Show the V D jan by 47 TEMPLE 2 MAILET W 0 PENN publishing COMPANY SERVICE CHAPTER VIII 13 continued nothing is too good for you ijane jane I 1 can t say it as I 1 want to bay say it but you 11 never know what you seemed to me on sunday as you came through the mist evans voice shook a little but he recovered himself in a moment I 1 here come the townes he rose as edith entered with young bald win after that evans followed baldy s lead as a dispenser of hospitality the two of them passed cups passed thin bread and butter passed little cakes passed lemon and cream and sugar flung conversational balls as light as feathers into the air were as baldy would have expressed it the life of the party something must have gone to casablanca casabianca s head frederick towne a remarked to jane have you ever seen him like thise years ago he was tremendous ly attractive do you find him attractive now nowa with a touch of annoyance I 1 find him wonderful her tone was defiant and I 1 ve known him all my life if you had known me all your life would you call me wonderful 7 9 she sie looked at him from behind her battlements of silver how do I 1 know people have to prove them selves dr hallam had driven mrs fol lette over he rarely did social stunts but he liked jane and he had been interested enough in ev ans to want to glimpse him in his new role strolling up to the tea table he was aware at once of a situation which might make for comedy or indeed for tragedy it was evident that towne was much attracted to blittle little jane barnes if jane bated what of young follette I 1 saw mrs laramore yester day he said abruptly lovely as ever yes of course towne wished that hallam wouldn t talk about ad I 1 alaide he wished that all of the others would go away and leave him alone with jane mrs laramore said jare un expectedly expect edl makes me think of the lady of sharllott Sh allott I 1 don t know why but I 1 do I 1 have really never seen such a beautiful woman but she doesn doean t seem real I 1 have a feeling that if anything hit her she d break like china they laughed at her and edith said adelaide will never break she 11 melt she s as soft as wax then pigeonholing mrs laramore for more vital matters uncle fred I 1 am going out to baldy s studio he s painting jane frederick was at once interested her portrait 7 no A sketch for a magazine competition baldy explained may I 1 see aa baldy yearning for solitude and edith gave reluctant consent come on everybody so everybody including dr hal lam and mrs follette made their way to the garage edith and young baldwin arrived first and this is where you work she said softly yes look here will you sit here so that I 1 can feast my eyes on you I 1 ve dreamed of you in that chair in classic costume do you know that you were made for a goddess 7 I 1 know that you are a romantic boy how old are you youa E she he asked him twenty five I 1 don t believe it I 1 m twenty two and I 1 feel a thousand years older than you I 1 you will always be ageless she laughed how old is janea twenty yet people take us for twins she doesn doean t look it and neither do you the others came in and edith went back to her thoughts he wasn gasn t too young she was glad of that the sketch of jane was on an aas el there she stood a slender figure in lr lilac frock bobbed black hair gated up eyes the lifted has bas kenith ket ke with its burden of gold and pur green greenl I 1 towne stood back and looked at it jane at his side said that s some of the fruit you sent I 1 I 1 frederick had no eyes for anything but jane in her lilac frock jove but the boy had caught the spirit of her herl he turned to baldy it is most unusual and I 1 want it sorry said baldy crisply I 1 am sending it off tomorrow how much is the prize prized two thousand dollars I 1 I 1 will write a check for that amount if you will let me have this I 1 am afraid I 1 can t mr towne why not well I 1 feel this way about it it isn t worth two thousand dollars but if I 1 win the prize it may be worth that to the magazine the ad ver vertis mg and all that isn t that splitting hairsi perhaps but it s the way I 1 feel but if you don t win the prize you wont won t have anything no and you 11 II be out two thousand dollars the lion in the zoo was snarling and above him breathing an upper air was this young eagle be glad to give the sketch to you if it comes back said baldy coolly but I 1 rather think it will stick it was in a way a dreadful moment for towne there was young baldwin sitting on the edge of the table swinging a leg debonair de fiant and edith laughing in her sleeve frederick knew that she was laughing he was as red as a turkey cock it was jane who saved him from apoplexy she was really mordi bately proud of baldy but she knew the dangers of his mood and she had her dut es as hostess baldy wants to see himself on the news stands she said sooth angly don t deprive him of that pleasure mr towne nothing of the kind jane ex claimed her brother baldy I 1 won t quarrel with you before people vie the must reserve that pleasure until we are alone I 1 in not quarrelling jane held up a protesting hand oh let s run away from him mr e I 1 N i fit she saw him presently stand ing beside baldy on the station platform towne when he begins like that there s no end to it she carried frederick back to the house and evans looking after them said vindictively to hallam old midas got his that time dr hallam chuckled you don t hate him do you youa evans don t let him have jane he isn t worth it neither am I 1 said evans but I 1 would know better how to make her happy I 1 back once more in the bright little living room towne said to jane may I 1 have another cup of tea it s cold I 1 don t care I 1 like to see you pour it with your lovely hands she spread her hands out on the shining mahogany of the tea table are they lovely nobody ever told me his hand went over hers the loveliest in the world she sat there in a moment s breathless silence then she drew her hands away touched a little bell have sophy bring us some hot water sophy came and went jane poured hot tea with flushed cheeks he took the cup when she handed it to him dear child you re not offended 7 I 1 in not a child mr towne her lashes were lowered her cheeks flushed he put his cup down and leaned towards her you are more than a child to me a beloved woman jane you t be afraid of me I 1 want you for my wife I 1 her astonished eyes elyes met his but we haven t known each other a week I 1 couldn coulden