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Show THE STORY SO FAR: Larry Cutter tartled pretty Jacqueline (Jack) Anthony, An-thony, public stenographer at the Hotel Raynear, by telling her she can realize her globe-trotting ambitions b marrying marry-ing him. Before their marriage, they j & INSTALLMENT THIRTEEN signed a contract providing that Jacqueline Jacque-line may continue her present mode of living for six months, after which she could tear up the contract. Jacqueline warned Larry that a detective was watching him. When her father, Vince Anthony, became 111 Larry Invited him Into the country to live. A week later Jacqueline accompanied Larry to see Vince at the farm. She was shocked when he said Larry loved her. Now continue with the story. Jacqueline marveled at her own composure. She didn't at all like the way Vince said that. It was impossible not to fear that he knew more than he admitted . . . that he knew everything. But she must hide it . . . until she knew for sure. "You are wrong. Vince," she said quietly. "I'm not in love with Larry Lar-ry Cutter. For one thing, I haven't known him long enough. He's . . . nice." "He's one in a thousand. Ten thousand!" Vince was enthusiastic. "You don't need to know him long to find that out." "I don't feel that I know very much about him. Neither do you," she added. "And I would have thought it in better taste if he had made any remarks on that subject I to me." I "Perhaps he will on your way home tonight," Vince suggested with a grin. "Indeed he will not!" Jacqueline straightened her small shoulders with a righteous air. But she collapsed rather completely, color col-or coming back into her cheeks at the sight of Larry strolling toward Almost at once, his eyes encountered encoun-tered a woman sitting by herself on a small settee, one arm resting on the marble balcony rail, apparently studying the busy lobby below. She was modishly attired in black. A small hat of the same shade was perched jauntily on her decidedly blonde head. Rather noticeably made up, he decided. But attractive. attrac-tive. He approached her slowly. "Miss Morris?" She turned with a start, her red lips parting in a friendly smile. "It's Mr. Cutter, isn't it?" 1 "Yes." He took a seat at her side without waiting for an invitation. Larry frowned a trifle, as he remarked: re-marked: "I'm sorry you didn't arrange ar-range to meet me somewhere else. Miss Morris. Didn't they tell you about that?" "No. I thought this would be all right today." She glanced about carelessly. "I wonder if it wouldn't be better for you to call me Alma "Very well. And, since you are here, we may as well talk. First of all, have you had any luck?" "Not a bit, I'm sorry to say. I not lived up to the letter of our official offi-cial agreement." "What do you mean by that?" "There was a clause in it . . . number four, if my memory serves me. You didn't like it and I appreciated ap-preciated how you felt. But you did sign the agreement as it stood. What have you to say about that?" "I gave the money back to you," Jacqueline retorted. "Nearly all of it, I mean. And you shall have the balance just as soon as I can save it!" "Yes, and I took it back without a word. I didn't remind you that you had sidestepped the contract. Nevertheless, Nev-ertheless, I consider you morally culpable." Jacqueline swallowed a sob and blinked rapidly to keep back the tears. Never had she felt so thoroughly thor-oughly humiliated, so . . . "Jack!" Larry's voice ' had changed suddenly. There was a note of tenderness in it she never had heard. "We're not going to quarrel, dear. Look at me." She kept her face turned obstinately obsti-nately from him. So very still it was about then that Jacqueline found herself fearing that Larry would hear her heart pounding. "If you think I've broken my promise," he went on gently, "I her leisurely. "Here comes Larry," she said in a low, guarded voice. "Please be careful." Vince nodded understandingly. It did not escape him, however, that Jacqueline had forgotten to say "Mr. Cutter." . "Well, what do you think of all this?" Larry inquired smilingly. He seated himself cross-legged on the grass near his wife's feet. "It's a very pretty place," she said. "I think so. I'm looking forward to coming up here and spending some time . . . help your father keep out of mischief. You really should arrange to take your own vacation va-cation up here. That dinner was just a fair sample of what goes on here every day. Wasn't it, Vince?" Anthony nodded silently. He was watching the younger pair with shrewd eyes. Jacqueline was uncomfortably un-comfortably aware of what he was thinking. "But I have to work," she ventured ven-tured smilingly. "And I think we should be starting back to the city before so very long . . . before it gets dark." "Whenever you say. The days are long now . . . but there will be no moon tonight. Unless it's very late." After some desultory conversa- haven't overlooked any bets so far." "Have you had a chance to go through things pretty thoroughly?" "Rather. I thought I was on the scent the other day. It was a wall safe. Looked promising. It's an old-timer and I didn't have much trouble getting into it." "Papers?" "Sure. But nothing very hot." "They told me out in Chicago that you could deliver the goods if anyone any-one could. That's why I've been marking time, hoping you could save me the trouble of getting busy on my own." He leaned forward interestedly. in-terestedly. "But I would like to know, how you landed that job." "It was easy enough. Jerry . . . you know who I mean . . he came out here first and sized up the lay of the land. " Made all the necessary neces-sary contacts. He stumbled onto the old gentleman's weakness and . . . I'm the newest one." "You certainly had a lucky break when you landed that job as secretary,-" Larry told Miss Morris. "I merely suggested that he needed need-ed a secretary," she explained. The idea was a new one to him, but . . . Well, I'm good in my own line." Larry laughed in spite of him-1 him-1 self. Then his face grew grave. "T'vo hppn afraid that vou would tion,. Jacqueline again mentioned the desirability of starting for the city. Larry rose to his feet at once and said he would get the car ready. After bidding the group good-by, and with a lingering kiss pressed on Vince's cheek, Jacqueline allowed Larry to assist her into the roadster. She promised brightly that she would come back again some day. The sun was sending its long level lev-el rays against the house as the car rolled from the yard. Larry was not inclined to be talkative, talk-ative, for which Jacqueline was thankful. For the first time in their acquaintance she was decidedly ill at ease with him. It was impossible to forget what Vince had told her. Larry had raised a barrier between them. He broke one of their longest j silences to remark: I "I think I'll be leaving the city 1 pretty shortly to come up here. Don't know for how long." "So you said." "But I didn't tell you that I don't care to have anybody know where I am. You know whom I mean, of course. 