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Show By ETHEL liUBSTON WNU Service Copyright 1927 by The Bobbs-Merrill Co. "We'll just roll him over ln the corner cor-ner out of the way." she said briskly, and cover him up with the rug, and let him sleet. It off. We'll lock the door, and keep him here till it is over." "Will he stay drunk all night?" Gaj askked. "Shouldn't we give him something " . "Whisky! 1 wish we had some whisky. If we had time maybe we could keep him drunk for a week. 1 don't know just how long it does last, but 1 know the party lasts all night. He may sleep it off?' "1 have a little cognac. Brought it In myself from Paris in the toe of my dancing slipper. Keal stuff," Gay said proudly. "1 was keeping it for a wedding, but he can have that." "Good ! We'll give him a big-swig big-swig of It." She brought out the naulical term with a nautical swag- CHAPTER X Continued 14 Rand helped with the Christmas party plans. On liltle white cards, gay with candles and holly, they printed the Invitation. Auntalmlry's Christmas t'arty at the Lone Pine Chrislmas Kve Live O'clock. Just one week before Christmas the liudlong hoys wded through the snow all over the Evergreen end of the Island, and delivered Ihe Invita Hons, one to every house. It could not have been more than ten minutes after she received the announcement that Alice Andover was to he seen sailing grandly up Ihe bill, a sort ot ftill-rlgged majesty In her advance. Gay met her benealh the pine. "Now don't blame me. I hadn't a thing in the world to do with it. I only lent her the collage as she asked. She did everything herself. She sold everything she owns to pay for it. and it isn't going to cost you h cent. She has gone without jelly, gone with out butter, gone without cake, gone without sugar it's her party, and none of our business, If yon ask me." Alice Andover stink weakly into u chair. "I might have known it. That's the thanks I get. Thai's how folks take to good, honest, conscientious administration. And then the au Unfit y to invite me to the party." "Oh, please come! She'll be so disappointed dis-appointed if yor don't come. She wants you to see how cleverly she has managed." "Oh, I'll come. And since site's gol the unmitigated audacity to have a Christmas party In spite of my orders. I'll send my presents as usual. Oh, I always give lit 1 1 e things people been here for years all in the family, you know, and 1 being the administrator. So you can tell the foolish old woman I'll send my presents as usual. I've never missed one of Auntalmiry's parties par-ties yet, not since that lirst devil cursed one fifty years ago when " "Oh, don't. She she thinks may be he is the Unknown Soldier at Washington; she " Alice Andover stared. She opened her mouth, closed it with great firm ness and blinked hard at times. "Unknown Soldier! Good heavens. What next?" Then she added humorously, humor-ously, with a bright glint In her gray eyes," "Well, whatever he is. thank God, it is unknown. That's all I've got to say for Buddy Bridges Unknown Un-known Soldier." The next day Rand climbed, the tall pine and strung it with Christmas lights from topmost point to lowest branches, round and round, a hun (I red little colored bulbs, and connected connect-ed them to a switch beside the window win-dow where Auntalmiry could turn it on before the party. Auntalmiry was enchanted with the idea of wiring the tall pine; she had not dreamed of such royal welcome to her Christmas guests. For days before the party she talked of little else. It Wiis only three days before Christmas, the twenty-second of De When he reached the piazza of the Lone Pine, he did not wait to knock, but opened the door slowly and weut in, closing it after him. Gay was but a little way behind, and she ran Id breathlessly, but stopped short In surprise sur-prise when she did not find him In the living room nor the kitchen. "Hello." she called. "Hello! Anybody Any-body up there?" But received no answer. an-swer. frightened by the unnatural silence, and mindful of Rand's words of warning, warn-ing, she w"t to the desk, slipped her pistol deftly into the pocket of her heavy coat, and then she climbed the stairs, watchful and alert. And there indeed she found him, lying face downward on the soft rug of hei bedroom floor. "Wh-what are you doing.'" she demanded de-manded foolishly. "What do you want ?" He neither mo ed nor answered. So Gay went to him timidly and bent over him that she might see his face, its eyes were closed, his lips hard set. She tried to raise him, hut his head fell limply from her hands. She shrank away from him, shuddering shudder-ing with fear. CHAPTER XI The crisp voice of Alice Andover had never sounded so sweet