Show im ah ri 7 who ho game came back jack bijack woodford COPYRIGHT SERVICE CHAPTER XI continued 18 C got of a prospect why yes has he got the dough well weil yes I 1 believe lies hea very well axed 1 grab crab him sister grab him lolita eyed tier her harum schrum companion thoughtfully they all seemed to have the same idea and they had all had quite a good deal of experience with life do you think I 1 ought to marry such a man een though I 1 do not and never could love him blut 10 loia lo him filial hahl you toil make bake me sick love Is the kind of anesthetic that gets you into the kind of scrapes you got into with harvey torrence the best tiling thing to do about a guy you full fall in ID loe ione with Is never to speak to him again once iou ond it out because pretty soon hell lind find it out and then little sister good night 1 when a fellah finds out youre in ID love with him he declares an open season on you from that time on whether youre married to him or whether you aint its lt h 11 you want a liner break from every standpoint than a sj guy who wants to marry you has dough and who you dont give a d n tor for a very singular viewpoint remarked lolita reflecting as she said the words that it really was not singular at all mrs lira hardy would have enthusiastically agreed with the girl oertrude gertrude had already so expressed hertelt here bere elt elf tier her own experience would almost support the theory tier her father would doubtless think that the very best tiling thing that she could possibly do would be to marry the first man who came alon along in order to make it easier to live down dow n what had happened was every one slightly cracked on the subject of love and marriage she wondered or was she unable to see the thing in the right light don had bad very decidedly disagreed with ith her upon the subject site she wished that there were some one to whom she could turn for real advice stony many of the good writers whom she was constantly reading seemed to think that not cot only marriage but love itself was a sort of delusion based wholly upon physical stimulus and not at all important in the general scheme of I 1 alnas lolita rose well ive got to go ly dear you may be right lit in all you ly but tt it Is my contention that when ben girl Is down donn she need not dot be out ky more thin than a man need be think sout that some rome time the other sighed a little too loudly so that loi d felt elt that the shot had struck home rd id might perhaps some day take root and grow recalling that she had an appointment with ired fred at one she sha I 1 started toward her room leaving the books at home she walked on and met fred lets just walk around a few min utes he be said 11 1 have a rather lin favor to ask of you they left his car which wis wa 8 parked near the road and started into the park 1 I 1 want you to meet my fattier father lies very anxious to know you and I 1 promised him id bring ayou you out tomorrow for in the house hee just finished come woot wont you ile he was so anxious about it that she had bail not cot the heart to refuse she nodded briefly yes ill come but I 1 hope you given him to understand that 1 I given him to understand anything except that I 1 hope some day to win you and that you are the most wonderful girl in the world really come then meet me tomorrow at ten and let me drive you out there yes ill meet you at ten tomorrow and drive out with you back to in her room later inter phe ehe wished she bhe promised to go but it was too late to do anything about it now restlessly site she picked up her copy of the metropolitan magazine to thumb its pages suddenly her eye lit upon the name she straightened up to in her chair and started reading through b the story finishing the first brief reading she turned to the beginning and started to reread it more slowly it came over her gradually while rereading the story that the fihe had deserted don in 10 his big hour of need it had not lot occurred to her before that he should have temporary weaknesses just as she had had bad he seemed so go sure eure tf sf himself so GO knowing so thoroughly founded and grounded to n tig big habits of 0 thought and action what a little idiot she elie had been she flew out into the hall ball to the telephone lione with her heart hammerl hammering ng she gave the number presently a girls voice answered la Is mr in asked lolita controlling her voice with an effort yes to I 1 believe he be is 13 ill ring bis big room oda im moment please the one moment stretched out into a seeming scenting eternity then Illel hello lol 1 edane came over the wire in that husky tone that slie site loved so well lillta started to return his hello tier her voice stuck in her throat she sputtered helplessly who Is it asked don rather brusquely its me she finally squeaked 10 lolita lolita Loll tal I 1 my lly dearl dcarl where are you his voice was electric im here home boine I 1 what number she told him the number and without so much as a goodby good by lie he hung up the receiver lolita was perfectly certain that he was coming to her at once slie she hew flew upstairs frantically to primp not more than fifteen minutes later the door bell below stairs rang shrilly lillta heard voices in thy the hall one high pitched and sharp other soft and husky Presen presently there were steps upon the stairs a knock ut at the door she turned supported herself with her two hands upon the dressing table top and called out come to in the door opened and don stood framed in the doorway for a mi moment blinking uncertainty uncertainly in the 7 ye ill meet you at ten tomorrow and drive out with you gloom for she had the shades down to keep out the sun seeing her he started forward and when he was half way across the room she found her