Show jm jill mcfarlane whose father richrd ard disappeared in world war 1 tall falls la in love with aleut spang span gordon cordon she li Is upset to find that her brother ric has bai fallen alien in love with a divorcee ciao older than himself JIU jill Is thrown from he her r horse bone and hospitalized richard visits her mother julia and tells telli her he has hai assumed the name of captain mackay jolla determines to keep the truth troth from her br C hildren who have been r raised to regard refard chelik theli father as ai a hero fallen in battle she realize too late that the he loves love dave patterson Pat tenon in an old family friend richard tells telli RIC he be knew big father and threatens threaten sandra with exposure of in an illegal divorce it she he leave the boy alone adona CHAPTER XIV let her work this out herself argued john I 1 you cant protect her forever youve got your own problems and they julia sighed have no answers in the back of the book john I 1 blew his breath out harshly like a walrus how do you know you wont even look in the back of the book because I 1 know that what im looking for there john 1 I its locked up in my hearth heart and I 1 think my heart died long ago it was your common sense that died youre right ive never argued that you right where richard was concerned but I 1 do owe ric hie and jiu jill something if only to repay them for giving them richard for or their father the old mans eyes flashed under his stormy eyebrows you talk to jill about it you see what she says shell tell you to get a divorce in a minute 1 I cant talk to jill you know 1 I cant I 1 cant tear down what little she has of richard it would be a wicked thing to do youre taking a big risk dooley john I 1 said solemnly ive warned you but youre a stubborn woman I 1 know that fellow better than you do she knew too well the risk she took knew that undoubtedly she was being a fatuous optimist in assuming that richard would stay away now that he had made the break now that she knew that he bad not been a casualty of the war every time a car drove in at the gate her heart stopped beating every time the telephone rang when she was in the house she hurried to answer it fearing camies sly curiosity fearing revelation for JUI jill what she would do it if richard came again was a nightmare question that kept dread at her throat me like icy fingers she lay awake at night tormented by imaginary scenes J jill this Is your father he loved you and oil all of us so little that he stayed away from us and hid behind an assumed name for awen ty five years what would aills reaction be richard had that devilish engaging deadly charm would jiu jill hate her father or answering that curious attraction the impelling force that psychologists had a name for would she turn to him and despise her mother tor for thrusting him out of her life it must not happen but suppose it did happen was she being fair air to jill keeping her in ignorance unprepared defenseless de her hope was that richard would be transferred sent overseas before the great harm she feared could be done but eventually the war would end when jill Is married it wont matter so much she told herself when ric has found himself and they are both settled dave had not come again to buzzards hill since that day she had bad sobbed out her torment on his shoulder jiu jill remarked about it wrong between you and dave I 1 hope you blame dave because I 1 was so awkward I 1 stick in a saddle dont be silly of course I 1 blame dave hes probably ver very Y busy hes on the ration board and had a great deal to do lately waiting for a letter from spang they dont work nights do they 1 I suspect that they do being volunteers and having their own businesses to attend to in the daytime shall I 1 call dave and ask him to come over no dont call him dont you recall all those lectures you used to deliver to me about how much men resented 0 being called up and coaxed dont abandon your principles C now daves different hes merely an old friend jill crooked her mouth dryly youre very naive julia my love do you usually weep on the bosoms of merely old friends when your child takes a nose dive into a briar patch id have wept on any bosom that was handy then julia said with determined airiness hoping that her face burning 1 I was afraid broken arcken your back john I 1 has been doggedly carting away the rocks in the lane ever sine since be sweet to your grandia ther jill hes been badly worried about you did I 1 put that curious hunted look iri in his eyes I 1 ive been wondering just what went on here anyway while I 1 was at the hospital you and Grand grandfather fathe r both look as though seen ghosts if ric were overseas id suspect that you were hiding something aling grim from me sparing your tender weakened daughter from a shock dont don j ever do that P dooley dooley she jerked erect suddenly her eyes black wells of terror dooley it spang you hear heard d you arent hiding cometh something ing from me julia laughed and patted her cheek check no foolish woman we arent hiding anything about spang ive heard nothing from spang only what you youve ive told me 1 I thought he might have crashed and you were trying to keep me from finding out but it if a letter came tor for me ric might hear something it if a letter came lor for you I 1 should give it to you even if I 1 thought it read it and tell me what to do held bad news id give you credit for having the strength to take it youre my child jill reached up and pressed her hand you lived through it I 1 suppose I 1 could but imagining things is worse than really experiencing them it seeing ships torpedoed at sea and transport planes coming down in flames or crashing horribly it only I 1 knew some A lot of women are saying that now jill youre part of an army that needs more courage than the marines ric writes of his marriage theres another thing that tha t makes my nights hideous jill burrowed her head into the curve of her mothers arm what it if he does come through safe and then when he gets back he be want me it could happen they change war changes