Show the of I 1 he ir lucky laurences lawrences Lawren ces 10 NJ by KATHLEEN NORRIS by Kath kathleen leon morris borvice SYNOPSIS the luck lock that hail had brought th the boton booton lawrences laurences Lawren ces to california at the beginning of the gold rush has deserted the present generation from a 0 acre ranch their holdings have shrunk to small mall farm and the old family home lo in Clippe reville the death of 0 th their e ir father forced the three eldest ch children aldre n to work so eo that sam and little ariel might continue their education phil now twenty five alve had gone into the iron works work gall to the public library and edith to the book department of Clipper avilles largest store seven seventeen teen year old arlel ariel Is becoming a problem and phil la is fascinated by that terrible lily lilly cass whose husband has haa deserted her young toune van V bl lson scion of a wealthy fa family mily returns fro m yale and gall has visions through marriage with him of the turning of the lawrence luck dick stebbins phils phil best beat friend has haa the run of the house arlel ariel Is sneaking out of the house at night for joy rides phil sug BUK geang to the girls consternation that mat they invite lily cass to the house gall goes with van tor for a weekend week end with the chipps his uncle ard aunt CHAPTER IV continued 8 ariel after borne interested questions regarding the days plans had said suddenly did you notice what happened to the challenge last night no gall bad said paid with a puzzled expectant glance 1 I got rid of 0 it I 1 ariel had announced in a conspirators tone got rid of it what for tori because arlel ariel had murmured with a cautious glance about for possible eavesdroppers because it said that mr and mrs arthur chipp had gone down to their los gatos place on tuesday and were opening it tor for the summer oh gall bad stammered starn with a suddenly deepening color and a sickly laugh oh tier her voice had bad dropped flatly she the mentor the guide the example ot of this little sister had bad stood shamed and detected trying to find amusing what was a most painful and humiliating moment 1 I dont blame you arlel ariel had said A quick protective instinct to add lie ile to lie ile had shaken gall but she was too unused to falsehood she had stood silent presently saying in a troubled voice 1 11 I was sorry to to have hate to do that r but ut it it as if 1 phil were my father lie ile has no right and edith has haa no right neither of 0 them she had recommenced with a little difficulty neither of them understands how much how awfully one wants to go places do things phil who runs around with lily WIb serl ariel had helped her scornfully and the younger sister had given her a sudden passionate kiss 1 I love you gall gaill arlel ariel had said quickly but this rare demonstration from cool little arlel ariel had brought no responsive spon sive happiness to galls heart beart to have artel ariel protecting her abetting tier her in deceit lo in dealings dealing with what was not open and fair had given her a wretched sensation gens atlon that the solid ground was falling beneath her feet even the scornful reference to philip had alarmed her after all phil was the head of the family phil was sacred there was no law nor order anywhere it if phil was to be scorned driving along the country roads that were smothered in spring beauty galls calls spirits rose nothing could prevent her from having a weekend week end in a los gatos country house now on sunday evening she would join the family faintly at the dinner table on monday morning she ehe would be back at work and everything would return to normal but she would have this wonderful memory as so much pure gain she was always in a gale of high spirits when she was with van anyway it was impossible to be otherwise be was the ganest of the gay she questioned him as they drove along who else will be on this house party panr on this souse party van responded cheerfully will be first mine host and his buxom wife dame martha they will draw the ale heap oaken logs loga in the great fireplaces Cre places oh for heavens sake you idiot his s shout of joyous laughter no therell be the chipps he began again seriously and three or four good auction players they have to have those play all this evening all tomorrow morning all tomorrow night anil and all day sunday to in between games eat drink and ask if anyone wants to swim badly enough to take the bother of undressing then therell be lucia tevis ashes a cute kid ashes eighteen she goes tu to vassar next fall miss mary tevis glecer yep then theres mary spence ashes from boston visiting lucia ashes a keen girl too and jim speedwell and fred red blunter freds a polo man but he broke his arm so hes resting anil and bill billings and maybe Us his sister and the duchess lenore phipps mrs