1 suppose I may trust you not to betray me ..." "You can trust me better than 1 can trust you!" It was out before Jacqueline knew it. She bit her lip. "Meaning exactly . .?" "That you are not very particular about keeping your word." "Just what has friend Vince been saying?" "You might ask him yourself." Larry drove in silence for a few moments. When they reached the "They told me out in Chicago that you could deliver the goods " suppose there is no great wrong in doing it again. I'm not sure when I will see you again ... or how." Larry was speaking in quick, hurried hur-ried sentences. "There's no way in which I may tell you how utterly I've loved you from that first day. It's been almost al-most unbearable! To be near you, to see you ... so many more times than you've been aware. And all the times my arms have ached to hold you. No one could love you as I do! They never have. They never will." "Larry! Please . . ." "No! You must understand that it's always going to be that way. No matter what happens, it will be that way. You are the only woman who ever has come into my heart It belongs to you. So do I. I'll wait forever ... if I have to. But there never will be anyone else. Please believe that. Please . . ." Neither of them could have told how it happened. Jacqueline was in her husband's arms, pressed close against him. His cheek rested against her hair. She felt his heart beating . . . heard his broken whispers. "Jack ... my own little Jack ... I love you so." She struggled to release herself, pushing at him frantically with her small hands. "No, no . . ." she choked brokenly. bro-kenly. "You do love me, Jack . . . Just a very little. Tell me you do!" "Oh, I . . . No! Let me go . . . Please let me go!" He released her at once. "I'm sorry if I have hurt or offended of-fended you, dear. But you do love me. I know it and so do you. You needn't be afraid. I won't forget again." The ride to the city was made in silence. When they reached the Courtland street house, all Larry said was, "May I see you and tell you good-by before I leave?" "I ... I don't think so." Jacqueline Jacque-line was fumbling blindly with the car door. She had it open now. "Sorry. Good night. Jack." The car was moving as he reached out and closed the door with a ruthless bang. "Larry . . ." But Larry was gone. draw a blank. I've been making some plans of my own. I think I'll sit in the game. Maybe two heads will be better than one." "You don't care how you spend your money, do you?" "Not this time." Larry's mouth tightened in a grim line. "I've waited wait-ed a long time for this chance. I expect to recoup before I'm through." He lowered his voice a trifle. "I'm being followed here. Got a tip not long ago . . . Checked up on it." "Local cops?" "Yes. That's why I wasn't so anxious to have you meet me here. You can guess who started that." "I'd be dumb if I couldn't figure that one." "They haven't showed their hand yet and I'm going to beat them to it. I'm leaving here tomorrow. I'll see that it's well advertised. After a few weeks . . ." "I get it." "That's why I want you to stay on the job. You may get a break. And I may fall flat. If anything happens, hap-pens, you know what to do." "Sure. Beat it. And I wish I could do it now." She reached out and ground the stub of her cigarette ciga-rette petulantly on the tray of a smoking stand. "If you knew what I've had to put up with out there. I'm fed up on it! II it wasn't ..." She broke off suddenly. "Be careful," care-ful," she said in a low tone. Larry turned his head instinctively. instinctive-ly. A young woman was passing close to the settee, walking slowly. "Friend of yours?" inquired Miss Morris, noticing Larry's scowl as he stared after the intruder. "She works here," he explained shortly. "Hope I haven't mixed things for you. I had to come in to the city on an errand, or I wouldn't have risked it." "It doesn't make any difference, I think. I'm leaving tomorrow anyway. any-way. Tell me . . ." He changed the tcpic suddenly. "What is the situation out there?" "As to what?" "Family and that sort of thing." "Nobody but the wife. I feel sorry sor-ry for her. She's a motherly old thing, rather delicate. Keeps to her room most of the time." v "Well I hope it won't last much longer. I guess that's about alL I'm going back up on the elevator." Larry rose as he spoke. "You know what to do, in case ... If I were you, I'd go down the other stairway and out the side. Thanks lot for dropping in. Good-by and lots of luck." "Same to you." He walked swiftly away. (TO BE COXTIMED) summit of a high hill, he brought the car to a stop at the side of the road. "Quite a view from here, Jack." "Please drive on." "In a minute. I think you and I have something to say to each other, and we're not likely to be disturbed here. I can't talk and drive at the same time. And I can't quite escape a feeling that you believe I've not been keeping to our bargain." "Do you think you have?" "Oh. yes. Quite. After all, there was nothing on our contract to keep me from loving you. Or from saying say-ing so I do love you, Jack. And when your father got to telling me how wonderful you are, I had to chime in. I know it even better than he does." "I thought you would be fair," Jacqueline countered in a low voice. "I have tried to be." Larry returned re-turned steadily. "1 did tell Rannie ' about our maiTiage. I had to . . . j I have explained that he's my at-! at-! torney. I have told no one else." ! CHAPTER XI Larrimore Cutter left an elevator at the mezzanine floor of the Ray-nearj Ray-nearj and stood for an instant looking look-ing about him. "Not vmce? ' "Of course not. I told him that : 1 loved you. Why not? I do." "I can think of several reasons." "I know." He smiled. "Look here, little .lack. I'm not ure that you art 'he one to tell me that I have |