Show A V J bu PHI PS lif LEBROWN LITT LITTLE BROWN and CO LETS BE FRIENDS SYNOPSIS fleece ekno from a brutal stepfather an unhappy home and a proposed husband she ghe detests myrelle Myr young french girl stands in a country road on the verge of desperation halted by an exploded tire two young englishmen lord gerald dombey and christopher bent are attracted by the girls distracted appearance she begs bega them to take her away from her misery in a spirit of adventure they do so conveying her to monte carlo and leaving her with friends myrtile myrelle speaks english her mother having been an educated woman gerald sees a beautiful young woman in the gambling rooms and Is fascinated but can only learn that she to la called pauline de portiere and Is with her aunt he Is unable to secure an introduction christopher and gerald gerala decide myrtha shall not go back to her home lady mary geralds sister secretly in love with christopher disapproves of the young mens of myrelle lord dombey makes the acquaintance of pauline ire he iss Is puzzle dby the air of mystery and condescension surrounding her myrelle falls in love with gerald chris would marry myrelle gerald geraid Is interested in pauline A mysterious russian zubin wins win a large surn sum at the gambling tables gerald learns he knows the de Pon leres but can get no information from him chris makes little progress in his cou courtship reship of myrtile Myr who la Is completely infatuated with gerald whose interest Is all in pauline CHAPTER VIII continued 9 dut but how mademoiselle la Is industrious tr ious slie she exclaimed looking in at the door soon after alvalle had returned from tier her early morning will walk ond and settled down don to tier her sewing hewing 1 I hope my stingy old aunt aint pays aou ou well for all that sewing she glies me my board and lodging here myrelle replied with alth a smile that more than contents tile me board and lodging 1 I 1 oil oh la ia la in annette declared sinking into tier her ile accustomed cus tomed chair that would not con tenette tent Tte it Is the tips front from which one can buy ones clothes clot lies it amazes me that mademoiselle does not ask milord ord dombey for some evening frocks and attend one of ills his supper parties pir ties charles Charl ts the head walter waiter brings roe me news often of them they are of the most amusing there are artists there and all manner of wonderful people lias has mademoiselle no curiosity to see life myrelle threaded a needle ob carefully irefully before she replied milord dombey she said would I 1 bellee believe take me but Mons monsieur leur christopher does not think it well ell that hat I 1 go to those parties ile he deela declare unit that they are for people whom I 1 should not meet annette clasped tier her hands hamn behind ali alie e back of tier lier head slie site was vastly amused oh la in in lal I 1 slie site exclaimed that Is so like monsieur dent cent what does he make of life that young nian man hoes does he think it well ell for a girl as beautiful as mademoiselle to sit here alone at night and creep into bed title mon who aho adores tier her spends ills his time thise with other women pooh selle gelle should have courage i urge myrelle laid down clown tier her work her heart was benting beating fist tell me annette An she be baig ged d who are these guests of milord dom hey bey why to do they keep me away nw ay from froin i them hem it Is not milord Doin heys fault annette dee declared lared ile he Is a 1 l beim beau garcon curcon it is the stupid monsieur bent who should have stayed tit at home bome in ills his dull london tile they artall viell enough these guests of meloid poni dorn beyk some sing at tile opi ru others nt liers perhaps have seen life in bin tor for that are aboy ilie file worse nant bill hirm can in they to ilo oil if I 1 wi ere rc I 1 should submit no longer I 1 what should you do annette An myrelle asked hulf fe arrelly ar rully 1 I should put on all my prettiest clot clothes aunt lie e replied into the matter ic itter walh fill animation and I 1 should come to the hotel I 1 should find my way to milord th alint at would be fr me to I 1 should l just tell mill him tant alint I 1 find come that I 1 was tired of being 14 left ft sit it finale then I 1 would ahls per one or two mo or of the nicest little things I 1 could think of into isla cor car I 1 would put HIT arroa arms around lis ills neck and uell 11 I 1 knobil milord Doin lioy lie he would not send rne away not if I 1 ere wild e moiselle mol BeIle selle the work had fallen from My merilles rilles hands she was sitting up tip in tier chair her eyes eves very bright her lips it i little ittle parted how fortunate it was wan that annette hold had cornel comet without n t doubt the she would do tills this only one must beware of monsieur christopher lie he vi ans lie full of droll ideas tie lie must be made to understand presently