| Show Bright BrightStar Star StarBy B By y yI I Tar l Mary Schumann Copyright by M Macrae crne Smith Co Service CHAPTER VII VII Continued Continued 15 15 Not tonight I wont won't let you I cant can't stay here Yes you ca can Let us talk things over quietly quietly decide decide what is best to be done Best to be done What w WS s best to be done Its so late where late where will you go Get your mother up at this hour or a hotel Publish th tha whole thing The roots of habit and of home are mighty in their strength sturdy in resisting an attempt to break away But he could not occupy the bed so close to her knowing knowing knowing- His mother What explanation could he offer It would have to be a hotel I He reached for the knob of the door behind her back But she had read his wavering of a second The other room H the agh-the the guest room You can sleep there Sleep She thought he could sleep At length he gave an unwilling unwilling unwilling un un- willing gesture of assent Dorrie hurried in to turn on the lights remove remove remove re re- re- re move the silken She hated hated hated hat hat- ed the idea of change he thought wanted to go on without definitely facing the issue Something would have to be done What he What he did not know Perhaps the morrow would bring brine some clarity D Dorrie rrie turned at t the door before leaving Does Docs Joan know He nodded She does She bit her lip Then I suppose she told you He did not answer She said with a curious venom Im sure she did did and and it was pretty pretty pretty pret pret- ty mean of her when she knew how it would hurt you Hugh stared at her Her door closed The darkness folded the room round an aching evil darkness An iron band tightened around Hughs Hugh's skull and his mouth seemed filled with the taste of brass The second second second sec sec- ond time that night that taste Odd thing He had never had it before I His heart pounded until his chest ached and his nerves were as tense as fiddle strings Over and over the scenes the words repeated themselves themselves Joan Joan Dorrie and Cum Cun Dorrie They would not let him alone And each time the act was played he became aware of sinister implications implications implications ghastly ogre faces that leered and mocked at him suggested suggested suggested sug sug- details whispered Dont you remember that time time time- Joan had said they dont don't care rny more Then she meant that others must know and he like the fool Cool in the snickering fable was the thelast thelast thelast last to learn what was going on under his own roof Then like an imperious flood it came over him distaste and longing longing longing long long- ing mingled in its waves his des desire desire de de- s sire re for this woman who had betrayed betrayed betrayed be be- him for the sweet dear flesh which had seemed so inalienably inalienably inalienably inalien inalien- ably his own He despised himself himself himself him him- self for his passion but he could not quell it or master it At length the chattering of robins robins robins rob rob- ins and sparrows the crescendo 1 d d e 4 i minuen o o U passing p Ul cars the sound of the maid going out outto outto outto to early church warned him that no matter how calamitous he must take up the burden of the day Dorrie had loved Hugh when she married him but she had never been in love with him He offered a mode of life much pleasanter and more dignified than her wanderings wanderings wanderings wander wander- ings with her mother before she met Hugh Her marriage pleased her at first She rejoiced in the background background background back back- ground of the Marsh family in Corinth Corinth Corinth Cor Cor- faintly boasted of it in letters letters letters let let- to friends liked the novelty of having a home of her own and an indulgent husband who could not do enough for her Later when she became bored with the conventionalities conventionalities conventionalities convention convention- of Corinth which was so much like the Harrisville of her youth she sho sternly told herself she was lucky lucky lucky that Hugh was far too gOI for her puzzled her at first She was not the traditional mother-in- mother law Could anyone so generous so wisely kind so free from envy or criticism exist She suspected a pose at first but came to recognize recognize recognize nize that the circumstances of Fluvanna's Fluvanna's Flu- Flu vannas vanna's life had left her beautifully beautiful beautiful- ly self-contained self instead of bitter and broken Dorrie who had expected expected expected ex ex- ex- ex to patronize or be patronized patronized patronized patron patron- looked up to her wanted her approval praise and did little unexpected unexpected unexpected un