Show 0 i SYNOPSIS james lambert tries in vain to dis made from h his beautiful foster daughter leonora from marrying don mason young rolling stone ile he tells her unless a house is founded upon a rock it will not survive lur vive leonora suspects the influence influent ce at f her halt half brother ned always bealo jealous us tit df the girl since the day his father brought her home from rom the deathbed of her mother abandoned by her italian baritone lover don arrives in the midst ot of the argument and lambert realizes the frank understanding between the two sitting up late into the night lambert reviews the whole story of 0 nora as a child at boarding school studying music abroad meeting don on the return trip in the morning he delivers his ultimatum to give don a job with ned for or a year B showdown when nora suggests the possibility ot of running away with don lambert threatens disinheritance don agrees to the job but before a month anth la is over his nerves are jumpy he cannot sleep at night he is too tired to go out much with nora nora soothes him with her music nora grows quieter I 1 a and nd broods over don complains to be her r I 1 father ather of neds spying on him and decides that rather than see dons spirit broken she will run away she urges her father to put an end to the futile experiment james lambert is obdurate and angry lambert tells her that it if don gits quits she will quit with him that he will be ie through with her he adds that it if she t tires ires 0 of I 1 her bargain it will be useless to come to him for help later laperdon Lat erDon don and nora discuss the situation don promises to buck up and take life more calmly well st stick ck it out he says with the coming of spring don is full of unrest and wanderlust and takes long walks at night one evening a poor girl speaks to him and in his pity for her he gives her money A car passes at that moment flashes headlights and nn A wnm in the summer and nora refuses to go to the country with her father ned meanwhile insinuates to his father ab about ou t dons evenings awa away y from nora b but ut lambert refuses to listen meanwhile don broods over the undermining of his morale at the height of the heat wave when don Is finding everything insupportable ned speaks of having the goods on him having seen him give a girl money when ned scoffs at the true story of the episode don knocks him down and Is through he calls nora CHAPTER V continued 7 would her father leave it just as it was she wondered just as they d furnished it together for her sixteenth birthday james was fastido fast idi ous about such things it was vas the one point on which they never clashed what a time they had had over her rose tiled bathroom I 1 her father had fussed bussed each fixture must be the finest the most perfect the antique bed they had picked up at on an auction in the country how me lie had glowed over the satin smooth mahogany dearD dear daal adl As for the rug they had hunted the city over for that rug it must be oriental james insisted yet it must blend with the soft abse rose hang ings at the windows they had found it at last an exquisite persian that might have been woven for a queens queen s boudoir even nora thoughtless about money had blinked at the price and her father had laughed at her well that was overl over the girl took one long look and turned away it was so dreadful to go without fa farewells re even dear martha berry aeiry james lamberts housekeeper who nora believed loved her as devotedly as any mother had left that morning to oversee the opening of the country house how still everything seemed as she went downstairs 1 As still she murmured as it if someone had just died here nora paused then hand on the latch and said goodby good by dear darling home goodby good by I 1 will come back some day I 1 her eyes were wt wet with tears when a moment later she told the chauffeur to drive her to james lamberts office don never heard hoard the story of that interview but knowing knowin ghis his girl he understood that she could not talk about it for james in if his anger had been unjust the first time in all their years together at the last nora had said her face curiously colorless as she stood with her back against the door you aou are mistaken father I 1 am not ungrateful I 1 have been thoughtless sometimes but bui I 1 have never been ungrateful julease please believe that I 1 love you Cerri terribly bly perhaps more than I 1 ever did before be fore it kills something in me to go like this leaving you angry but you have ned who Is almost your whole world father and don has no one but me try after im gone wont you to tb see my side of it be between tween us all we have done something to don hurt him unspeakably lies hes lost faith in himself and ive got to help him get it back without my help he might never get it back father and I 1 love him as you once loved my mother cant you remember that dad and and understand der stand silence abroad A broad back turned to her 1 11 I I 1 am going now father Wont wont you say goodby good by and still only that dreadful tl 1 lence a silence which seemed somehow alive with tears A closing door it was ten years before james 1 