| Show beim IV IE S kathle kallile by 0 0 0 morris 0 KATHLEEN NORUS NORRIS SERVICE THE STORY THUS FAR shells sheila carscadden blue eyed reddish haired and 21 loses her job in new mew york by offering useful but unwelcome suggestions to her boss typically feminine she chooses choose that time lime to show her new purse which slie she bought at a secondhand second hand st tore 0 re to her cousin cecula cecilia moore the purse revives memories of 0 a boy she had met the previous summer a boy whose first name all she remembered was peter at home that evening waiting lor for her are her mother joe her brother and angela her crippled sister joe too has lost his job during the not so happy evening angela finds ends fifty dollars in a secret pocket in Sh eilas purse they are both happy at the discovery only to be dis heartened when mrs carscadden tells sheila the money must be returned to the person whose initials and street number are on the purse sheila Is going to return the money dressed in an ancient outfit then she feels the owner will reward her liberally she looks upon the esc escapade abade as a lark she feels different when she enters the magnificent home tor for the occupants prove to be the me cann family amily old friends now wealthy of Sh eilas father and there she sees peter her a acquaintance of the previous surn summer merl sheila finds that peter is judge mccanns me canns r eon both peter and his brother frank are soon to be married frank offers to take her home and peter secretly places a slip of paper in her hand the paper is a message asking her to meet peter at the library the next day against her will sheila goes to the library where she meets peter they talk and she finds that after all she does not care tor for peter preparing to leave they find the library door locked I 1 the building is closed and no one can hear their shouts escape seems impossible but peter jumps from a window and sheila follows him they are on the root roof of an a adjacent building climbing down a fire escape they enter a studio room there two men n confront them with guns and make them prisoners one of them named ken tells her she will ill be home soon but asks their names so he might wire their families that they are sate safe they are bundled into a car transferred to a truck and head tor for the gangsters hideout CHAPTER VII continued I 1 7 on and on and on the men spoke only occasionally in low tones the car never stopped every bone in Sh eilas body was jarred and aching her head was dizzy her thoughts wandered vaguely sometimes she fell into a moments doze only to be jerked awake again as the truck went over some rut or turned some corner oh my god my head peter presently whispered keep quiet sheila murmured A silence then he breathed again in a more alert tone where are we know taking us somewhere in a truck bootleggers peter whispered sh hilp hl I 1 do drink something that was fixed 1 I dont know but your breath smelled like chloroform or something A long silence this is states prison for the whole lot of em peter said viciously cious ly if we ever get out well get out all right he said he appeared to doze again and breathed heavily its states prison what it is he said rousing and speaking in an angry droning voice for heavens sake dont talk so loud 1 she became a little lighthearted light hearted in her turn it was agony to rouse herself from the stupor that was half consciousness to the full realization of pain and danger again ill never get over this its murder peter said sheila heavy against his shoulder made no answer gosh be good to get rested somewhere be awful to start in 2 she muttered when they finally did stop she could not be completely awakened she was half dragged half guided along a snowy pathy up steps across a powdered low country porch and into a house not many degrees warmer than the outer world sheila saw a clock that said half past four looming at her receding suddenly growing enormous again her eyelids hurt she turned her eyes away from a smoking lamp someone was helping her off with her wet snowy coat she cried out in sudden pain as her arms were moved her hat was off the h heaviness bavi in her head was so bad that she stumbled blindly about putting up her hand trying to rub the wet tangle of her hair away there was a bleak looking flat iron bed its mattress showing shabby and discolored under a heap of sodden comforters but it was standing still at least with a floor under it and walls steady about it and the room was not utterly cold sheila kicked off her shoes sank down drew coverings about her somebody took away the lamp waking was misery sheila had never before in her life wakened to such bewilderment and such physical discomfort at once where was she what walls were these and why was she asleep in her office dress she turned over and her da dank k sour ripping bed covers gave forth fort a sickly rancid smell she sat up p and brought her feet to the floor and d looked about her it was daytime anyway for although the old fashioned wooden shutters were closed outside the rooms four many paned windows there was light beyond rotting strips of old net hung at these windows the floor was of old poorly matched pine boards upon which some filthy odds and ends of carpet were flung at untidy angles there were some broken