annette de parted and when a little later on christopher arrived to pay its ills morning call myrelle was seated as usual at tier her work tier her manner unaltered except that flint she was a little gayer than usual perhaps a little more kindly myrelle Myr he announced 1 I lime imae board from rny my cousin in england she thinks that slie site will be able to find it ad you a place in about it a months time that Is very kind of tier her myrelle answered sered an without enthusiasm what aliat does gerald say about it 1 I have not mentioned it to gerald yet christopher replied lie ile was dining out last night and had a supper party afterward at the carlton carbon and as a waster of tact fact lie he was fast asleep when I 1 came out I 1 have no doubt hovi however ever that he will be glad 11 the girl made a little grimace lie ile amny inn y not be so glad to get rid of me ns its aou ou she remarked we shall MIMI neither nelt lier of us be here in a months time christopher tier her certainly I 1 shall not and gerald I 1 believe Is due to go to biarritz Ular Biar ritz before then myrtile sewed industriously for a moment Per perhaps hips she suggested he may want me to go to biarritz Biar ritz with him you must not talk like that myr tile christopher said sternly you must not say such things lings ti if gerald goes it will III be with some other young men to play polo there would be no possible place for you in such a company site she smiled without looking up some day he would know the truth this kindly lout rather for fisli englishman lie ile would know that slie site and gerald loved one another lie ile should id always be their friend though ile he was vas very good in ills his way ny only he would not understand what about a short walk before lunch lie he suggested dropped tier her work at once we will go along the terrace she proposed propos pd and while I 1 sit upon a seat you shall go in and wake vinke up tip that lazy gerald you shall tel him that I 1 nm am waiting find I 1 nm am sure that tie he will viii hurry out christopher assented n little sadly gace cice or tw ice before they hall hail carried out tile same program and lie vi was sN wondering ordering whether hether it would not hae bane been better to have told myrelle Aly rille the truth that on two mo occa occasions slots gerald had absolutely refused to join them nail and that on the third he had been brought out oil almost by force there was a little puns pang in ills his heart as lie he watched bathed myrtties MyrtI Myr tiles Ies gny gay life ans so wonderful to tier her that it seemed a shame to destroy a single I 1 illusion well try and rout him out at all events lie promised chapter IX I 1 gerald found lne waiting for him at the accustomed spot after luncheon that afternoon afler noon she was vas in the shadow of a great magnolia shrub dressed in inconspicuous gray with a reil cell thicker than alio lie exigencies 4 of motoring necessitated pauline stepped ii lightly into the place by ills his side without walting waiting for blin to acute acate ills fits seat turri turn round plea please e slie site directed WP we will III go the other way I 1 to do not choose to 0 o pam through the town ton gerald obeyed ul although though her request only added fuel to the smoldering tire fire of his tit resentment lie turned away to the mountain kosid und and ul maintained tin a silence which was not without its significance ills companion after a I 1 few minutes glanced glnn cei toward him indifferently lie he was leaning hack fine in III ills place lilb fill eys ays us as usual fixed upon the road ills left blind firm 13 grasping rii pins tile llie steeling rix wheel the humo roii twitch twit cl had bad gone gine from liis ills mouth thare ii its a distinct frown bipin ills forehead you ore perhaps neary today toi liiv she sied cipu should like to tit shorten our drive gerald turned and looked at tier her 1 I inn am not noi meary he replied refilled 1 I 1 am puzzled I 1 hate in st stories erles tin the old slie she dawned yawned alth with it new reading reu ilina tie he retorted 1 I have s denvon myself ready ren lv as iou ou must inu t know lie v lent on in to scully mur dour peculiar whims in eiery way but when it comes come 5 to iou anee to fact face il 0 the club ond and ine im lint hilt the st oniest onlest of if stares I 1 solicit that the situation grows beyond me I 1 am not well wa I 1 am not it am I 1 11 atie to dilill hed quietly not in the least you yon belona to vital they call in england the middle clias do yan not two or three centuries old with n dailly house in a park unil and sin armful of titles are you to present me to de portiere lie aked after ii a wro ments pause terrified slie she admitted frankly frnnk ly because Bec auBe my quarte rings ore are insaf fl clent I 1 might remark flint my father Is the nin ninth th earl and that I 1 ata his bis only bon ban it Is not