Show uffa AM THE flit miff TY BY ELIZABETH JORDAN 0 D appleton con co ino inc R VII continued 19 joan spoke with such passionate pasil onate seriousness that hale was startled lie ile answered almost at random you had any more night visitors have you she laughed no I 1 never had one it was a nightmare you know the kind we all have sometimes we know were in bed we see the familiar furniture of 0 our room yet something horrible and incredible happens they had reached the beach and were standing before the bathhouse bath house joan shared with her aunt and mrs spencer forbes ill be ready in five minutes the she promised as she entered it she was not of course hale stretched himself out on the sand before the door rather like a guarding dog end and pondered ahat she had bad told him when she came out ready for the water she was determinedly brisk and companionable lets talk about something cheerful the rest of the time she invited as they walked toward the sea 1 I want my thoughts distracted all right IU ID do anything but make love to you she sighed ostentatiously why this cold reserve that might distract my mind better than anything else elsa 1 I dont doubt it would but im serving nerving warning on you right now miss kneeland im not going to fall in love with you miss kneeland too she murmured only a few minutes ago it was joan oh the bitter heartache of thorl they had joined hands and were wera entering the water 1 I suppose what youre really telling me she added as the waves lifted them up Is that you will always be a brother to mo me exactly they began to swim toward the float tho the trouble Is she pointed out that I 1 dont need another brother I 1 have bert lies iles entirely satisfactory As a brother I 1 can put circles nil all around bert see but you undermine my morale by making love to me he reminded her that fair stop talking im getting tired already ile he put a steadying arm under her chest and kept it there till they reached the goat float ile he could feel the quick beating ot of her heart against it IL ho he was a trifle dizzy as they scrambled crumbled up the side ot of the float and wiped the salt gait water out of their eyes they sat still resting and he kept his bis gaze on the shore line there was a short silence which h be did not want to break ive always known she said at last that I 1 was me queen vie via torta torla not in appearance thank god hale said promptly not even I 1 should say in temperament in what miss bones do you think youre like our dear late queen queena 1 ive always known that it if I 1 ever met a man I 1 really wanted to marry id probably have to propose to him harould Ha Ile would think he propose ta me because I 1 have some money queen victoria apropo proposed sed to prince albert rw know ive iva hard so hole hale admitted cautiously how did she do it I 1 cecin seem to have forgotten the tha details she did it joan said firmly in ak nice ree rec fined ladylike way she made it an affair of state she pointed out to albert that everyone expected him to marry her an and d that he and she might as well tall fall in with the general plan hale shook his red head that make a hit with an american man he bo declared it make et a hit with you lou joan asked anxiously it would not well suppose some lovely young thing told you she needed a protector and felt sure you were it would that ap appeal nope you interest me strangely what sort of 0 proposal would appeal to you I 1 may need to know an easy one 1 I 1 should expect to be wooed patiently and tenderly for or a long time then I 1 should expect a really tempestuous whirlwind proposal lull full ol of passion and fire it would have to be the kind that would sweep me off ob my fial feet joan sighed you have postponed for or a long time perhaps forever she told him sadly a pregnant interview I 1 had in mind they both laughed and hales bales heart rose ile he told himself that at last lait he was seeing the real joan kneeland Kneel aad there be e any thing seriously wrong with a girl like that ills his taint suspicion that Borne ono was trying to injure her was disks oie result ol of an and now that settled be suggested joyously lets swim a little way toward spain I 1 they dived together and started oil off with fine abandon but almost immediately it seemed to him she was tired again homade he anade her turn back and again supported her on the return swim to the shore when the she left the tha water her mood bad changed im as weak as ai a cat she said bitterly her eyes were full ot of tear fear as she looked at wm him rex hex what does it mean she asked ui in a whisper were going to find and out he be promised will you follow my advice 1 I think so go what Is it naturally I 1 any faith in craig let me take you tomorrow atter after lunch to a new york doctor who has a camp near here doctor nicholas crosby let lei him make a thorough examination and give you a diagnosis and a schedule well take bert to him at the same time bert may need some help in up building CHAPTER vill VIII when they entered the house hale telephoned at once to doctor nick crosby to make the appointment tor for the next day the result was disappointing joan stood beside him at the telephone ile he made his report poetto to her with raised eyebrows crosby la is in new york he wont be back till monday joan nodded im glad I 1 hats hate to have doctors fussing over me ma especially strange ones just the same ile he looked at her thoughtfully surprised at his own disappointment and annoyance over the doctors absence ab senca for some reason the delay seemed serious this is 3 friday lets go to new york early tomorrow morning 1 he be suddenly suggested 1 I know two good doctors there I 1 C can an surely get hold of one ona of them by telephone today if I 1 cant ill look up someone else she scoffed at the idea in this heat it would be ba a crazy thing to do ile he persisted no it ill get an early appointment fo tor you then well lunch on the cool root ot of some new york hotel and take an early train back she was in her refusal and he had to give in and pretended that she had no idea what he was talking about dear