t love you more if I 1 had known you a thousand years mr towne please he was very close to her kiss me jane she held her slender figure away from him you must not I 1 must no really please she was breathing quickly please she was on her feet the tea table between them he saw his mistake forgive me her candid eyes met his mr towne would you have acted like his this with edith s friends edith s friends I 1 the child s mno inno encel cencel adelaide s kisses went for a ong eloise frankly offered hers adith was saved by only some in cr grace arace jane they are not worth your little finger I 1 put you above all on a pedestal honestly and I 1 want you to marry me 11 but I 1 don t love you IV make you I 1 have everything to give you I 1 had hea what of robin hood and Galahad 7 what of youth and youth s audacity high resolves flaming dreams she felt something of this sub consciously but she would not have been a feminine creature had she not felt the flattery of his pursuit jane make life a fairy tale we 11 travel everywhere sail sall strange seas wouldn t you love it all those countries you have never seen and just the two of us usa and all the places you have read and when we come home build you a house wherever you say with a great garden I 1 he was eloquent and the things he promised were woven into the woof of all her girlish imag imaginings I 1 ought not to listen she said tremulously but he knew that she had listened he was wise enough to leave it there he rose as he heard the others coming back will you ride with me tomorrow afternoon 7 9 don dont t be afraid of me I 1 H promise to be good sorry I 1 m to have tea in town with evans I 1 can cant t you break the engage ment I 1 don t break engagements I 1 the cock of her head was like bald baldy s CHAPTER IX janey 1 1 I 1 yes baldy I 1 jane sat up in bed dreams still in her eyes she had been late in getting to sleep there had been so much to think of fred enck erick towne s proposal the star aling change in evans it s a telegram open the door dear she caught up her dressing gown and wrapped it around her A tele gram she was with him now in the hall baldy is it judy yes she s ill asks if you can come on and look after the kiddies of course she swayed a little hold on to me a minute baldy it takes my breath away I 1 you austn t be scared old girl be all right in a mm min ute his arms were tight about her it seems as if I 1 should go too janey but you cant can t ill get things ready and ride in with you in the morning I 1 H pack my trunk if you 11 bring it down from the attic I 1 can sleep on the tram tomorrow I 1 the next morning baldy went to bring his car around and evans stood with his hand on the back of jane s chair looking down at her you U 11 write to me jane oh of course he shifted his hand from 41 the chair back to her shoulder 11 dear little girl if my blundering prayers will help you any you 11 have them she turned in her chair and looked up at him she could not speak their eyes met and once more jane had that breathless sense of flutter ing wings within her that lifted to the sun then baldy was back and the bags were ready and there was just that last hand clasp god bless you jane frederick towne was at the train he had been dismayed at the news of jane s departure do you mean that you are going to stay indefinite ly lya he had asked over the wire I 1 shall stay as long as judy needs me frederick had flowers for her books and a big box of sweets people in the pullman stared at jane in the midst of all her magnificence they stared too at towne and at briggs who rushed in at the last moment with more books from brentano edith and baldy were on the platform edith had come down with towne so frederick alone with jane said I 1 want you to think of the things we talked about yes berday please not now oh I 1 in afraid I 1 of me you austn t be not of you of everything life he took her hand and held it Is there anything else I 1 can do for you youa everything I 1 have is yours you know it if you want it he had to leave her then with a final close clasp of the hand she saw him presently standing beside baldy on the station platform the center of the eyes of everybody the great frederick towne As the city slipped away and she leaned her head against the cush ions and looked out at the flying fields it seemed a stupendous thing that a man like towne should have laid his fortune at her feet yet she had no sense of exhilaration she liked the things he had to offer yearned for them but she did not want him at her side in her sorrow her heart turned to the boy who had stumbled over the words if my blundering pray ers will help you she found herself sobbing the tle first tears she had shed since the arrival of the telegram when she reached chicago her brother in law bob heming met her judy s holding her own he said as he kissed her it was no end good of you to come janey have you a nurse nursed two day nurse and night nurse hurse and a maid judy is nearly frantic about the expense it isn t good for her either to worry that s half the trouble I 1 tried to make her get help but she wouldn t but I 1 blame myself that I 1 didn dian t insist I 1 don t blame yourself bob judy wouldn t she told me she could get along and when judy decides a thing no one can change her well times have been hard and business bad and judy knew it she s such a good sport they were in a taxi so when tears came into heming s eyes ha he made no effort to conceal them I 1 m just about all in you can t understand how much it means to me to have you here and now that I 1 am here said jane with a gallantry born of his need of her things are going to be better the apartment was simply fur dished and bore the stamp of judy s good taste A friend had taken the children out to ride so the rooms were very quiet as jane went through them judy in bed was white and thin and jane wanted to weep over her but she didn dian t you blessed old girl she said you re going to get well right away the doctor thinks I 1 may have to have an operation that s why I 1 felt I 1 must wire you judy was anxious I 1 couldn coulden t leave the ba bies with strangers and it was so important that bob should be at his work of course said jane do you think anything would have made me stay away judy gave a quick sigh of relief how heavenly to have janey and what a dear she was with her air of f conquering the world jane had always been like that with that con air it cheered one just to ook look at her TO BE CONTINUED |