phipps she was lenore murchison hlson ashes your half sister yep stepsister step sister my mother married her dad when the he was about oh well ashes a year younger than ban I 1 am but ashes lived mostly with her grandmother ashes getting a divorce I 1 they drove through los gatos sleepy in late afternoon sun and ringed witti wooded hills and turned south west on the boulevard that led to the be ocean twenty sli six miles away the cur car mounted slopes rolled smoothly under und er mighty oaks left the paved highway for a comfortable dirt road few houses were visible now but the gates bore names el nido hill ways jackson farm road hidden paradise road the gate into which van vail at last turned the car was marked far niente there were fruit trees here scattered in among the natural forest trees there was a tennis courts court dappled with shade and light and draped in a batik sla rose vine heavy with golden bloom flower scents were everywhere ery where beauty was everywhere under a loaded rose vine on one of the po porches relies four persons were playing bridge gall call as she and van approached pro ached recognized one of 0 these as her hostess mrs chipp looked up at them sharply y and without changing her position concentrated her cards in her left hand and stretched a hand toward van oh hello dear I 1 ilow how ayou do miss lawrence she said in a quick k aside aalde van all swimming and theres nobody here to excuse me just one second 1111 allyer yer she interrupted herself speaking to one of the players van she went on im not sure where the duchess has put miss miss lawrence but you take her up to the girls cottage and just let her park herself somewhere until the duchess explains will you do that like a darling resolutely gall would not let herself feel that it was rude that it left anything unsaid undone ill be all right she said with a smile and a nod walking oft off with van mrs airs chipp made no do answer van led the way to one of the cabins a brown enchanting place with geraniums and lobella lobelia in the window r e A 7 ill be all right she said with a smile and a nod boxes and a wide open door into a central sitting room take any of these rooms gosh all full of 0 suitcases suitcase sl 1 van said peering in at doorways here heres orie one this must be you make blake your seit seir comfortable are you going to swim 1 I think not not well maybe I 1 will 1 she decided against the swimming and walked out to meet van ten minutes later looking her prettiest in a white frock white shoes a white hal bat the boy lingering in the garden path waiting for her was trim in ID a black bathing suit with a towel across his shoulders coys boys and girls as wet and sleek JIB as seats seals were sprawled in tle the late sunshine on the grassy ramp beside the pool they were drinking a pale yellow drink from tall ice filled glasses a cocktail shaker stood on tle grass gall found herself the only person who was not drinking drIn klog in the group the circumstances seemed to alienate her from them she listened smiled made herself appear at ease as a low toned conversation that had evidently been interrupted was begun again among the girls the men merely rolled in the sun yawned dawned and exchanged monosyllables you did not quit thail chati say listen gall heard over and over again the girls lucia mary and lenore murmured interestedly oh ob come on said the duchess sud denly when there had been a good deal of this well never got dressed I 1 immediately they were all running down the path to the cabin gall with them the only one who took any notice of her was the boston girl named mary spence mary spoke now and then kindly to gall call as they all began a flurry of dressing for dinner they left eft their bedroom doors open and ran back and forth lightly clad or not dot clad at all lenore and lucia shed their bathing suits on the strip of bawn outside the cabin and slipped into thin cotton elmona kl monas mona brief and almost transparent to wander about brushing their hair rubbing themselves with towels and gathering garments and cosmetics gall call who was not going to change sat gat on the upper porch step a few feet above the path and stared ar the beauty and luxury of far clente as it lay jay on the slope below her and pretended to be satisfied and absorbed la in what she saw she knew now that all the vague shy fears she had felt la in anticipating this visit were going to be more than justified she knew that mrs chipp chapp was not dot going to be nice to tier her that the girls were entirely lo in different to her and that she should not have come her clothes were not right ii her I 1 training was not right her background was not not right she simply did not belong here and they were all more or less conscious of IL it this nice mary spence herself a stranger in the group croup was being cordial merely