She has made the play. Youll have to acknowledge that yourself when you see her. She is wonderful. And, partly owing to the trouble Ive taken with her, the girl is beautiful. One wouldnt have thought it possible. She Is not charming to me, shes not in the least subtle. Its odd that she should have had such an effect upon Jasper, of all men . . Prosper sipped his tea and listened. He looked at her and was bitterly conscious that the excitement which had pleased and surprised him wras dying out. That faintness again assailed his was He spirit. feeling stifled, Yes, that was it, ashamed, bored. bored. That life of service and anger in France had changed him more than he had realized till now. He was more simple, more serious, more moral, In a certain sense. He was like a man who, having denied the existence of Apollyon, has come upon him face to face and ha? been burnt by his breath. Such a man is inevitably moral. All this long, intricate intrigue with the wife of a man who called him friend, seemed to him horribly unworthy. If Betty had been a great lover, if she had not lost courage at the eleventh hour and left him to face that terrible winter in Wyoming, then their passion might have Justified itself; but now there was a staleness In their relationship. He hated the battle-d- thought of the long divorce proceedings, of the decent interval, of the wedding, of the married life. He had never really wanted that. He would have to take her, to spend his days and nights with her, to travel with her. She would want to visit that gay, little forsaken house in a Wyoming canyon. With vividness he saw a girl lying prone on a black rug before a dancing fire, her hair all fallen about her face, her secret eyes lifted impatiently from the book You had ought to be wrltir, Mr. Gael . . What are you smiling for, Prosper? Betty asked sharply. lie looked up, startled and confused. "Sorry. Ive got into beastly ahsent-minde- d habits. Is that Morena? Jasper opened the curtains and came In, greeting Prosper in his stately, charming fashion. "Tonight. he said, well show you a leopardess worth looking at, wont we, Betty? But first you must tell us about your own exYou look wonderfully fit, perience. doesnt he. Betty? And changed. They say the life out there stamps a man, and theyre right. Its taken some of look out of your that wlnged-deinoface, Prosper, put some soul Into It. He talked and Betty laughed, showing not the slightest evidence of effort, though the soul Jasper had seen In Trospers face felt shriveled for her treachery. Prosper wondered if she could be right in her surmise about Jasper. The Jew was Infinitely capable of dissimulation, hut there was a clarity of look and smile that filled Prosper with doubts. And the eves he turned upon his wife were quite as apparently ns ever the eyes of a disappointed man. So absorbed was he In sueh observations that he found it intolerably difficult to fix his attention on the talk. Jaspers fluency seemed to ripple senselessly about his brain. You must consent to one thing. Luck; you must allow me to choose my own time for announcing the authorship." This found Its way partially to his Intelligence and he gave careless assent. Oh, whenever you like, as soon a Ive had my fun." Of course Moreno was thought n PRUDENCE" ful for an Instant. How woui4 it da for me to leave It with Melton, tha business manager? Eh? Suppose I phone him and talk It over a little. Hell want to wait till toward the end of the run. Hes keen; lias Just tha commercial sense of the born adver-tlse- r. Let him choose the moment. Then we can feel sure of getting tha right one. Will you, Luck? If you advise It. You ought to know, You see. Im so confoundedly busy, so many irons In the fire, I might just miss the psychic moment. I think Meltons the man Ill call him up tonight before we leave. Then I wont forget it and Ill be sure to catch him, too." Again Prosper vaguely agreed and promptly forgot that he had given his permission. Later, there came an agonizing moment when he would have given the world to recall his absent, careless words. With an effort Prosper kept his poise, with an effort, always increasing, he talked to Jasper while Betty dressed, and kept up his end at dinner. The muscles round his mouth felt tight and drawn, his throat was dry. He was glad when they got Into the limousine and started theater-warIt had been a long time since he had been put through this particular ordeal and he was out of practice. They reached the house Just as the lights went out. Prosper was amused at his own intense excitement. I didnt know I was still such a kid," he said, flashing a smile, the first spontaneous one he had given her, upon Betty who sat beside him in the proscenium box. The success of his novel had had no such effect upon him as this. It was entrancing to think that in a few moments the words he had written would come to him clothed in various voices, the people his 'brain had pictured would move before him in flesh and blood, doing what he had ordained that they should do. When the curtain rose, he had forgotten his' personal problem, had forgotten Betty. He leaned forward, his elbows on his knees, his chin In his hand. The scene vras of a tropical Island, palms, a strip of turquoise Bea. A girl pushed aside the great fronds of ferns and stepped down to the beach. At her appearance the audience broke into applause. She was a tall girl, her stained legs and arms bare below her ragged dress, her black hair hung wild and free about her face and neck. As the daughter of a native mother and an English father, her beauty had been made to seem both Saxon and Stained and painted, darksavage. ened below the great gray eyes, Joan with her brows and her classic chin and throat, Joan with her secret, dangerous eyes and lithe, long body, mads an arresting picture enough against the setting of vivid green and blue. She moved slowly, deliberately, naturally, and stood, hands on hips, to watch a ship sail Into the turquoise harbor. It was not like acting, she seemed really to look. She threw back her head and gave a call. It was the name of her stage brother, but It came from her deep chest anu through her long column of a throat like music. Prosper brought down his hands on the railing before him, half pushed himself up, turned a blind look upon Betty, who laid a restraining hand upon his arm. He whispered a name, which