un- expected kindnesses now and then to deserve it When she met the Whitneys she had found in them a congenial couple coule cou- cou ole le for bridge conversation or an outing Joan was clever Cun a aLively Lively avely companion Cun cOl couldn't talk of books or plays or music and md swept away the idea of their having significance for anyone else with a magnificent ridicule This amused her for she knew it came from his naive desire to have the world he knew that knew that of virility of smart achievements in salesmanship salesmanship salesmanship sales sales- manship of golf of success in a material way way supreme supreme before the world of the intellect Cun was always decorous in his manner toward her but secretly she recognized a quality that moved her Youre my own kind Coul had said to her roughly rough- rough ly ly the last time she saw him You cant can't get away away from it for all your airs I You understand me because youre you're like me met mel He had seized and kissed her until she pushed him away filled with loathing loathing loathing loath loath- ing and fascination One December day Cun had dropped by with a silver tray which Joan had borrowed and lingered to talk by the crackling fire Outside Outside Outside Out Out- side it was a gloomy menacing day and it had seemed magically warm and cosy in the dim room The talk slipped into easy rhythm and laughter harmless talk of cars carsa a and d hunting trips and the merits of various bridge systems Then rhen a silence fell and something fluid and stealing passed between them She looked at him and he was smiling at her She recognized the light I g I t 6 1 yr r p i S Not Tonight I Wont Won't Let You in his eyes and dropped her own A disturbance urgent as the vibration vibration vibration tion from a humming wire ran up the inner part of her arm She took the hearth broom and swept sweptback sweptback sweptback back some ashes averting her face Cun rose to go extended his hand Good by nice of you to be home it Im I'm that way way nice nice she said carelessly He kissed her It was not the hasty self-conscious self kiss of a bumpkin bumpkin bumpkin bump bump- kin yielding to a furtive desire but a deftly slow meeting of his lips with hers They had both laughed with soft and self excuse understanding a kiss what kiss what was a kis kiss between friends She rebuked herself afterward afterward afterward aft aft- erward for her response But she found herself looking forward to the next meeting with a reluctant excitement He HF Hp brought h her r an nn illustrated d n 0 weekly The others were near by This is the advertisement I told you about Pretty clever eh Then in a tone low enough for only I her to hear What you do to me is worse than a bank failure I IVery Very clever clever clever-ad ad She hummed and moved away She snubbed him several times after that and felt very moral about it But with Cun in his place life lost a certain certain certain tain zest She was in a dull mood that Jan Jan- 3 1 11 Cun uary da dahow hen vuu ca led Hello how do you like this blizzard I Dont Don't you need a n man who is out- out work of-work to clean off your sidewalks sidewalks sidewalks side side- walks Then in a lower voice Please let me come over and talk talka a while Joan went down town and Im I'm as lonesome as the last passenger pigeon I She gave her consent After all it was a kind thing to do even do-even even Hugh would approve Cun was feeling feeling feeling feel feel- ing down No job poor job poor fellow These were the excuses her conscious conscious conscious con- con mind gave while the inner I mind sent her upstairs to change her dress spray her hair with perfume perfume perfume per per- fume in riotous excitement Cun you mustn't sit on the arm of my chair Sit over there where you belong belong across across from me Ill I'll make you shovel snow if you dont don't behave I know w my hair is pretty and I know Im I'm beautiful Ive I've been told it a hundred hundred hundred hun hun- dred times Now are you going going going go go- ing to be sensible sensible good good friends friends- or shall we have to stop seeing each other altogether Please dont don't I hate to be touched Im I'm not seductive This old dress Just an afternoon thing which you said you liked once But I didn't put it on for you Why do you say that Arent Aren't you taking a great deal for granted grant grant- ed All weak defenses Words which did not deceive him for her tone did not match her sentences He knew he was evoking a response response response re re- re- re in her read it in the slurred uneasiness of her voice in the deep sparkle of her ey eyes s. s It was was' a game which he had played many times before but never for such quarry TO DE CONTINUED |