chairs in the room a collapsing chest of drawers lacking a foot and propped on a stout little cardboard box other furniture consisted consi sled only of her bed and two other similarly shabby iron beds with thin mattresses and foul bedding the walls were discolored and dark the old wooden doors sagged in their frames and carried white china knobs sheila had never been in a decaying old farmhouse before but she knew that she was in one now on one of the other beds peter tic me cann was heavily asleep almost completely dressed lamely slowly sheila walked over and stud aed his hushed flushed haggard sl sleeping face for a few seconds then she went cautiously and peeped through the cracked old window glass and the slits in the shutters outside was unbroken snow there was not a track upon it not another house in view A prolonged hummock might have been the fence that outlined a road she could not tell near the house she saw a barn a well sweep outhouses out houses all muffled and disguised by the white powdering of the storm great bare trees stretched their branches overhead the snow had stopped for the time being but the restless airs were clicking the tree branches and blowing the drifts about and the low leaden sky threatened to fall again the room in which she found herself was on the ground floor the tailless porch was just outside the fields and what might have been the road sloped away in a series of rounded hills below the farmhouse and beyond everything vanished gently into a general dimness of snow and cloud sheila jumped but it was only peter at her elbow where are we 1 I dont know seen anyone this morning 1 I just woke up this is a hot one said peter well I 1 know im freezing sheila said she took a pocket comb from her handbag and ran it through her thick red hair she rubbed her face with both palms ordered her dress slightly and went to the door at the back of the room look out what youre doings peter whispered sharply but sheila lied had already opened the door a crack and was peering through the room into which sheila looked was unspeakably desolate and dirty the floor littered with old newspapers the windows sealed the floor shook under her feet as she timidly ventured in it had once been a dining room it was quite unfurnished now at one end an open door led into the front room that flanked the bedroom and here sheila heard voices mumbling voices of men and from this direction came also the smell of pipes and wood smoke she turned to the back of the house and with sure instinct opened still another door and went into the kitchen it was deserted but the stove was hot and there was food sheila pushed a coffeepot forward hacked rather than cut stale slices off a round hard loaf broke eggs e if the men in the sitting room heard they did not molest her presently toast and coffee and scrambled eggs were ready she managed to extract plates cups from the incredible disorder of the kitchen peter joined her and they cleared an end of the table and sat down together and never in her life sheila thought had she tasted such food it was delicious beyond anything imaginable agi she felt that she could not get enough of the sour toasted buttered bread the hot drink the hot eggs color and courage returned with returning warmth and vitality an alarm clock set down haphazard in the general confusion said twelve peter can it be twelve he looked at his wrist stopped he said winding his watch it might be sheila half filled her cup luxuriating in comfort she went on eating without further comment the old kitchen was on a level two steps below the rest of the house it ran straight across the back of the building and had windows on both sides from these there was the same vista snow meadows leveled under blankets of white trees and the dim far perspective spec tive of horizon sky and whitened world I 1 they say to you who of d those fellers in there Nob odys spoken to me at all she said have you found out the big idea peter looked cautiously toward the front room as he spoke and sheila answered almost inaudibly we got mixed in just at the time they were afraid of something see and they dare leave us let us go for fear faur wed give thern them avav by gosh its like a play and do they get us back today 1 I dont know on the back of the stove there was a great black pot in which a colossal cut of beef wallowed in broth sheila drew it forward salvaged what potatoes she could from a dish into which spoons and apple pe elings had been thrust cut onions into the mess and set it to decent pot roast simmering CHAPTER VIII A hideous face looked into the kitchen it would have appalled her yesterday but she was warm and fed now and busy and needed and this filled the need of her womans comans heart dinner this apparition said hoarsely yep in about half an hour sheila responded briskly you tell them to wash their hands I 1 she saw the villainous face stare at her oddly the man vanished youve got a nerve peter said fearfully they might kill us for less than that oh shucks sheila said boldly give me those plates impressed peter obeyed her meekly A minute later the man called ken came into the kitchen he had evidently just arrived for his face was red with cold and his gloves and coat wet he looked curiously at outside was unbroken snow sheila and nodded to her