that at nil she assured as him film indifferently there Is really no reason why we ave should not meet in a place like this on equal terms but my aunt Is a woman with only one idea in tier her head find and for the successful development of that idea it Is advisable e that we make no acquaintances whatever here there my lord Dorn dombey bey have I 1 not been kind to you I 1 would see more of you if I 1 could because in a n place like this the escort of a man Is an advantage As it Is I 1 can assure aou ou that I 1 risk rish a good deal in taking these afternoon rides it if you knew liow flow my life was find and how grateful I 1 really am to you for these few hours of escape you would feel more kindly toward me see I 1 give you my liand hand let us bo be friends it was the first time during all their acquaintance that she had ia accorded him the slig slightest latest mark of favor the touch of her fingers thrilled and aur surprised him ile he held tier her hand unresistingly for several moments then site she drew it quietly but firmly away well that Is settled she said now talk to me about other things Is there no news at the rooms lias has no one been breaking the bank there was vias something I 1 was as going to tell oui ou gerald replied with a sudden flash of recollection 1 I sat next to a man at dinner last night in biros grill who they say broke the bark sobral so eral times during the afternoon i dellove they said mat he was a kisslan Kus Ills Rhin I 1 suppose you know all about him however 1 1 I she exclaimed wh hou should I 1 because between the con courses offis of his dinner he wrote a letter and sent it off tt bt messenger lie ile was cai i the next tuble table ima and it was impossible me to avoid seeing the em envelope elope it was addressed to cadaine tie de Pon lere site she looked at him amazed to my aunt she repeated but we received no letter from any one last night what was this man like they said that he be was a russian and that flint ills his name wis was gerald replied they also said that lie he had won two million francs in the afternoon 1 1 she exclaimed with a little start describe him at once if you please that Is easy gerald acquiesced lie ile must holie have been nt at least six foot three or tour four and he had tremendous shoulders ile he was one of the most powerful looking men I 1 have ever seen in my life ile he had bad a sallow complexion a lined face black eyes ees and a mass of black and gray hale hair she put her ter hand upon ills his stop the car please she legged begged turn round as quickly as you can I 1 must go horae home gerald ran on to an adjacent widening of the road reversed the car and headed back for monte carlo if I 1 hail had known known I 1 that my news was going to 10 shorten our drive he grumbled 1 I haa baa mentioned the fellow at all M my y friend sloe she said earnestly what you have told me may be of immense lia mense benefit for ire to know you recognize the man then ile he Is probably my aunts steward she confided sifter after a moments hesitation a there you see I 1 am telling you secrets do you know whether lie placed last night 1 I was only at the club gerald replied ile he did not come there la Is there anything I 1 can do would you like me to go and look for him yes you might do that she said thoughtfully when you have dropped me drive down to the rooms if you find him there touch him on the shoulder say that maclaine de Io awaits hlin him you will not lot forret foret tills ill dri drive te there at once gerald promised he set pauline down ns as ujust usual at the pates of tier her villa slie she scarcely stayed to say goodby good liv hut but her smile was wil more gracious and tier her manner a little kinder it wits was obvious however that she was disturbed ba b his information gerald incurious though lie was ans at most times felt a gr growing interest in ills his mission arrived HI at fit the rooms he be walked straight through to the cercle visited each roulette aind brente et ri qua mirane raille table noble and strolled round the t e baccarat room seated next to tile the croupier tit nt the most remote anbi e with a little crowd of people behind ill ahls chair and with a great real pile ailt of mites before blin sat monsieur tile the russian lius sinn was betting in daxl mums appi irony on some sy system stein and with varying success to all tit up lien rances not clot clothes lies t or shaved since the evening before there was sin nn untidy growth of heard upon his chin n bloodshot blond shot streak str pil in ills eyes his col on 1 far tie were crumpled his fits hair luxuriant nt the lie heit he it of times limes vins unkempt and disordered gerald benned towards the settled seated the croupiers chair under rire Dref iene ense a small stake anke who is this mysterious and beautiful pauline who takes on royal airs and who Is this thia mysterious and arrogant russian TO BE CONTINUED |