Show tn sw n aw u 0 M n WON M U k b by BEN AMES WILLIAMS copyright SERVICE CHAPTER IX continued 9 see lots more with me clint promised this is a bum one really and he urged lets start home we can drive slowly ard be together without so many people round unless you want to see the rest of this june a little reluctantly professed a complete lack of interest in the film yet she looked back wistfully as they went up the aisle upon their arrival she had not removed her coat till they reached their seats but now in the lobby she expected some word from him about her new gown when he said nothing merely offered to help her into her coat she protested you noticed my dress dont you think its nice clint stood back to survey her chuckling sure grand he declared he came close to her again but what you wear make any difference to me june asa gave it to me asa clint echoed frowning faintly why she slipped her arms into ithe the sleeves of the coat he held he told me to wear it to catch a young maril man she confessed laughing up at him over her shoulder he knows about you and me clint chuckled with pleasure it will be my turn to buy pretty things for you soon he said happily and her hand tightened on his arm as they went out to the car they drove slowly clint clinging to this hour and when they came in front of the great sprawling house at last he stopped and turned off the lights and said urgently lets sit here a few minutes you dont have to go right in 1 I must soon she urged yet rn made ade no move to leave they found no great need of words they were snug in the car the windows raised against the rain there was a light in the rear part of the taine house and june said wa with th a ripple of mirth in her tones uncle justus is still asleep in his chair if no one wakes him up he may sleep there all night Is that his room clint asked surprised no hes in the kitchen her tone was mirthful he likes to warm his feet in the oven door chos sitting up over there he asked nodding in the other direction aunt evie and asa are staying with grandma bowdon she explained pla ined rab had to go to providence they felt rather than heard a low rumble of sound and clint said hullo that was thunder I 1 see a flash 1 I did out of the corner of my eye she told him off of through the woods that way she p pointed hinted past the houses and she said and he heard her voice shake we had a thundershower thunder shower the night mother died A terrible one and she added uncle justus has turned out his light the thunder must have wakened him clint saw that the taine house was indeed dark now and then june cried a sudden tension in her tones clint look what he asked surprised and he stared past her there was a faint brightness in the shape of a rectangle against the front of the hurder house the brightness assumed color and clint reached across the girl to lower the window so that he might see more clearly that rectangle identified itself as the open front door of the house outlined in red and suddenly this dull red became bright they saw the flicker of a flame they scrambled out together they started to race across the lawn As they did so a car passed along the road behind them and clint turned back and shouted hey fire ring in an alarm he saw the driver dimly saw the mans head nod then he ran after june toward the house toward that front door through which billows of smoke began to pour he caught her on the steps caught her fast for she would have gone headlong in and she was crying grandval Grand pal Grand grandma mal when clint held her she swung to him in terror beseeching him in there clint oh quick dearl CHAPTER X miss moss had never seen june leaford and as she watched clints clients increasing devotion to the girl during the fortnight after mrs leaford died this fact sometimes disturbed her she said to tope one evening ive been asking about her here and there you know lissa thayer ive spoken to you about her 1 I know her yes tope assented lissa and I 1 have become almost friends miss moss explained she knows about clint and june he often leaves his car there when he goes in to the cabin and asa and rab a buy uy gas there for their car she says rab is unpleasantly fa sometimes too friendly offensive she say much about asa but I 1 think she knows him rather well tope reminded her asa went to see her the morning after mrs leaford died remember we met him in the woods and you saw him down there 1 I remember miss moss agreed it seem to me she was g glad 1 ad to see him that day you know ive been trying to guess who will inherit the bowdon fortune now that mr bowdon is dead and mr hur ders money when he dies mrs leaford would have been mr hur ders heir you know inspector tope stared at her you could a kangaroo mrs tope he said in a deep admiration mi ration youre three lumps at ahead I 1 ead of me he rose youve given me enough to think about to keep me awake he said and I 1 had as much as I 1 could sta stand nd already lets go to bed hours later however something disturbed miss moss her eyes opened and she lay listening inspector tope here in the bed beside lodtz il 77 1177 I 1 ar and then asa came her was sleeping then she heard again the sound which had roused her a moment ago it was the doorbell ringing in a long peal shrill and imperious in a swift haste she snapped on the shaded light beside her bed and found dressing gown and slippers then the doorbell rang again and inspector tope woke and asked the matter someone at the door she said softly she went out along the hall to the living room and he heard ard the inspector bestir himself behind her I 1 but she did not wait for him she came to the front door and opened it and she uttered a low ejaculation of surprise and of dismay for clint stood thera there with a girl in the circle of his arm and they were both smoke begrimed their faces booted and dirty and streaked with water also clints clients forehead was red and inflamed in a streak across above his eyes and his eyebrows were singed and she saw in that first glance an angry blister on the back of his right hand he said grimly miss moss heres my june ive brought her homel home youre hurt miss moss cried she remembered to welcome the girl too come in both of you miss leaford june whispered his hands are burned I 1 wanted him to stop and get them fixed but he oh take care of him tope uttered a low ejaculation he stood blinking in the light there was a moments silence and then clint his arm still encircling june added slowly mr and mrs hurder we got them out but miss moss saw june shudder and tremble and she spoke commandingly come in 1 I she directed and as they obeyed she shut the door behind them miss leaford are you hurt too she asked no no june told her you must fix clint im all