Show I I I I I THE GIFT WiFE e 9 Ii i I O RUPERT HUGHES HUGHES SERVICE By B y RUPERT R U P E RI H HUGHES U G H ES ESI I CHAPTER XV Continued XV-Continued Continued 15 15 One day the came home with a child They said they had adopted her That evening while Mr was at the Folies Caprice seeing a musical work the had made haste to their pack up belongings belongings belong belong- ings and ship them to the station Mr being away from home did not learn which of the stations they went to and from In answer to Jebbs Jebb's frantic demands demands demands de de- de- de mands for a guess as to the probable destination of the couple Mr Pa Pa- taky pulled out a business card the duplicate of the one Jebb already had Mr was in business both in Paris and in Warsaw He had not done well in Pest I III am sure you find them in Paris or in Warsaw if maybe they aint gone to some other place To come to this Y-shaped Y trail and realize that whichever way he took he would wish he had taken the other and that every day of delay delay de de- de- de lay increased the difficulty and blurred the track was maddening to Jebb lebb He gave the money money money mon mon- ey for Cynthia's little destructions and got rid of him with curt phrases When Jebb T reached ched Vienna the y next g gand and went event into the they Er room Breakfast room he found Minima waiting for him Her face was luminous luminous luminous lumi lumi- with welcome but it turned gloomy as she cried You deed not the Cynthia child Aman aman He told the story briefly hastily explained his new dilemma She solved it in one instant Leesten Leesten Do Do you speak Polish or He shook his head Then she ran on on eyes flashing with delight over her scheme I am cherkes born and I learn some Russian as child before I am taked to Turkey But leesten You shall go to Paris Paris Paris Par Par- is and look and I shall go to toVar War War- saw The one who finds the child feerst telegraphs the other I bet you I gone to find her the sheker- sheker buli the buli-the the sugar lump feerst What you bet By this time the met in inthe inthe inthe the room breakfast-room and came over overto overto overto to their table The story and the scheme told all over again enraptured enraptured sister Jennie and even opened the fat eyes of brother Charles As Asa a much traveled woman sister Jennie Jennie Jennie Jen Jen- nie scoffed at the idea of any difficulty difficulty difficulty culty in way Brother Charles volunteered to get the from the passport American con- con sul in Vienna An hour later he came same back with it boastfully It isn't everybody that could have got this he said I III had presence of mind enough to realize that if I Isaid Isaid Isaid said Mme was a Turkish lady there'd be all sorts of red tape So I said she was an American Well she is is by intention said sister Jennie blushed and Jebb sighed The Warsaw train left at noon and required seventeen hours for the journey Jebbs Jebb's train to Paris took twenty-seven twenty hours and he was weary of globe There was so little time to get aboard her train and there were so many instructions to give her that leisure was left to talk of nothing else And Jebb was sadly sadly sadly sad sad- ly glad of this it saved him from the torment of restraining his words of adoration Jebbs Jebb's mood was funereal when he returned to his hotel In his absence the had decided to togo togo togo go to Paris by the same train train train-a a conspiracy hatched by sister Jennie to console him When dinner was finished sister Jennie told Charles to go to the smoking-compartment smoking and stay there and she asked Jebb to come comeback comeback comeback back after the expiration of one ci ci- ci gar As soon as he had accomplished accomplished pUshed his cigar he wandered back to sister Jennie Then she unfolded her plan When I first saw you in Vienna the other day and thought you were very rich I told you I wanted more of your help you remember Jebb smiled Now that I find you are not an idle millionaire but a keen and brilliant surgeon surgeon surgeon-oh oh dont don't lilt lift li t your hand hand it it gives you away as a surgeon and has told me of your miracles in wherever in-wherever wherever it wasI wasI wasI was I spoke to you of my poor brother Wentworth Before I die I want to I see a memorial of that beautiful soul cursed through no fault of his I own by an inheritance from poor I ancestors that had heaven knows what sorrows or failure to drive them to despair My poor dear brother was started wrong he could never hope to be what he ought to have been So I thought that a hospital for correcting the malformations and the inherited handicaps of little children children children chil chil- dren would be about as good a memorial memorial memorial me me- morial for poor Wentworth as I could find And I wanted a large part of its work to be experimental I want it to keep investigating finding new methods pushing into the dark You understand dont don't you about all I understand inthis inthis in m this world Miss Ludlam Jebb ex ex- ex- ex claimed with unusual fervor for him my religion and the closest I can come to a prayer is isan isan isan an operation And as for experimenting its it's its it's the crying need of the world Miss Ludlam If only a man could have a lot more money to spend and all his time to devote to exploring Experimental surgery is the new world its it's unbounded undreamed of why of-why why my God its it's excuse me He collapsed in full flight ashamed of his own excitement but sister Jennie cried Dont mind me me-I'm me Im I'm used to Charlie I love to hear you ou swear It shows you have havethe havethe havethe the frenzy that a man needs to be great You are the man I need to help me found this memorial It must be just a little different from those that are already established it must must but but you know so much better better better bet bet- ter than I do what is needed Wont Won't you please take please please take charge of it for me Jebb almost fainted at this gift so great he had never even dreamed of it They talked till the porter informed