without a smile for a full two minutes he stood warming himself by the st stove ove watching her you seem to have fitted in all right ken said he ground his cold hands together something smells good he added and then with the nearest approach to a smile she had ever seen in him 1 I hear we have to wash our hands to this sheila made no response she was embarrassed she stirred the thickening stew carefully she gathered that they liked the po and the spaghetti anyway they ate quantities of it mountains of it with all the gravy and vegetables that she could scrape up from the big baking pan in which she had served the tremendous meal they had put wine on the table peter drank some of it but sheila would not touch it the atmosphere seemed lighter somehow as they ate together she had begun to feel lame and tired and drowsy but there was no more fear it was only with a re real al effort that she roused herself afterward and began the business of clearing up to her surprise they all helped her she tore the red tablecloth into four pieces that each assistant might have his own they carried the remains of the stew into the ice cold P pantry antry piled the plates neatly drew back the chairs and one brigand secured a wisp of broom somewhere and brushed the rough old floor they re just like neely and joe she thought she could smile as she asked for a hod of coal a bucket of water there sheila said in satisfaction when all this was done she was exhausted now and drawing a deep old rocker close to the stove and catching up a coverless cover loss movie magazine that happened to be in the wood box she composed herself for a rest the men were trying to persuade peter to something peter was unwilling just going to bring some wood into the front room ken explained pla ined in his characteristically careless way go along and help them I 1 J he and sheila eleft left alone in the kitchen with the warmth and the smells of food and fire and soapsuds in the gathering dusk it was not quite half past four but the brief stormy day was closing in the man sat down lighted his pipe and stretched his legs well you got the boys tamed he said then sheila not proving responsive he ynh i 4 ori cin his bis dive in silence and the girl fell into a tired dr drra 3 ing at the fire presently he ban again so you thought my mother was dead hay no sir my little mother is very much alive ashes got chickens fines anes got a garden she drives an old ford how long since youve seen her the girl asked politely how long since ive seen my mother four years oh sheila said widening her eyes into their surprised babyish look too long without seeing your mother hay well that ken said with his patronizing complacent air what it is maybe mothers are different sheila suggested but my mother is crazy about us she was left a widow you know she had to take state help for a while but she never would give one of us up she just raised the roof when they wanted to take angela and keep her in a hospital no matter what you do my motheral mot herll make excuses tor for you once I 1 was terribly saucy to sister reginus she fell silent for a fe few minutes ken was silent too then he said in a nettled tone and what makes you think my mothers any different from yours sheila considered this well I 1 hope she is she said finally with a little laugh why do you hope she is because if she ashes worried 1 to show you how crazy she is my mother I 1 mean ken said 1 I 1 had an old hound listen he amount to a hill of beans he was just naturally an old ringer you have fed him he stopped to laugh and to remember and seemed to forget her for a minute this old wreck he begat begar again with relish would sorter hang around and finally I 1 got to calling him cap and he stayed with us he was my dog well after I 1 left home darned if my mother keep that old dog and take care of him and every time she wrote to me be how old cap was coming on and how he missed me and everything ery thing it was a riot well I 1 can tell you something about your mother then Ps sheila said briskly after a pause 1 I dont care whether it means anything to you or not but I 1 know how it is because I 1 know how we are with ma my mother goes into joe cars caddene cad dens room every night and kisses him after hes gone to bed 9 and tucks things in around his neck and shell say did you say your prayers joe and do you kou love ma joe as if he was two years old sure ken began he cleared his throat again sure all like that he said with bravado your mother sheila continued inexorably never goes into church but what she prays for you that be good and that come home some day you can bet on that every time she meets the neighbors she tells them how well youre doing every time she cooks something you used to like she thinks this is the way I 1 did it for him 1 I know I 1 tell you sheila said warming because I 1 know how ma is she wants us with her she care about anything else as long as were all home it would be a swell thing ken said in a guarded careful tone to go home to your mother without your stake and without a job you told me yesterday he said that id never make my stake at this kind of thing well maybe I 1 never will I 1 was thinking last night that even some of the old fellers even when they keep out of trouble got anything to show for it theres too |
