| Show THE 0 1 7 FT WIFE A g 0 0 0 0 RUPERT HUGHES SERVICE by 5 RUPERT HUGHES vai I 1 XII continued 13 jebbs whisper reached her she started turned saw him checked a cry with a awl swift hand to her mouth then she rose as she alone could rise like a lark came to him fleetly lithely oblivious of her unwonted costume their hands met in a fierce clutch and she dropped at his side 1 I I 1 know you at first in those clothes he could have cursed himself for such sublime inanity but her greeting was small improvement on his didden you know me I 1 you the feerst I 1 heard you we esper they stared at each other and she flushed a little deeper as she asked but you didden call me hanim effendi or madame like that you used to what it was the word you call me joost now Mi Afi ruma she closed her eyes and breathed deep as if the sound were perfume of all fates practical jokes this seemed to jebb the meanest that he should meet like this in a crowded hotel parlor and that another woman should be coming for him at any moment CHAPTER XIII rarely has a womans comans five minutes been longer than jennie lud lams rarely has it seemed shorter was saying with a childish giggle you didden know me at feerst see if you know me now and she hid the lower part of her face peering over the white white hand that mimicked a yashmak oh I 1 knew you as soon as I 1 saw those eyes jebb effendi remembers these eyes eves then they are the most wonderful eyes in the world Maz allahl A compliment youre no longer in turkey dont be afraid then he flew to safer topics but how did you ever get here and when didden you received my letters no I 1 I 1 I 1 1 I bended you twice let letters 1 he explained the trieste contre centre tempts briefly but neglected to mention the Lud lams she looked sad then I 1 deed not helped youl you I 1 hoped so much to help you you have the guzel jik the pretty leedla girl bitout mel me 1 I have not found her you deed not try the budapest place then what budapest place 1 I bended you in my letter a postcard you did not been to budapest 1 I came through there but I 1 stop except to eat only to eat bazik aman amaril alanl what a pity the child was perhaps very near you leesten beesten Le esten the day after you have goed jaffar is breena to me a picture postcard he say he find it tack up on the wall in the room of one of the other servants the man say he find it long time before in the room where jaffar baked your clothes dry dra after you first earned to my home you remember do I 1 remember jaffar say peer haps the picture is fall fail out of your pocket out and shall he burn it I 1 take it and send it to you in a letter it is in trieste now then you say it was a picture postcard I 1 yes he is a carte in in many colors a picture of a little ada how you say island and it say I 1 cannot pronounce the majar language but I 1 can spell if you have a pencil he gave her a card and his fountain pen and she wrote margit budapest who is margit I 1 wonder SI 1 I think he is the name of the island I 1 the picture is of a beautiful park and on beet is waited in a writing like the little writing you send ed to me dear mother do not worry I 1 am having a nice time here in in beautiful place pierpont do you know a man name pierpont jebb nodded impatiently was that all no then comes your loving child and then in beeg letters like a child is print them CYNTHIA C Y N T H I 1 A the name of the leedla girl yes are you remembering such a place ile he shook his head blankly 1 I 1 must go to budapest by the first train surely IU ill find the poor little waif there you are an angel to write me and now weve talked so much about my affairs teu tell me about you what brought you to vienna it was a brusque question and she answered it with a blush of meek co confusion infusion that told him more than he ha had d dared to believe she had followed him like another ruth but tell me are you did fehmi P pasha asha grant you the the falaq talaq 1 I am nob odys hanim now I 1 ILM am joost me I 1 am tree free now she was so beautiful now alone so doubly lovable here in the surroundings roun dings of civilization she would honor him and his name anywhere but he and his name would not honor her what protection could he give her when he not protect himself ile he had fought the battle through in and had chosen the honor abler course had silenced his love and fled with it that she had come up with him and that she was here at his mercy did not change his duty he was wondering how to broach the subject to jennie ludlam and her brother and the ring when he heard his name paged along the corridor he called the boy and was informed that miss ludlam was waiting for him in a lower alcove jebb answered ich komm loforti so fortl forti the boy went his way and jebb turned to find a troubled curiosity on Mi face miss ludlam is er you remember that ring I 1 had ayes yes it belonged to her but you did say you bayed it in cologne did I 1 you sayed it had no associations it and I 1 find you here you wait for her the beautiful lood lam 7 she rose and crushed the jealousy the disillusionment the shattered T it L 4 but I 1 compromised on five hundred trust back in her breast jebb rose to her side whispering hanim effen effend dim irn I 1 madame I 1 I 1 beg you I 1 can explain if you Pl please easel if you would not have me shame myself here please speak nothing let me go she hurried away as fast as she dared slipping through the crowd with a lithe panther like grace that impressed him even then he stood fast and saw her vanish and then he heard a voice back of him a sweet and womanly voice Is this dr jebb he was brought sharply to book by a gasp of surprise why its mr pierpont the card said it was dr jebb his worst fears seemed realized by the swift change from the formal greeting for dr jebb to the gush of cordiality for mr pierpont and his uneasiness was increased by the sight of what mr pierpont had affianced him to for he saw before him a short lady whom even a flatterer would call plump so this was sister jenniel jennie As he stared at her in a daze she smiled tenderly and said as she pressed his hand and keptot kept it was this one of your jokes sending up a strange name and asking for my brother was it just to surprise me Is your brother here why no hes in servia somewhere in the mountains hunting big game dont you remember my telling you in munich do you suppose that if he had been where I 1 could reach him I 1 should have accepted all that