informed informed in in- formed them that the whole car was complaining When the train tram at last reached Paris Pans the Wentworth Ludlam Memorial Memorial Memorial Me Me- morial Hospital and Experimental 1 44 v c t I h 1 1 n Leisure was left to talk of nothing else Station was pretty well wen talked out and a good deal of it was mapped on paper The first place Jebb sought in Paris was the office of the Machines- Machines a Flaubert The president and his son received him and recognized recognized recognized the name of Nikolai with contrasting feelings The younger member of the firm laughed the elder swore Mr they said had been their agent but his interest in the therace therace therace race tracks of various capitals had mixed up his accounts so that they had regretfully erased him from their rolls The promised Jebb any information in their power but they doubted if were in Warsaw Warsaw Warsaw War War- saw or that he would remain anywhere anywhere anywhere any any- where long CIE CHAPTER APTER XVI Jebb went back to his hotel to tell sister Jennie that he resigned his stew stewardship in her great project He must set out put on a dismal journey to Poland But sister Jennie was not not- notto to be found She was shopping in the Rue de la Paix He went to his own room and was dismally flinging his things into his suitcase when a telegram was brought to his door VE liVE ARR NORD EXPRESS JOOST RUSSIANS BORDERS VE ARRIVAL IN PARIS DAY AFTER TWO MORROW MORROW MORROW MOR MOR- ROW CYNT A IS GOOD AND SENS LOAF TO Y Through this fog of misspelled words a blast of sunlight came that almost smote Jebb wise Saul-wise to the I floor It seemed intolerably long to LO Jebb before the returned to the hotel and when they came in they were fagged with shopping The telegram telegram telegram tel tel- acted like an elixir of new life But the true of time was felt only when J Jebb ebb tried to live out the day and a half hall between him and return He spent a large portion of f the time tune writing and rewriting a cablegram cablegram cable cable- gram to Mrs Thatcher This was I not easy for he must inform her that her child was alive and welland well welland welland and on the way home that her husbands husbands husband's husbands husband's hus hus- bands band's good name was rescued and documented and that the poor faithful faithful faith faith- ful soul had left an invention which a prominent manufacturer Charles Ludlam had inspected and would place on the market for her on a royalty basis with a guarantee of ofa a good income for life When the Nord-Express Nord pulled in at the station Jebb ran through the cars searching Cynthia dawdling in the corridor as before saw him first and set up upa a shriek The childs child's first distinguishable speech was Oh Dave you never told me what the had in inthe inthe inthe the cathe he his little daughter And before anything else could be told Jebb had to ransack his excited brain for a a. a catalogue of gifts that would have foundered the reindeers of Santa Claus Glaus himself And after this this Cynthia must tell her own adventures with the Pogo Pogo- dins and she must show off the Russian she had learned and the Polish words and what a nice woman woman woman wom wom- an Mme was was though though not half so nice as Aunt In fact there was no silencing the child till fatigue put her to sleep sleep- or at least they supposed she was I asleep And now hanim ma tell ma-tell tell me how you managed to find her you her you wonderful angelic angelic- angelic It he stopped short on the brink of a plunge Oh ees such a long story They were not hard to find the Po Po- Po- Po godins but they refuse to geeve up the baby They say she is their own and they defy me to proof she is somebody's who is in America So I go away much But ButI I come back and wait in the street Not till next morning Cynthia comes out alone to play and I I- I her from the stealers stealers stealers-oh oh how I runs From the depths of his soul Jebb sighed It seemed impossible to keep his love secret any longer He had no right to deny her that trib trib- ute It was her privilege to know that he loved her enough to relinquish relinquish relinquish relin relin- her for her own sake And then with much hesitation his mouth full of the ashes of confession confession con con- he began to tell her of his other self Do not tell it me she said It you and I know it all many days Seester Jennie tells it and it makes me such joy to that you have been shrinking from me not because you did hated me but because you did loved me all thees long time Then you understand why I kept silent Yes II And why I can never ask you to be my my-my my my wife No Leesten Jebb you you have another self sell that you cannot keel I you can the help of Allah and my love to make you a home Even if it you cannot keel that Pierpont Pierpont Pierpont Pier- Pier pont still when you are that man manI I could keep you close take care of you save you from to run allover the world and perhaps some day be made dead in in some place If I should be your wife I should guard you and when the long was over you should wake back to yourself in your own home and in my arms always Then soon I know I know Allah would answer such prayer from two such lovers soon the other self sell comes less and less often stays less and less long That could be couldn't be-couldn't couldn't Yes it could be it be-it it would be if if- if but I love you too much to let you endure it Hush J Jebb ebb I you want me for wife yes wife yes Jebb only cast his eyes up in despair despair despair de de- de- de of words to express this de de- de- de sire Then Then if if thees time instead of to tobe tobe tobe be by somebody to somebody I give myself for a gift then gift then then oh oh should the gift be refused refused refused- should you ruin my life forever forever forever- should you you you-oh oh should you make medo medo me medo do all the proposing Those compartment-cars compartment are very cosy for settling disputes of this sort And Cynthia was asleep asleep or or at least they thought she was asleep THE END |