on general principles it was nothing to her that these californians had social distinctions between themselves they were all the same to mary spence 1 I shall have to forkl gall told herself grimly she must work talking smiling keeping herself occupied for all this endless evening and nil all tomorrow and most of sunday it sounded like an eternity suddenly she noted two of her companions in the cottage lucia lind and lenore walking with two boys named bill and jim lown down the path bath to the house they must have left the cottage by the back door which faced toward the mens cabin perhaps the boys bad called them tin in that left only mary in the house and it if she also slipped away gall would have to go down to dinner at some spot unknown nil all alone iier heart began to beat hard bard in nervous antic anticipation pallor presently a middle aged woman came up the path toward her and with a not an onam amiable lable halt half smile tor for gall call stood still a few feet away calling alary maryl I 1 gall recognized her as one of the card players pl ajera yes mrs billings mary called putting her head out of the porch door mary ilary you yoa know what I 1 asked ked you to do the woman said oh yest mary answered will you no do it now dear oh yes instantly I 1 said mary running out of the cabin she and mrs billings conferring went rapidly down the path together gall swallowed once with a dry throat then she got up and began to saunter slowly after them she encountered the boy named fred hunter in the path and fell upon him with all the boldness of desperation she laughed with him narrowed her blue eyes in their thick black lashes at him and when he said somewhat nervously that he had been going up to the cabin to wake van whose aunt felt sure he had fallen asleep gall call said gaily that she would go too they awakened the drowsy surprised van and they all laughed together and gall call still holding firmly to the now manageable fred waited halted for van on the porch of the mens cabin she walked down to the house between the two of them disposing of vans good natured attempts to shake young mr hunter by a determined it if light hold upon the batters lat arm at dinner which began immediately she was between the two young men so far so good but it was work it was bitter hard endless work all struggle no relaxation anywhere she was conscious of carrying a heavy handicap the girls were all against her they ignored her they looked bored when she elie spoke they deliberately carried the conversation into channels where she must be ill at ease and unfamiliar gall call fought on her cheeks blazed her blue eyes shone she lost all consciousness ness of van as the man tor for whom she was beginning to care ot of the beauty of the place and the summer night of 0 the novelty of 0 dining here with these fashionable folks it was all a blur through which she was de ter term mined loed to hold her own despite them all when lenore at the end of the long meal during which they had all eaten drunk and smoked too much said gald provocatively to van something about needing him to conspire with her upon something that would surprise the others gall countered by saying baying that she and mr bunter wanted to get up a charade what they call it now Is it one of the boys said and gall joined in the loud laughter the infatuated hunter was by this time incapable of 0 tiny emotion even surprise and he and oal went down to a marble bench on the lawn where she held him as long as she could listening to his fatuous vague words and laughing and keeping him laughing as it it were the greatest fun in the world later she annexed 11 bill billings and fell into a deep toned conference with him about airmen and air records pretending to be so absorbed in the conversation that when van came to get her to lane dance sho she had bad to call a few last words ov over er her shoulder to kill bill they were dancing on a sort of platform with vines trailed up over its latticed top lot the moon shone down between the leaves the radio droned dronek and choked and droned dronek again gall call danced well and loved dancing and was happy tor for a few minutes suddenly they were all disputing its as to whether they should play bridge or go down to Mocker sons Mocker sona sons was a roadhouse over on the halfmoon day bay road sixty miles away come on lets go dance at blocker sons maybe the pl acell be ral raided deL 1 I am the captain of my fare folks I 1 am the master of my soul van observed rising with a wine glass in his hands in the fell clutch of circumstances cum stances what ayou thinus I 1 dot do dyon think I 1 wince or cry aloud I 1 dont he was hauled down well do we go to Mocker sons Ll listen sten lets not and say we didt did 1 well ill tell you yon a story 1 jim speedwell said bald unexpectedly ne he told it IL TO BE BB CONTINUED |