Show I 1 P B M installment FOURTEEN 4 tin THE STORY bidny SO 50 FAR larry cuatt signed a contract providing that jc jac when men her father vince vance in nt thony hooY became startled pretty jacqueline Jacquel lne jack an quelene may continue her present mods mode III larry invited him into the yoi hoay public stenographer at the hotel of 0 living for six months after which country con one afternoon larry had bad a taT iuar by telling her ber she lr tan can reauis she fhe could teat tear up the contract larry long talk in the hotel lobby with a won woman r globe bratting ambitions by mrry marry offered no explanation when she he warned in hi hit his employ 61 alro before their marriage they that a detective was aa watching him now continue with the story m n w L when fligle blake returned after ier illness she made prompt dis overy ot of larrys return and plied piled acqueline with eager questions re ek leaving little information or enczur gement she bhe had not reverted to the 1 object again but today when jacqueline saw er cr bearing down excitedly on the allce she know instinctively what laier rice er e friend was going to talk about baand prepared to meet it with w ith a show atif f indifference lb tt 12 virgle closed the door behind her nd bent bant over the desk her black ayea yes were wide her red lips parted my dearl she burst out in a tage lage whisper guess what im sure I 1 dont know jacque ail 11 ll no ventured casually ut mrs rs cutters herel ahia Is was waa too much tor for jacque nos noa composure her own eyes widened Iden Id ened cd she gave a little gasp chor i mrs cutter Cuiter the old ball and hain herself herse III I 1 and of all things hes a dizzy blondel blonde I 1 you could rive ave knocked me overt overl but but how do you know abrys wife managed with a su Jre TOe effort oleste listen dearle dearie I 1 saw them just fw w on the mezzanine and that wt nt all I 1 got in on an old time battle I 1 was she telling him u here to head in ill say she was acard d her tell him she was fed p with e everything V ery thing she looked it in vol iol ashes that sort of a dame can dill iu M feature it aana r Not quite 11 was the truthful an ver well wel virgle straightened ier e she wished that she might add al pi mor core details but none suggested tem themselves selves then she noticed jac leline sitting bitting motionless eyes w wn r cast staring at the keyboard of typewriter Virg les eyes nar mar jaw shrewdly ITY TY ajack tJ jack ack she che began in a low voice hat hit bit you did it of course not the ste hand tumbled in the open desk T a theet sheet of paper mechanically ie inserted it into the m machine if 81 lly ly virgle would leave her Insi instead eid miss alss blakes hand came t andr and rested ested lightly on a small boulder ulder lo sorry dear me every be ie forget it its a oil all right elines smile 0 ved it virgle left the office the ste gra phera fingers tapped swiftly 4 0 V the keys faltered her hands copped into her lap the words she om am bd written were blurred the whole in arld seemed rocking crazily craz lly virgle was wrong she had to I 1 unless oh no she was angl that have been laran DAWN wife bif hiim larrys wife jacqueline nd md herself whispering she could ro dufft have told why but she knew at t she she was clinging to that thal cling mn AY w desperately for the first time there was an insistent anding in her ears larrys own ads youre the only woman ly joroan only woman but the ivas pt the only woman vered slightly there s at another iother woman with larry M come C ome to find him to quarrel lh him 1 in public A blonde jen larry a cutter stopped at jac AEN CM eunee loftlee door the next after alt needed but one glance from C se daric dark blue eyes to confirm his rs tara that it igar woman had seen and ported arted no telling what kind ot of ki bid concocted and the arst bof of bivas it was he could not utter a iii W own defense nothing to but 4 i take it lie he swallowed an a and walked into the little room tl as genuine a smile as he could 44 1 I anthony im check ill ho felt that the expression 1 singularly appropriate bag 1 baggage looked at him and said hang T g Jack ac rf I 1 i 11 he exclaimed ely then liot himself in hand 1 I ss theros nothing to say this e iT except goodby good by bodd Goodby b Mr cutter then turned on V heel aielt iad left never knew how she nog caged edth to get through the balance the afternoon there were few tom ora irand her head bead ached so eo could not read she had fl someone had tacked va i scant pile lle on her face othere 1 I but oh thing she wanted a we togo home to throw her donnon dow non ion the bed and let the 73 s 1 cone come was terribly anxious to that night but just he wai was pre preparing to go lieuten 9 1 stiles walked in thedoor the door lie he aa ed bix nse to a seat and grinned his hostess want wan to hear a goob good joke miss ETTE 00 A it adalove Ad jlove to Jacquel lne placed TOD inand to hor lips to assure her was still there elm on en rat me you know mow W W W W w that fellow cutter wo we were talking about one day oh yes well early this afternoon I 1 wondered wandered into the bar here I 1 had another guyon my mind another racket entirely I 1 was sizing up tho the mob along the mahogany when somebody taps me on the shoulder it was young cutter was it no less ile he gives me a pleasant smile looking for me were you he asks I 1 tried to act dumber than usual and tells him hes got the wrong number I 1 dont know him says you he laughs you been tagging after me pretty steady lieutenant so I 1 thought maybe I 1 could save you some trouble im pulling out today for good you might pass the word along anywhere do you some good cool gasn wasn t he be very and all the time I 1 thought I 1 was doln a nice job of shadow jacqueline nodded vacantly her heart skipped a beat as staples paused that sure was a good one on me the detective continued 1 I knew get a smile out of it too well aeu I 1 guess hes gone all right sos my week weekly ly retainer they told me at the garage hed been in there asking questions about the roads to P 7 ft jacqueline Jacque IIno was thinking of the movie sho she went to see on her wedding day the windy city but im not interested