money from you N no I 1 suppose not im awfully glad to see you she pattered on do sit down and she dropped into Mi place on the divan it was awfully embarrassing rass ing to me that you should disappear so completely and leave n trace knowing nothing else to do he just shrugged his shoulders and smiled jeanw meanwhile hile sister jennie sat and purred over him like an amiable tabby with a disabled mouse between her paws As his eyes rolled distressfully he saw brother cl charlie aarlie steam into the hotel and push to the desk like a liner crowding up to a pier theres your brother now jebb e exclaimed no so it Is and she left him and made an almost un old maidenly haste catching her brother just as he was asking for her at the desk his eye fell on jebb he stopped short snorted like a bull and charged so here you are eh I 1 never expected to see you again again cried jennie youve seen him have I 1 seen him he give me the slip in munich y youve ou ve met mr pierpont before I 1 that funny 4 pierpont dr jefim I 1 dr jebb why she turned to jebb the name said jebb and I 1 got your ring away from him jennie see here it is and he fished it out he tell me how he came by it though that delicate of him and she beamed on jebb till sile she frightened him delicate Deli catel gasped charlie delicate I 1 then you really did give it to him then it is true that you sit down you old dear and ill tell you she toppled the moun mountain t am on to the wailing divan its an old story to you mr pierpont she said but you wont mind hearing it again well to begin at the beginning you see charlie you wrote me that you were going into the mountains for a month or so of hunting just after you disappeared charlie I 1 had a call for five thousand dollars more margin on my stock in the oh that awful investment you let me in for rock island you mean it you told me ine to hold for a rise well I 1 see by the paper that its up twenty nine points yes but at that time somebody attacked it and the bottom fell out for a few days I 1 had word one afternoon from my brokers in munich that if I 1 cover the drop by morning id be wiped out Is that sol so somebody was hammering ha m her I 1 suppose well whoever hamme hammered red it it hit the toboggan and I 1 stood to lose all I 1 had put up that very evening the cablegrams cable grams announced thili that my bank in new york had been looted by its president and had closed its doors I 1 found where the cashier of my munich bank lived and telephoned his house he said that my letter of credit was good for nothing unless the bank opened again I 1 was simply in despair at that moment who should come along but mr pierpont here I 1 know him and he know me but he heard me crying and said pardon me madame is there anything I 1 can do for you youit it sounded so good to hear an american voice and he spoke so gently and I 1 was so weak that I 1 just up and told him the story well what do you suppose this angel of a mr pierpont did I 1 can hear him now there there my P poor child she laughed moistly he called me his poor child when im old enough to be his mother Is but charlie was impatient go goon on what did he say he said there there my poor child it if stop crying ill give you the money I 1 said lend me twenty thousand marks me a total stranger certainly he said you are an american and I 1 said but I 1 have no security and he said youre an american as if that proved anything he listen to any argument or scruples he just asked me to excuse him while he went to his room and got at his money belt and when he came back he handed me the sum in english bank notes then he said you must have something to get along on till you hear from yo your ur brother or till your bank reopens and he actually wanted to gi give v me LIM a thousand dollars more but I 1 compromised on five hundred the next morning I 1 had the money at the brokers bright and early and I 1 made a solemn resolve that id never speculate on margins again did you keep the vow grinned charlie she pouted meekly well I 1 might have kept it if the stock gone sky rocketing up again it never rains but it pours you know and in two days that awful bank wa was s reorganized and reopened and my letter of credit was all right but when I 1 came to look for mr pierpont he had paid his bill and disappeared taking his little niece niece along with him but the ring the ring said brother charles voicing a curiosity ahat that was aching in jebbs breast how did you come to give him the ring I 1 gave you such a silly question charlie cant you see I 1 felt so ashamed of taking his money with no security that I 1 forced it on him he want to take it but I 1 made him when he learned it was worth only about half what he lent me he consented charlie rounded on jebb well why in thunder you tell me all this on the train when I 1 accused you of stealing the ring that was hi his s delicacy cant you see charlie he want to involve me charles could understand that he owed jebb a handsome apology and he put it in his own terms 1 I guess the drinks are on me old man ive made a jackass of myself and I 1 admit it it be but jebb declined to liquidate the account and then sister jennie said she must run up to her room and write him a check for twenty two thousand marks would you mind making the check payable to david jebb david jebb the na gave mt me on the train her brother put in my real name said jebb now charlie was off again but why did you call yourself pierpont pont to my sister hush charlie dont make another exhibition of yourself he was traveling very rich people often do that brother charles and jebb were such mutually discomforting companions part ions that when they were left together ludlam grew restive come on into the cafe aid and have something no thanks well will you excuse me it if I 1 do ive just got in from munich and im horribly thirsty dont let me keep you left alone jebb was overcome by this new turn of the wheel the money meant so much to him just now it meant power salvation from infinite humiliations it meant funds for the pursuit of cynthia then the luxury of being a minor croesus faded before a keen anxiety for Mi runta he must find her she must be told the news the news that solved everything he would go to the desk and send her his dis card imploring her to grant him a hearing he paused what was her name was her first name what was her last had registered she as hanim effendi or madame hanim or mme ame fehmi pasha or what TO BE CONTINUED |