herreld relf though she was hardly conscious of having moved in his arms 1 ve looked for you everywhere hebold he Z told her his kisses covering her upturned face why on earth you let me ine know what prompted you to call me now your story she faltered it was beautiful I 1 cried when I 1 read it oil oh don im so sorry what a goose gooe ive been I 1 saw it all when I 1 read the story to think that you needed me and I 1 failed you ue he did not trouble to answer all this but held her her at abw arms q length looking at tier her then seemingly unconvinced that he really held lolita in his arms lie ile strode to the windows In dows and raised the shades the sun streamed in ue ile put hla his hands upon her shoulders again drew her to him kissed her then held her away youre prettier even than before he told tier her sincerely theres depth to your beauty dow cow something fine and new and wonderful it seems almost unbelievable good fortune that ive found you yon again but miss pringle 1 you read the story you you mean to say that absolutely has happened just as I 1 told it in the story shortly after you disappeared I 1 realized that I 1 could never marry her loving ou as I 1 did nut but dear all of those things you gold about art being paramount to the common commonplace place side eldo of life the the bunk be said succinctly and kissed her full on the mouth nio ulli ali the greatest erca test art of all Is life and one cant play the game without observing some of the file rules and not hurt themselves and others I 1 hurt myself and I 1 hurt you and im through trying to play out of bounds if you will honor we me by consenting to become my luy wife lolita turned and looked up op at him it u as she decided beyond all possibility lity of a doubt the happiest moment of her life nothing con could please me more she sold said simply and felt a hot happy tear run down her cheek don too was affected for a moment he could not speak lie ile held field her more ti tightly ghaly and stroked tier her hair with his bis land band well be worried married tomorrow morning lie be said firmly unable to coun cenance the thought of delay As you like she agreed sly my car Is 13 downstairs have you yon had find lunch yet slie she and the started downstairs together they drove droe north etli fit no particular thou thought ailt of hunger don not only found 0 one e arm sufficient for guiding the car but found also creditable use for the other arm it seemed to them both that they would like to drive on and on forever and never neer stop but at length they passed a pretty hotel halt half hidden by the woods looks good suggested lets go la in ile he ordered dinner for two and they sat out on the wide windswept wind swept veranda to eat for a long period neither spoke at last broke the silence and how flow have ou on been getting along with your writing wonderfully she told him watching tho pleased delight come into his deep brown eyes so marvelously that it seems almost impossible how can it be that 1 I who have been so undeserving have had so much good fortune undeserving be questioned oho how can you say that youve been a perfect brick from first to last it Is I 1 who am the undeserving one your encouragement at the start was what did 14 it dear dont be silly you had it in you all ail there Is to it but tell me every single solitary thing youve done since muce last we raw paw each other chronologically slie she related practically every incident not omitting to tell him all about fred watterson and his bis rehabilitation it was dark when they returned after having had bad supper la in a roadside inn she sh stood upon the steps and watched as he drove oft off when he be turned at the corner he gave two farewell toots of the horn born long after he be had gone she stood watching the cortier corner where he had turned she felt almost sure as she slowly undressed for bed that the serial which she had bad sent oft off some days before would be accepted it would enable enable e them to start up their little studio apartment rather pretentiously there would be nothing in it that was not beautiful there would be nothing in their lives thenceforth which would not be beautiful and perhaps after a time lolita loilta blushed what a thought for a girl not yet a bride to entertain I 1 upon this reflection site she fell asleep awake awakening to find the sun streaming into the room it was close to nine aur hurriedly she sprang from bed memories of the night before came back in a rush and she stood for a moment in the middle of the floor breath breathless lem with delight today was the dayl day I 1 the thought of her appointment with fred watterson intruded and with a little moue of annoyance she began to dress tor for there was no DO time to lose when she arrived at the customary meeting place fred was already there youre late he chided her as though tills this fact had given him some unease uncase sorry she returned happily they walked toward his car just as she was about to enter lolita caught fight eight of a familiar face a few feet away peering around a hedge As the car drove oft off she ge searched arched her wind mind to try to remember where she had seen the rather unlovely face before presently it came to her that it was one ol of the men who had bad driven her back homo home from the goose and gander roadhouse after her interview with gray cray eyes this thought worried her for a time but she dismissed it from her mind as trivial a thing filing which she would perhaps not dot have done had ehe che known that the man jumped into a black limousine that had bad its curtains drawn immediately after she had climbed into freds car and that the black limousine was at that very moment not il hundred feet behind them in the road TO BE CONTINUED |