boy she ghe begged never expect me to remember anything I 1 say or anything that anyone else says lays when I 1 was young various beautiful young men begged me to bo be theirs I 1 thought it would be coy and maidenly to postpone my I 1 answer till the next morning so 10 I 1 always did that was wai fatal ot of course by the next day I 1 had bad forgotten the proposals how about them hale grinned they standing around in rows reminding you they were not never believe it rex but they forgot too it if I 1 remembered something about them a few months later and asked if we were engaged or anything of that sort every lad of them wore swore I 1 had refused him and that his heart wits was now another Ix after a few years yean of this I 1 remembered enough to grasp spencer forbes the night he spoke and to write him a note the next morning confirming our engagement I 1 hastened our marriage too I 1 realized that I 1 keep the matter in mind W 1 I 1 hate to have doctors fussing over me aside from everything else 1 she pointed out 1 I want a doctor at hand if I 1 need one ot at all well wait for doctor crosby mrs nash swears by him ainsworth wavea a hand to him as they passed the living room door on their way upstairs but hale escorted joan to her room and then went on to his own ainsworth could wait joan did not come down to tea and hale was not surprised ile he devoted himself to mrs spencer fortes forbes and miss Aliss hosanna and listened inattentively to the batters latt lat erB long account of the evil effect of too many eggs on tho the human system what you should do she assured him 1 is l to live largely on fruit and vegetables rate hals thud dered and mrs spencer fortes forbes laughed unfeelingly when a little later he and she were again alone together tor for a few minutes he urged her to explain her cryptic remarks of an hour ago she looked blank very long now tell me all about your sex life rex miss hosanna II osanna rose folded up her knitting and regarded her friend severely really ruth you get worse every day she declared im afraid this young man inan is encouraging you in it 1 I going to tell her a thing miss hosanna hale protested earnestly not even about the mandarin princess in pekin or the ra jahs ah daughter in calcutta you seem to run to potentates mrs spencer forbes murmured were you ever in pekin or cal dutta never that hale explained smugly is why I 1 going to tell you about those ladies miss hosanna sighed again and walked toward the door its time to dress tor for dinner she reminded them why you two keep up this nonsense au all the time is more than I 1 can see theres some excuse for or this dear deai boy he hes a young but you ruth eire are old enough to know better mrs spencer forbes nodded sad ly 1 I know she corrol corroborated orated thirty six miss hosanna sniffed thirty iiii the she quoted humpal Hump hl 1 I know it should be an age of domand wis look at mel keep right on oa looking rex hex mrs spencer forbes added tenderly 1 I like to have you do it but tell me one thing before wo we part she added as the three went upstairs together do you think theres any danger that hosanna will reconstruct wf MY moral nature ashes been working at the job now tor for more than a quarter of a century thero there are moments when I 1 feel uplifted and almost discouraged halo hale went on to his room pr Ailing dinner that night was a pleasant meal the change in bert an aa amazing and heart warming change continued ills his overwrought look his jerkiness of movement and gesture were almost gone ainsworth observed everyone with his usual catlike cat like uke watchfulness though it was friday night casper kneeland celand had not arrived rex suspected that kneeland was deliberately keeping out of the way to give him a tree free hand with allsworth miss hosanna looked pleased and then sighed deeply when hale praised the lobster a la newburg poison she murmured all shellfish shell fish Is poison of course but you may give me a spoonful banks ill just try 10 it joan rex noticed ate little and said less she listened to the others and smiled occasionally she was not the same girl who on the float had threatened to propose to him these quick shifts of mood and manner were very disconcerting after dinner they had a lesson in the new continental which rex had learned abroad joan who was a born aarn dancer was interested and fairly successful at it ainsworth did less lesa well and bert and mrs spencer forbes refused to try it at all the party broke up early hale was not surprised when ainsworth caught him by the arm as they left the living room will you make yourself comfortable and drop into my diggings a little later old man he urged in a low voice id like a word with you rex glanced at his bis watch and nodded it was only halt half past ten he would be glad to have the showdown with ainsworth and get it over he tapped at Aln Ain door as a the clock in the hall downstairs struck eleven ainsworth opened the door at once and greeted him almost warmly nice room rex approved it was a n nice I 1 ce room as pleasant as a his own it t had a more personal atmosphere m mo sphere re lent by books and pictures yes ainsworth explained 1 I brought down a few things of mine from new york books and such rex raised his eyebrows then youre expecting to stay on he asked ainsworth looked surprised the effect was convincing he really seemed surprised oh lob yes ill be here all summer he announced probably till the camp closes the family usually goes back to town about the middle of october that will suit me very well everything in new york will be dead till then anyway what I 1 want to talk to you about he went on conversationally as they sat down and lit their cigarettes is craig he leave pretty suddenly and as it were by request hale grinned Ain curiosity always amused him he did and as it happened by my request but of course course uncle coss cass had bad authorized me to act tor for him hale ended sedately thava odd ainsworth looked at him thoughtfully one would have thought bert would have had some voice about that he ended after a moment of apparent reflection TO BE CONTINUED |