Show ama mn S rs CHAPTER I 1 fi with a nice sense 1 of dramatic h his 1 values the heel of brooke key rey aksu k keN burn burns s shoe turned sharply as she iran ran across the street she went aown down on one knee just as the traffic light turned green she had a con fused sense of an automobile bear ing down on her the screech of brakes of panting cars of arms lifting her to the sidewalk I 1 hurt a voice demanded I 1 1 I im ra all right really I 1 am it was my silly heel that threw me I 1 the she assured breathlessly even as she the moved her knee experimental ly it worked it wasn gasn t broken why wear such fool heels if you re not hurt why did you wince c e 10 rth t the e M man an s voice was husky his eyes had a third degree intentness which roused a little demon of op position brooke retorted crisply if you insist upon probing the secrets of my young life I 1 think I 1 ve skinned my knee she thought the man spoke as she merged in the stream of pass cs esby e by she passed the building to which she had been hurrying to keep an appointment when she crossed the street she wouldn t go in yet shed she d better wait till her still thumping heart quieted be fore she entered the offices of stew art and stewart attorneys at law she had too much pride to appear there breathless and shaken that had been a narrow escape not only for her but for the man who had snatched her from the path of that speeding car and horrible thought she t even said thank youl if only she knew who he was she could write to him but he might have been a stranger passing passin 9 through the city whom she never would see again in that case she would have to bear always this pricking sense of being ashamed of herself it would bring her sitting straight up in bed when she thought of it at night she stopped at a flower shop its color and beauty were like a sooth ing hand on her smarting con science the air had but a hint of the crispness of early october overhead a steeple clock chimed the sound reminded brooke of her engagement she winced as she moved after a furtive look about she xam med her knee skinned she had lad known it shreds of her silk stocking clung to the raw flesh she winced as her lowered skirt scraped it her unknown rescuer need not fear that she would forget that les son in a hurry she thought as she entered the office of the junior part ner of stewart and stewart where was mr jed stewart 7 there was an open book on his large flat desk the title fairly jumped at her UNDERWOOD ON WILLS brookes heart did a nose dive did that particular book on that particular desk mean that stewart and stewart were preparing to con lest test the will in which she had been named residuary legatee 9 silly she derided herself wasn gasn t the firm executor of the estate of mary amanda dane hadn haan t mr jed stewart notified her that the will had been allowed that she had acquired a fortune hadn haan t he asked her to be at his office today at four it was her late shakeup shake up and this gloomy room which had started her imagination on the rampage where it wasn gasn t knotty pine it was walled with books impressively if bound in calf from outside came faint distant noises in the corridor footsteps thudding scuffing springing past 0 the incessant clang of elevator doors inside tick tick took the wall clock marked time for the quick procession of the mm min utes and the minutes were marching along where was mr Stewart 9 was it part of legal procedure t to 0 beep keep clients in suspense 9 the secretary in the outer office had shown her into this room had said that she was expected that the junior part er was in coherence coie conference rence but would be at t liberty in a few moments restlessly she crossed to the win by emilie loring a emille emilie loring service dow she slipped behind one of the hangings to shut off the electric light in the room behind her what a roofs tiers of roofs alive aliv e with pigeons patches of bright blue broke up the pattern of gray clouds weather vanes pointed to the north innumerable wires etched gigantic cobwebs against the sky skylights shone like sheets of molten brass as they reflected the sun her eyes lingered on the roofs beneath them business units were pitched together honesty a and n d fraud virtue and vice ups and downs efficiency and stupidity am and lethargy each unit amov mg ing in its own orbit and each thin ing itself of supreme importance in the complicated pattern of the busi ness world she had been buffeting her way in it for five years miss reyburn ought to be here mark but I 1 suppose like the ma jonty of women she has no idea of the value of a man s time the annoyed comment in th room behind her snapped brool e out of her reflections how like a man to assume that she was at fault she would make a dramatic entrance and then glad she is late I 1 told you jed that I 1 didn dian t want to meet her it was a beau geste for her to off offer er me half of the money all of which 4 I 1 told you jed that I 1 didn dian it t want to meet her per 10 should be mine by inheritance ill make my getaway