irid ird her voice again CHAPTER VI tiney they went to maine its the first time I 1 can remember 11 don told his bride when I 1 been beeme crazy razY to get aboard a boat and see things new things places ive dreamed of I 1 dont understand der stand myself nora isalt isit only because im so let down all I 1 want now as to escape from this heat and turmoil to lie ile on my back in the cool woods and look up at the sky or watch bli big waves roll in on a hard beach ive got to do something like that dear until this fiendish alarm clock stops ringing in my ears ill admit it scares me lets go to maine but your hard saved thousand will melt away so go fast at a hotel don objected nora with newborn new born caution don glanced at her so sweet so young so infinitely precious and for the first time in his twenty seven carefree care free years a sense of responsibility crept over him responsibility for noras happiness its more than a thousand now he answered gravely have you forgotten that ive been holding down a steady job and a hotel necessary y is it even on ones honeymoon you see theres a place I 1 can take you youa a studio belonging to a new york artist youve heard me speak of ven nora hes abroad just now but im always at liberty to go there besides a smile sprang into his expressive eyes eydi it happens to hold the worldly goods with which ive recently endowed V irv I 1 ohl obi nora tell me im not dreaming ny my wife and perhaps shed like the hance chance to look em overl nora laughed at the I 1 idea dea but questioned not without curiosity what sort of 0 worldly goods don just watt wait and see young ladal he responded honestly nora i co u lant get along without that tha shack when im over the hills and tar far away and happen to stumble on something too beautiful to resist I 1 3 simply ship it to maine provided I 1 have sufficient cash to buy the thing and theer the er or retired fisherman who looks after the place tor for ven stores it away 1 I never heard of a retired fisherman before my dear I 1 thought though those salty specimens kept right on fishing until they drow drowned nedi I 1 and this studio you mention sounds like a storage warehouse have you left a space where your friend the artist can set up his easel don smiled lie he need it three years ago li he bought baugh 1 t an island farther up the coast and has a bully place there if id let him nora ven would give M me e the shack kout outright right why should he don Is the man indebted to you he seems to think so though its utter nonsense oi of course 1 I had the luck to save his oldest girl from drohm drowning ing but it was vas all in the days work and his gratitude was the only reward I 1 wanted youve seen vens work nora he did those marvelous murals ln in vot not carl venable gasped leonora dontrell Dont tell teU me the ven youve talked about so casually is he the very same lady don grinned at her surprise 1 I 1 was coast guard down there one summer you know it nora sighed helplessly some day mi my dear ill ask for a list of the things you been it would be considerably shorter than one of those thos eyou you have and does tills this shack you mention contain the creature comforts the subject interests me don closed his eyes a moment trying to see things with norms Nores vision then he said dubiously ive always thought it a wonderful place dear but you well I 1 cant quite see how it will look to you theres an oil stove tor for cook ing and water piped to the back door if you call that comfort ven used it only for a studio original ly it was an old fish house I 1 believe though the girls heart sank at this description one have haie guessed it from her instant why that sounds fine donl don Is it close to the ocean his eyes brightened at this carefully simulated enthusiasm As near as it can be and riot get washed away in winter yet its far enough from the beach where the summer people bathe to give us privacy love it nora once you get the hang of things and ill do the cooking cooking is one of my real accomplishments as soon find out which sounds she laughed as if you doubted that its one of minel nora never forgot their arrival at the shack next afternoon it had been raining all day and though rain was needed to cool the air it added neither cheer nor comfort to the atmosphere of that onetime fish house long unoccupied covered with dust and cobwebs stifling now with the accumulated heat beat of weeks if james lamberts pampered daughter needed discipline she got it in the moment when her new husband unlocked the door and thrust her hurriedly inside giside out of a driving rain and it is to noras everlasting credit that don did not suspect the consternation that surged through her loyal heart the charm of the place which she was to know later was wholly lost amid the gloom and darkness of that stormy day don having seer seen the room with sunlight dancing across its worn old floor never realized just how bow it looked to leonora Le in that first moment she wanted to cry out oh don we cant stay here beret not now any anyway wayll 1 to one reared in the soft lap ot of luxury such a proceeding eding seemed well nigh impossible indeed the words ot of protest were on her lips