to Gay's ears as at that moment. "Gay Delane' Where are you? I saw you take that foolish creature , home, so I came to see if I could What is the matter?" (Jay beckoned to her sternly from the top of the stairs. "Come up," she said, and her voice was hollow. "Come up." Alice Andover was never one to hesitate in a crisis. She came at once, breathing hard. Gay pointed dramatically to (he bedroom. Alice Andover gave one wide-eyed glance and saw the prostrate form. "flood heavens, oh, good heavens! Where did he come from where did you got him I mean " "He came up the !ii!i just ahead of me. Walked right in. Came upstairs, and evidently fell down there.' Or lay down. There he is." Alice Andover crossed the room and stood above him, touching the inert body tentatively with the toe of her shoe. "Drunk," she said disgustedly. "Dead drunk." Gay breathed more freely, In some relief.. "Oh, is that it? I was afraid of oh, terrible things!" At that moment, spnstnodically be mdved, and his face rolled back info the light. "Oh, oh !" Alice Andover's explana tion was a startled gasp. "Oh, my God, I believe Oh. poor Almiry. I be lieve it is Buddy Bridges. Come home to his poor trusting mother dead drunk. Oh, it is all my fault. Oh. what in the world have I done? Bud dy Bridges poor Almlry. All my fault." "Cuddy Bridges? Oh, really? Oh. Auntalmiry how nappy" Then came sickening realization of the pain it would be to the tit tie old woman to have him come home to her like this, dead drunk. Better a thousand times for her to live on in her trusting trust-ing Ignorance, fondly believing him an unknown hero, pure and fine. "Oh. poor Auntalmiry! See here. Mrs. Andover, An-dover, this drunken creature shall not spoil t lie poor dear's Christinas party The way she has slaved, and saved, r.nd starved herself He shan't! Let her have one happy night it may be her last, since Buddy enrne home like this. He shan't spoil It. Not if 1 have to poison him." Alice Andover, trained to elliciency by years of hard administrating, sud denly became practical and decided. Being in charge of .thing's always aroused her latent cleverness. "Oli, you think I am chaffing. But I mean it. I Miss Delane, tell me If I should sell out till my Inter ests my business connections would you marry tne? Would you even think of It? I know it is too soon for you to know But would you let me come where yon are, let me see you. try to make you love me Is there any chance for me at all? I would have some money. I could take care of you. We could go any place West, or to Europe, anywhere." There was no doubting the sincerity sincer-ity of his words, the eagerness of his desire. "Don't." Gay said gently. "You will spoil our pleasant friendship, and 1 have liked it. It Is because yon have been away, you have been lonely, per Imps worried. It isn't really I you want. Why, you don't. even know me. It is Just woman, companionship sympathy, soft things. That is all " But he shook his head, clung to het hands. "Gay. it is you. Nothing else. Nobody else. You. From the moment I saw you down in the cove Oh, I know you don't love me now but couldn't you? If 1 get tilings all straightened out, and do something else Gay, Isn't there a chance?" From " somewhere down the lane sounded the low siren of a car. Ronald listened a moment, but still clung to her hand. "Gay, don't say no. Don't say anything. Just wait, think of me a liltle, and as soon as I can I will come again. But try to think of me if not with love at least with a little tenderness." Quickly he lifted her hands, palms upward, kissed them passionately, one after the other, crushed them to his face and went away. Gay sank into the big chair and buried iier face in her arms. A criminal crim-inal ! That artless, boyish, ingenuous num. -witli the pleading voice and the eager eyes? But even a criminal deserves de-serves some kindness of thought from tiie woman to whom he gives his love. Gay was very kind. The next day, very early. Rand ap pen red at her door, dressed roughly for outdoor winter weather ii, heavy oilskin coat and breeches. He was hurried in manner, preoccupied He told Gay he was obliged to run down to Boston f' r a few days on business. "Now yon sit tight while fir. gone." he cautioned her. "T'm on the trail, and I'm going through with it I've told the folks I'm looking for n joh. and they won't expect me home until they see me. You just wait here. Say nothing to anyone. Do nothing. Don't set your foot in those woods under any circumstances. And at night. Gay, please, to please me. go down and stay with Auntalmiry. And don't worry, for 1 shan't be In nn danger." "You are not going to Boston." she stiid bitterly "You are going into those woods, to lie under