Betty could not make out, then he sat down, moistened his lips with his tongue, and sat through the entire first act and neither moved nor spoke. As the curtain went down he stood up. I must go out, he said, and hesitated in the back of the box till Jasper came over to him with an anxious question. Then he began to stammer "Don't tell her, Jasper, nervously. dont tell her. Tell her what, man? Tell whom? Don't you Jasper gave him a shake. like Jane? Isnt she wonderful? Yes. yes. extraordinary! Made for the part? "No." Prospers face twisted Into The part came secNo. a smile. ond, she was there first, Morena, promise me you wont tell her who wrote the play. Look here. Prosper, suppose you tell me whats wrong. Have you seen a ghost? Prosper laughed ; then, seeing Betty. her face a rigid question, he strugl. gled to lay hands upon his Something very astonishing has of those Morena one happened, In a mans of not dreamt things I can't tell you. Have yon me to meet Jane West? for arranged After the show, yes, at supper. Tint not as the author? No. I was waiting f you to tell that. hpr And and I She miisnt know. cant meet her that way. at supper. Again he made vlsihle efforts at Dont tell Betty what a fool I'll be Tll go out a minute. I am. all right. Betty was coming toward them. He gave a painful smile and fled. By FLORENCE pencils At all "u U ,), Velvet MELLISH 1924, by McClure Newspaper Syndicate.) Whiting told WHEN toAmos give Oscar French something on the Eagle, Oscar did not have the vanity to think it was wholly on account of hia own Journalistic ability. Oscars father bad been Amos Whitings closest chum. But Oscar had a knack for writing, and he meant to make good. 'Youll have to take whatever, Hawkins gives you, even if it doesnt happen to suit your taste; then, by and by, you may get something different." Were swamped with sub reporters already. But If Whiting see here, you may have The Twilight Hour. Mrs. Starkweather is laid up indefinitely. You give advice to girls, discreet and sensible, but sympathetic. See? Your desk Is over there by the window. Ill seod you some of Mrs. Starkweathers files so that you can get her drift. Your signature will be Prudence Kenwortliy. " But isn't that a lady's name?" Oscar gasped. Of course, and you want to be ladylike and refined, you know. No rough stuff and no slang. Youll soon get the feminine touch. Oscar Great Caesar! groaned French, I dont want to get a feminine touch. I Vaat a mans job." llftwkins turned a curt shoulder. Thats all I have for you now. You can take it or leave it. Young French set his teeth. Til take it. Oil, youll like it when you get started, especially when the personal letters come In. But dont try to answer many of them. Its a waste of time." Young French strode over to the desk by the window and buried himself in Mrs. Starkweathers files. He began his uncongenial task with grim determination, and soon had the satisfaction of feeling that at least he was equal to It. When some waggish reporters left an offering of camellias and maidenhair ferns with a box of chocolates on his desk he placidly dumped the flowers into the wastebasket and ate the candy with ostentatious relish. Oscars manly determination to get the feminine touch was a success. He soon Prudence herself, and the personal letters poured in assuring Miss Kenworthy that she was better and better every day." The personal letters! He did enjoy them, though he followed Hawkins advice and answered few of them. But he did write personally to Georgie Goodale. Georgie wasnt sentimental or whiny, and she had some "pep. She lived in Martinville with her aunt Aunt Rachael was a dear, Rachael. but she wouldnt let Georgie do anything that the other young people did, and she was opposed to Georgies studying law. Dear Miss Ken worthy," Georg.e wrote, your letters are a comfort and an inspiration, too. The twilight hour is the best in my day. But I'd give my new camera for a talk with you face to face. Now you like ii$hing; you said you did. Back of our cottage is a wonderful trout brook, and Aunt Rachel's luncheons are gorgeous. Cant we make a date? Oscar French caught at the idea. He did make a date with Georgie. He laughed at the mirrored image of his fishermans costume in anticipation of her surprise. lie looked forward like e and the a schoolboy to the good fishing and Aunt Rachels gorBut when he actugeous luncheon. ally stood on the platform of Marsh-vill- e station he scanned the faces of the women waiting there, half dreading to meet Georgie. I have lots of freckles and look like a boy. she had written. He failed to Identify the buoyant and vivacious and Georgie in the middle-agegroup. A lanky, freckled youth encumbered with fishing tackle, was watching the women who alighted from the train. Im looking for Prudence Ken he announced Ijnpersonnlly worthy, Hello, Georgie," called a genial em ployee, who was carrying leather mailbags. Oscar faced the freckled youth. Thats one of my names. Im The freckled youth grinned. Georgie. The joke's on me," he added magnanimously. "No, it's on me, French Insisted, You liave the not to be outdone. freckles, at any rate. Is there a real trout brook?" "You Dot your life there Is! and a cloudy day like fids oh, hoy! Come on, partner, and well show 'em. I'm glad you aren't t lady," Georgie confided to his companion when the I wicker baskets were nearly full. was beginning to have cold feet. "So was I," French acknowledged. Well, its time for luncheon, and Aunt Rachel promised to make a peach short-cakI guess she'll have chicken salad, too. They trumped across the fields and approached the cottage from the hack. There's Aunt Rachel In the doorway, cried Georgie, who was striding (TO BE CONTINUED.) ahead in the nurrow path. Oscar looked over Georgies shoulChrist on a Stamp. That union of gliffish grace and der. A new stamp that Italy Is issuing poise? Why, Aunt Rachel womanly shows Christ with His disciples, said was and cream peaches to he the first time the Divinity has she Luncheon's ready, Georgie, figured In philately. The four stamps and vanished. called which will complete the issue are from Georgie waved his guest up the Professor Conti's designs, and are to low stone steps. Oscar French broad, mark the tercentenary of the founding in the fragrance of hot coffee drew of the De Propaganda Fide. 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