when glancing up quickly in dismay she saw her husbands face and it was a transfigured trans figured face it was the face of a tired small boy who has reached home it brought a lump into noras throat it brought swift tears into her eyes said don throwing open a casement window at the back this wonderful nora the view on a clear day is simply marvelous that fireplace a corker it takes in a four toot foot log not chak tha one wants to consider fires just now but well cool on off soon as the a air ir blows through here Luc lucky kythe the rains not coming from all directions as ive seen it do well have things snug long before bedtime and he turned caught her close hungrily oh nora tell me im not dreaming drea its so heavenly to be away from all that clamor to be where its quiet to be back here dearest with you with youl and what could a loving woman say to that no hardships or inconveniences are everso hard and inconvenient to min man as they are to women woman in that moment nora grasped this first lesson she was to learn of marriage and was forever thankful that no word of hers had cast a shadow on dons happiness for things were not so bad as she had feared slipping into a paint stained smock discovered in a closet don declared cheerfully that when all else failed he could always earn their living as a houseman it was amazing how rapidly he did away with all that dust and what seemed stranger still to the bewildered bride he speared appeared to derive pleasure from the perform performance ancel 1 T the he r revolting evol ting cobwebs vanished as it if by magic while nora was hunting through her luggage tor for some costume suited to the task in hand but I 1 realize the trying crying need of aprons in the life of a married woman she admitted with chagrin where are the towels don perhaps 1 ican can do my share if I 1 pin one round me I 1 spoil my wedding gown you know ill say you must don swung down from a stepladder step ladder to embrace his nora with all the ardor of a brand new husband when you say wedding gown woman it sends a delicious shiver up my spine and dont you worry about the lack of aprons jim perkins general store up at the port supplies every need in the life ota ofa modern housewife from bathing suits to vanity cases the towels are or were anyhow in a bureau drawer but this filthy job Is mine the sun broke through the clouds at last and with its cheerful rays streaming in at the open casement the oil stove seemed less dismaying the lack of running water something that could be endured for a time at least after all nothing mattered except this chance to help don back to h his Is normal sunny sell self thought nora nothing perhaps save the parting with her father the sadness of that parting still i hovered near when after a supper of bread and milk the first bread and milk supper ive had since I 1 was 0 six ix years year sold olal admitted nora ta they 1 ey tramped a halt hall mils milo up the beach and from a sand dune saw a full moon rise out of the sea sitting there quietly watching that ever widening path of gold hearing the soft low murmur of breaking waves don felt that his cup of joy was running over he said drawing the girl closer happy beloved happy said nora ile he turned to search her face in th the e growing brightness conscious ol of a reservation in the answer and loving her greatly don understood try to forget your father for a little while hebold her for you to worry wont help him now nora and and it hurts burts you 1 1 the fingers clasping his own tightened a attle but hes suffering don lt it would be cruel if I 1 forgot that altogether I 1 wonder yes he urged after a silence would you mind if if I 1 wrote to him once in a while awhile dear why should I 1 mind nora but hes unjust to you don terribly terribly uri unjust Just 1 1 I cau have you jou feel that I 1 loyal oh my dearl deail you given reproof mei proof of your loyalty write to your father of course if it will make you happier who am I 1 to deny him the comfort of your letters hes got only the shadow poor danl whiled 1 I havethe have the substances sub stancel yes write even it if you receive no answers hes angry now but he hell III treasure those letters just the same not for or years was don jl to kaw know bow true a prophecy that was nora wrote next day wrote as she might have bave a year before ignoring utterly their tragic parting dad dear were here on the coast of maine occupying a studio it goes by the classy name of shack that belongs to a friend of dons carl venable whose work you think so wonderful its a darling place right on the dunes with the broad atlantic for a front yard and it a glimpse of pine covered wils hills behind us im out on the tiny porch just big enough to hold a bridal couple daal breathing in huge lung fuls of cool salt air and hoping youre not suffocating in the city and from the delicious odor issuing from within I 1 judge that the fish chowder my husband 1 I 1 has promised me for dinner is in the making its ar a relief ellef to find him a good cook father otherwise we might buffer from starvation or indigestion or something why in the world you send me to cook ing school instead of college TO DE BE CONTINUED |