the piazza and watch the clubhouse, and try to catch those murderers. They'll catch you. first. Rand, don't, please don't. What business is it of ours if they break the law? What are their affairs to us? Why should you risk your life" "Oh. there's no danger, Gay, not a bit of it. I'll be careful, I promise you. Just a little weal her eye out for siiualls. No. I am going to Boston. Bos-ton. I have gone to Boston. Get that in your mind, and stick to it. I shan't be able to write you. and I may not be home for several days. Just wait for me. and don't worry." But Gay did worry, worried heart-breakingly. heart-breakingly. But she would not go to Auntalmiry. Rand might come, and she wished to be t here, waiting for him where lie left her. He might need her a shot In the night, a scream of terror Gay set her small sleek bead determinedly. Nothing, nothing in the world should keep her from going to him in answer il he called for help. She was glad for the excitement ot the Christmas preparations to occupy her hands, if not her thoughts, throngn the dreary days that intervened. It never occurred to tier that tie would not be back by the twenty-fourth twenty-fourth of December for the party on Christmas eve. But t he morning passed, and lie did not come. Gay had no heart for the laughter, the young excitement of the island lovers, the Hushed joyousness of Auntalmiry. Rand did not come. It would be Christmas eve. her Chrislmas eve. and Rand did not come. At three o'clock Gay took Auntalmiry Aunt-almiry by the hand and led het down to the Apple Tree, whore she put her bodily to bed. tucking the blankets about her and hegg'.ng her to lake a sadly needed rest. So it could have been but very liltle after three when she softly closed Ihe door of the Apple Tree behind her and pet ber feet in the path through ihe snow to the top of the hill. And glancing up, ahead ot her In the path saw a man walking toward the cottage. cot-tage. Gay almost called out to him, expecting Rand, he-.'nuse she wanted Rand. But before sound left her lips she silenced the call, for she saw that It was a stranger, one who seemed to make his way unsteadily It, (lie face of the brisk wind from the sea, staggering stag-gering n little. She Shook Her Fist a. the Door. ger, both doubtless inherited from the long line of seafaring ancestors. "We'll keep him as tight as a lord until the party's over." Carefully but sternly they rolled him over half out of sight beneath the window-seat, and covered him. So Gay brought the precious smuggled smug-gled bottle of cognac, never yet unsealed, un-sealed, and they gave him a generous swallow, forcing the bottle between his teeth not without much difficulty. He choked over it and coughed painfully, pain-fully, while the conspirators held their breath in a panic above him. But presently he relapsed Into troubled breathing again. "That'll hold him for a while," said Alice Andover grimly. They locked the door upon him and went downstairs. But when Alice Andover An-dover moved as if to go to her own home, Gay refused to be left alone in the house with the drunken creature upstairs, and Alice Andover was obliged to remain, fixing herself up for tiie party as well as she could with Gay's face powder and electric curlers. They had ten to strengthen their shattered nerves, and at five o'clock tiptoed up to the bedroom to ve him another potent draught of the cognac. He swallowed this time with less difficulty, and as he drank, to their horror, his eyes opened, eyes large and dark. Gay noticed even in that horrible moment, eyes now vision-less, vision-less, not seeing. When t he muffled heavy breathing recommenced, they tiptoed from the room. Alice Andover, because the opening of his eyes had frightened her, was freshly furious. She shook her fist at the door when it was safely lockeJ behind her. (TO BE CONTINUED.) 71 ft mg Delivered the Invitations, One to Every House. remher, in the thick darkness of the early evening, that Ronald Ingram :! me again. lie entered hurriedly, his mannei for the first time showing something troubled, something furtive. lie glanced over his shoulder nervously and closed the door behind him swiftly. "1 shouldn't have come," he began hurriedly. "Hut 1 had to. I came to Portland to close up some contracts, and I simply stole the time and made The trip over on the afternoon boat to see you. I must catch the first boat hack. Short hut I had to see you. Gay, I have thought of you constantly. con-stantly. Your face has swum before my eyes, vour voice rung In my ears, the light I. (tie touch of your fingers " He shook his head Impatiently. "Mr. Ingram," she said with pretty dignity, "please don't do (hut. 1 as-Kure as-Kure you I do not like it." |