get away before she comes let her move into lookout house pronto I 1 in the only person in the world with the right to con test aunt mary amanda dane s will and much as I 1 would like to own the family heirlooms and add her part of the house to mine I 1 wont do that I 1 would ha hae e to prove undue influence or unsound mind wouldn t I 1 how could I 1 do that when under oath I 1 would have to acknowledge that my aunt had said she would cut me out of her will the fact that I 1 didn dian t believe she would do it wouldn t cut any ice with the court nothing doing I 1 ve had publicity enough over my domestic casualty to last the rest of my life brooke s hand dropped from the hanging that must be mark trent s deep voice tinged w with ith an ger by her did he mean her self so he thought her offer to share with him merely a beau geste should she have refused to take any of the legacy this was hardly the tactful moment to make her en trance he was going As soon a the door closed she would appear and explain to mr stewart why she had been at the window meantime she would be strictly honorable and not listen she stuffed her fin gers into her ears at the same moment on the other side of the hangings hannings hang ings jed stewart was saying 1 1 never did understand why lookout house was cut in two mark it wasn gasn t grandfather trent had two houses built exactly alike one for his daughter mary amanda and one for his son my father the other house the family called ours not satisfied with that he had them set side by side on a rocky promontory he intended them for summer homes only with doors through the library downstairs and the hall on the second floor and connecting balconies he was a glutton for balconies aunt mary amanda recently has lived there the year round 1 I inherited father fathers s house but I 1 haven t lived there since wen well for three years it has been closed 1 I haven t rented it because I 1 thought it might be unpleasant for my aunt to have strangers near when she was wheeled into the garden which serves for both places now see what she does to me she picks up this girl and later while I 1 in starting a branch office in south amer ica leaves lemes her her half of the real estate and all her money well be off I 1 have a date don t go mark I 1 asked miss reyburn to come here this after noon to tell her what financial ar range ments have been made for her but principally to get you two face to face so that we could straighten out this mess about the personal property in the house mess do you call a sound un breakable will a mess aunt mary amanda dane warned me that if I 1 married lola she would cut me off with the proverbial shilling then when my divorce became feces sary she was more opposed to it than she had been to the marriage can you beat that for inconsistency lie ie always had a hunch that the french man and wife who have worked for and worked mary aman da for years might hypnotize her into leaving all her property to them 1 I warned her against them and somehow they found out and have hated me ever since but I 1 didn dian t think she would leave it to a comparative para tive stranger in my opinion clotilde and henn henri jacques are no better than a couple of bandits they 11 bear watching I 1 don t trust the reyburn female either her fine italian hand crops up all through that will but I 1 don t like the idea of a girl living in the same house with them however shed she d ably think I 1 had an axe to grind it if I 1 warned her yellow journals and hectic fie fic tion to the contrary lawyers don t talk about the aff affairs airs of a client even to their best friend fella don t blow up like a pouter pigeon jed of course I 1 didn dian t expect you to tell me equally of course I 1 wouldn t try to upset that will my aunt aunts s high church convictions vict ions wouldn t permit her to approve of my separation from a wife who had been sordidly unfaithful I 1 thought she might soften toward me when lola married the third time but evidently not if she wanted to bequeath her house her money and her jewels to a girl she had picked up via radio okay but why didn dian t she tell me about the reyburn female why not ask me to meet her before I 1 went to south america that s what makes me suspicious the secrecy of their friendship was the girl afraid that if I 1 knew I 1 would try to influence my aunt against her if I 1 was so dense how do you suppose she got wise to mary amanda s fortune I 1 understand that she had supper and spent a night with her once a week the night the companion nurse had off she must have had a strong motive to commute 20 miles after business hours she s a fashion ad in one of the big shops isn t she yep worked up from a model mary amanda dane tuned in on the radio one morning just as brooke reyburn was giving her fashion talk she fell in love with her voice and wrote to the girl asking wh what at the well dressed invalid tied to a wheel chair was wearing miss reyburn answered with such sympathetic understanding that your aunt invited her to lookout house TO BE CONTINUED |