well so ao long jaqueline jacqueline found herself breathing again after her coveted spell of weeping she forced herself to take stock of the situation for once there was no momentous decision to make larry was gone vince was gone she was back where she had started perhaps fate had played enough with her the days dragged along wearily each one bringing the same routine there was but one bright spot business seemed to be picking up if the spurt lasted there was a hope for jacqueline that it would not be too long before she could square her final account with larry not the final one either she dreaded that not because of the idea of that last and legal separation but the certainty that it could not be accomplished without the usual legal formalities and publicity the neighbor state might let people into wedlock without any fanfare of trumpets but it was waa too much to hope that the dissolving process would be like that what would it be charges of desertion incompatibility or worse time enough to worry over that the unknown blonde perhaps vince wrote occasionally from the farm his letters were like himself vague and erratic jac allne ellne was given to understand that he was feeling very well now and was hard at work ills his enthusiasm in the new invention ha had d not lagged apparently he said nothing about working tor for larry save that the latter had insisted he learn how to drive the road roadster ste vince liked that ile he was becoming an accomplished chauffeur he admitted and then one september day vincent anthony strolled into the lobby of the Ray near jacqueline Jacquel lne scarcely recognized her father when she discovered him smiling at her from the doorway he looked so much better than when she last saw him his grizzly hair and small moustache were neatly trimmed lie he wore a natty blue suit stilt and carried a gray hat obviously new in his hand A healthy tan browned his cheeks why vincel como come tal anil his daughter laughed tor for the first time in weeks it seemed to her 1 I scarcely know you I 1 thought you were one of my millionaire custom erl crat pr w w vince grinned almost sheepishly and helped himself to a chair ive iva been fixing up a little he admitted about time but where did you come from im so BO thrilled I 1 hardly know what to say any youre going to stay tor for a while arent you 1 I come came down from the farm vince admitted ah oh 11 elines smile faded it brought everything back yes I 1 had to come down on business tor for larry how Is lorry larry she had to ask that 1 I dont know hes been sticking pretty close to the place but he dont act the way lie he used to iles hea 9 got ot something on his mind aa always brooding ile he worries me I 1 bet hes lost about fifteen poun pounds ds maybe youve noticed it 1 I seen him vince no I 1 rather figured hed been down here on some of hla his trips though he say so and I 1 never ever n asked did you have have a quarrel r el with him skipper ot of curse course not 1 I know iles hes com coming ing down here lato late tonight sometime im going to meet him but youre not going right back are you not sure vince looked buncom for table he acted as if he had said rather more than he intended then you 11 have dinner with me well eat down in the cafeteria so we wont have to waste time getting a meal alter after he had gone jacqueline Jacquel lne realized iced for the first time how she had missed him it seemed so good to see ee him again and he looked so well it if only he insist upon talking about larry too much it still hurt almost like seeing him and larry was coming to the city charrer CHAPTER XH the news that larry was returning to the city that night left jacqueline Jacquel lne vaguely duely uneasy what was he go ag ing to do and vince vince had looked so ill at ease after he admitted he was to meet larry late at night she would try to find out something about that before the evening was over enough to assure herself that everything was all right as tar far as vince vance was concerned it was nearly dinnertime before vince returned to the hotel lie he was in a talkative mood but jacqueline could not escape from a grow ing conviction that he was attempting to keep their conversation in his hla own hands to a great extent several times she referred to his bis trip down to the city and very promptly he be changed the topic vince was more than willing to speak peak of his invention but with an air of delighted secrecy shall we walk out to the apartment she asked when they had finis finished h ed their dinner it Is not very far vince hesitated 1 I dont know weve got plenty of time what do you say to a movie I 1 seen one I 1 dont know when whatever you like dear there are several houses bouses near here jacqueline was thinking of the movie she went to see aee on her wedding day she had wanted to go then to avoid conversation with larry she wondered it if vince possibly was not using the same device perhaps not but her vague discomfort increased when her father selected ik a film of the gangster type it proved tu ideal deal with the activities of a super sleuth matching his cunning against the underworld to jacqueline Jacquel lne it was unpleasantly suggestive and she tried to pay as little attention to it as possible there was a time when jacqueline herself would have absorbed such perils with shameless interest but not tonight she and vince might have traded places in a way he seemed so utterly irresponsible now in need of guidance and she never had bad felt so old later in the courtland street apartment vinces glances wan dered to the little clock on the mantelpiece tel piece finally when he buttoned his coat with a s suggestive estive air the girl could endure her suspense no longer she must learn something about this nights excursion before sho she allowed vince to get away from her what time is your appointment with larry she asked trying to make the tone of her voice casual oh late how late well I 1 dont have to meet him until about twelve but I 1 thought id start a little early you know where are you to meet I 1 I 1 him in a little restaurant where he eats sometimes vince was becom ing more and more uncomfortable andor this direct examination TO BE CONTINUED |