right miss moss nodded dont try to talk she insisted clint sit down miss leaford come help me soda I 1 think is as good as anything he needs to be cleaned up too and want to wash your face I 1 expect 1 I dont matter june said but clients dints burned terribly clint protested with wry smile now sweet its just this blister on my hand nothing at all they found in the end that he had in fact suffered no more than minor burns on his hands and wrists and that flame stroke on his brow 1 I wrapped a wet handkerchief across my mouth he explained to keep the smoke out had my hat on and that helped too miss moss said cheerfully youve no more eyebrows now than a baby clint and not much in the way of eyelashes she was I 1 busy tending him clint whispered through s set e t teeth a lot more comfortable miss moss ached for him he grinned at june said then to the older woman this sweet kid has come to live with you for a while miss moss it wont be long just till she comes to live with me miss moss looked at june and saw in the girls eyes something like a plea pica for forgiveness and june said softly hes talked so much about you I 1 know you must be hating me miss moss smiled fondly no dear she said gently no im glad for both of you inspector tope chuckled well now all settled to the satisfaction of the he suggested how about me miss leaford do you mind if i I 1 ask what happened you mind telling me june shook her head no she said in a dull tone no id rather talk I 1 think than not she made an uncertain gesture im I 1 feel as though I 1 were walking in my sleep she confessed it seem real to me miss moss said briskly well have a cup of chocolate all feel better june come help me will you she led the girl toward the kitchen called over her shoulder inspector tope let clint rest till we come back I 1 want to hear but clint said 1 I dont want to rest his tone suddenly was grim lets go with them inspector he suggested and miss moss saw them come on her heels in the little kitchen while she was busy about the electric stove clint sat on the sink and drew ju june e close beside him and these two told what there was to tell id taken june to see a picture clint explained but the picture seem to mean much to us so we left early drove back to her house and parked outside for a little while we sat there talking awhile and then she saw that the house was on fire tope nodded and june explained 1 I must have left the front door open when I 1 came out or else elbe I 1 latch it and it blew open because we saw the flames in the front hall and clint continued so we started to run toward the house A car passed and I 1 shouted to the driver to ring in an alarm by that time june was on the froni front steps I 1 caught her just in time she was going in the smoke was pouring out of the door and there were flames inside but she told me mr and mrs hurder were in there he held june closer and she watched him with wide eyes it was raining he explained 1 I wet my handkerchief in the rain and wrapped it over my mouth and started to crawl in the hall but the smoke drove me back and then june said they slept in the wing on the ground floor so we ran around the house to the windows of their room he hesitated then went on the windows were shut and the curtains were drawn but some of the curtains were on fire the windows were all shut tight I 1 managed to climb up and break the glass with my pocketknife pocket knife for a hammer I 1 reached in and sprung the catch and pushed the window open I 1 guess when I 1 burned this hand because when I 1 opened the window a gush of flame came out in my face and I 1 let go all holds and fell he looked at june 1 I tell fell on her he said she was right under me I 1 fell on top of her it hurt june insisted so we tried to get in through the bathroom clint explained there any fire in there so I 1 got that window up and climbed in but when I 1 opened the door into their room it was all on fire inside fire was spouting out of the wall right beside the bathroom door the laundry chute is there june interrupted and it was roaring in the cellar clint confessed 1 I could feel it hot under my feet the smoke was pretty bad then a piece of the floor in front of me burned through and then the flames licked up at me and I 1 had to back out and shut the bathroom door but you said you got them out tope reminded him mr and mrs hurder im coming to that clint explained pla ined we tried another window right beside their beds I 1 smashed it open and smoke poured out but no flames so I 1 straddled I 1 the sill and my foot hit their bed inside he spoke rapidly his eyes fixed straight ahead 1 I felt someone and I 1 dragged mrs hurder up and lowered her out of the window to june and then him the bed was all afire little flames and he said looking at the girl beside him they burned much I 1 dont think we were just in in time the fire spread awfully fast inspector tope suggested fire department must have been there by then clint shook his head no they we terenti renti tl they get there till after mrs taine did not till after asa did as a matter of fact june and I 1 had been pretty busy but it must have been quite a while miss moss echoed mrs taine you see clint explained mrs taine and asa were sta staying ying with mrs bowdon last night mrs taine said they hear anything till their lights went out and she went to look at the fuses and saw the fire through the pantry window she came running over just about the time we got the old people out and then asa came he and I 1 carried them into the bowdon house out of the rain and mrs taine and june started taking care of them but june came out again when I 1 did were they dressed tope asked mrs taine and asa oh yes clint said casually and he went on by the time the fire engines came one wing was all afire and the other was well started and they get the plug off the hydrant right away theres only one hydrant and that was three or four hundred yards down the hill the whole thing went before they got it checked at all burn to the ground the floors fell in clint assented and part of the roof I 1 dont know maybe the walls go 90 junes eyes were closed and miss moss tried to sign to inspector tope to be still but he asked insistently what about the others mr taine and rab where were they 9 it was june who answered answered rab had gone to providence rig right ht after supper she said he had a case in court there tomorrow morning and uncle justus is deaf he hear bear anything she remembered we saw him turn out his light to go to bed just before we saw the fire saw him tope echoed saw his light go out june amended in the kitchen he liked to go to sleep in his chair after supper and sometimes he wake up at all but we saw his light go out TO BE CONTINUED |