them julia turned to the window knowing well that an involuntary spasm had drained and tightened her face but her voice came level and quietly controlled other women have lived through that too jill 1 I id die ot of humiliation id drown myself in the cow pond where its deep and muddy oh no you hold your head high and never show how badly you were hurt and after a while love some one else some one worthy to be I 1 loved 0 ved you say that as though you meant it dorothy dix would be proud of you but you dont mean it of course no w woman 0 man could get over a thing like that she might put on a good act but she shed d never stop hurting hurling deep inside because shed given her heart away and got only a ragged wound instead if spang discards me im not going to be nobly brave im going to be tough aid md break mens hearts and laugh im going to throw away every moral scruple you watch and see if I 1 believed any of that id be alarmed but I 1 dont believe it youre my child 1 I had two parents I 1 YOU always assume that im a miniature of you dooley im not theres a desperate kind of thing in me that you dont know about S something 0 you wo u ddn t e even lve n u understand n d e t ca aills eyes eye s were e re big g in and d filled with wildness 1 I could hurt people I 1 could hurt myself the kind of mcfarlane I 1 arn am not your ur kind at all 1 I respect your individuality she said youre not a child now youre a person what you do Is your own responsibility but bius eyes had flashed awal aa to the window beyond it she could see old john 1 I trudging up the drive arfa with the mail quick Doc Dool leyl cyl her rood mood changed swiftly to one ot of arta less eagerness maybe theres letter there was no letter irom from span spa but there was a letter atom fr orn ric julia read it slowly keeping hy bet face from showing the consternation that she was feeling jill said y from ric you tell me h ats in it I 1 know please send me a little cash Y yes es its the same old thing julia eva evaded ded trying to smile try bryin to be natural jill knos yet she wanted to talk to john johnl I 1 she wanted advice she went out of c the house and walked up to the th lane gate and when john L I 1 cann caine tramping g back from the barn he saw her there sitting on the old oil mounting block her face a taut gray mask of misery what s wrong he asked heard from that fellow again I 1 thought that letter I 1 got tor for you wu was from ric it was from ric she handed him the crumpled crumpl gd page better read it john L I 1 read head it and tell me what to do the old man pulled a worn spec bacle case from his back pocket set a second pair of spectacles spectacle astride his nose he dropped dawg beside her and his ups lips moved kovei slowly as he read the letter dear dooley ric had written sorry for this abrupt letter but this Is it im taking off dont know kno where transferred to some lousy school or other very sudden K a explanation of 01 course not to in ahli army I 1 meant to try tor for a pass paa and see you myself id rather hay have told bod you this than had to write it it dooley im married ashes the sweetest loveliest girl ive ever met her name is sandra and ufa life has been hard on her but she hai bai been brave and sweet through it al ab what makes it so hard now I 1 cant take care of her or protect her I 1 cant even have her with me not till I 1 rate something better than a private I 1 cant even teed feed her and ashes my wife I 1 was wai going to bring her home but thaes out now so all I 1 can do is send her ber to you with a prayer be good to her mother ashes swell and so swell get along fine I 1 know shell wire you when to meet her tell the others hello and dont worry about me ill be all right love RIC JUIs eyes were blazing ciui face was white as a sheet john I 1 was doggedly pretending to eat hit bit supper but julia alter after putting but ter on a biscuit three times and slopping coffee on her napkin because her hands shook so had given up mamie was in and out of the swing door hearing everything jill said oh the fool the poor deluded fool julia said it if you knew about this girl jill you should have told us something might have been done to stop this mad marriage girl ashes no girl birli I 1 know its the same one and I 1 suppose its lt my fault I 1 should have told you YM but I 1 want to worry you I 1 thought ric would be shipped out and it would all blow over she must have worked fast dooley ashes a grass widow ashes years yean older than ric but you dont actually know that this is that woman jill her n name 0 is sandra ric says 1 I know sandra calvert she was married to a lieutenant colonel spang said and when he was wa sent away from ridley she stayed and got a divorce now ashes lust jusa a camp follower ashes a chemical blonde with a greedy mouth and hard eyes you arent going to let her come here this is my home its grandfathers home too even mamie has been here for years I 1 wont have it tell her the she cant do it grandfather julia said unhappily ily M please what can we do this li Is bics home too this woman li Is bics wife dooley if that woman comes into this house ill leave ii jill issues an ultimatum J julia ulla gripped her unsteady hands handi in her lap dying she was thinking would be a little like this richard her son her handsome lad the boy she had loved so much she felt as though she were sinking into a deep icy pit jill went on ruthlessly we tat have her here you know that it would be horrible she jumped up her fork clattered to the floor im going to send that creature a tele gram right now and tell her tilt she wont be welcome here I 1 suppose ashes still at that hotel mrs birs richard mcfarlane jre oh doole when I 1 think ol of a woman like that having your name I 1 could kill riel im g going 0 in g t to 0 s send e n a w wire e this s m minute i n f ed am gir a and n d n no 0 0 one n i is going i 9 to st stop 0 P me julia flew jiul not over that party line cleasel pl easel JIU jill put down the telephone dont see what difference it everybody will know itt it by tommil tomorrow anyway TO BE CONTINUED |