OCR Text |
Show TKAILitsR GIRL By VERA BROWN Lynn tried to control her sobbing. "What shall we do?" "Get that car, hook it on and run for it." "We couldn't, they'd know and stop us!" There was no sleep for Rene that night. He could see no way out. Even the morning light brought little lit-tle help. Lynn, when she awakened awak-ened and remembered, she called out to Rene: "Did you think of anything?" ''Only of something called a shotgun shot-gun wedding!" Then on either side of that gingham ging-ham curtain they laughed hysterically. When she heard Rene talking to somebody she came to the doorway. "That your wife?" the garage man asked. "She's real pretty." Rene nodded without enthusiasm. "By George I You say you paint pictures, too? How about painting a picture of her here by the trailer? I would like it for my garage window." win-dow." Rene shrank a little. The garage he did not mind, but painting a picture pic-ture to put in the window of a country garage was something else again. "Tell you what I'll do," seeing Rene's reluctance. "I'll cut a third off your garage bill." THE STORY THUS FAR Morrow, beautiful blonde New H"5lrl is stranded in Palm Beach In YOT hnlh ng suit with only 50 cents when olover. Mrs. Helen Warren, d.s-wr d.s-wr employ nnd u.aller rom a "ppCn where she. Buddy, her son, and cl""Pv,d been living. A note from Mrs. wnn.n .dv"es Lvnn to call at her New W1 .ttorncy's office for her clothes and York" She la rescued by Terry Mc-'fi, Mc-'fi, she met at the beach. She NaTto hThome. where he has a maid g0 , lie her with some of his sister's reninl clothes. They then go to a beach e? h His sister appears and a quarrel club. His s , tha help ot a ensU hr to escape. He takes her to his SSSitt he'wenUlVes himself as Ray-h Ray-h 5 (Wild) Austin. He accuses her of ESri to blackmail him Greatly in-?sed, in-?sed, Lynn flees. Stopping at a cof-f.r cof-f.r Vhov. she meets a young artist, Bene Bouchier. who is returning to New bv trailer and oilers to take her lire They enjoy roughing it along the S'ci. finds Rene to be a decent sort 3'teUoTlynn tells Rene her story n. knows McNair and Austin as moneyed Bi.Jhovs The car breaks down. They ttTced to stay at the Lp veil farm-Sse farm-Sse during repairs, the Lovells believing be-lieving them newlyweds. 1 11 paint it. Rene s voice was sharp as he spoke. "How big do you want it?" "Pretty big like this," he said, motioning a five-foot canvas with his hands. "When can you have it done?" "Tonight, within two hours," Rene said crisply. "We're going to paint your picture pic-ture for Mr. Welks," he said to Lynn. Lynn meekly took up her pose near the door of the trailer as Rene directed. Grimly, Rene began to paint. Gradually a crowd began to gath-' gath-' er. Had Lynn not felt so sorry for ' Rene she would have liked to laugh. ' It was all so absurd. Rene painted "'""3 "The only thing left is for this darned trailer to burn down!" Rene remarked. Before they were through breakfast break-fast Lovell came to the door. He came in evidently embarrassed. ""Mrs. Lovell wants me to take you to town now to get the license."' i Lynn, pleadingly, turned toward him, "Will you give us just a little more time?" she begged. "I'll wait outside," he said firmly. As he waited on guard the girl and the man looked at each other helplessly. help-lessly. "No." "All right, then. If it makes them happy, we'll have to get married." He came over to the girl. "I swear .I'll never make any demands on you and just as soon as I get a little money I'll see you have a divorce. Nobody need know." Lynn grasped at a straw: "We'll go and get the license, Rene. Then we can stop at the telegraph office. If that money has come from Mr. Mortimer, then I'll hide some place until the bus comes along." When Lovell came back into the trailer they were both silent. "1 CHAPTER V Continued ! when Rene came 511 later Lynn was still laughing. "Wasn't it priceless?" "It was! I begin work tomorrow." "Are you serious?" "I was never more serious in my liie" He slumped on to the sofa. "Lynn, that car's a mess. Just about everything is wrong with it The last guy who tinkered with it certainly fixed it! The bill is going to be at least $40. That will take all our cash." i "Oh. Rene!" hate to get mixed up in your affairs, children, but you see Mother feels , pretty strongly." He turned severe-! severe-! ly to Rene. "She's making you marry mar-ry her for the girl's own good. My ! child, you'll be glad some day you i met us and did not go on your way in sin." Rene groaned and Lynn did not dare meet his eyes. In an hour they were ready and Lovell drove them to the County Clerk's office. Rene I was nervous and his hand shook as he signed his name, and Lynn had "Now don't worry. The old boy ! sai,j he'd give me $5 if I'd paint the garage two coats. I can do it in two 1 days." "But, Rene " "We'll manage somehow." "Rene " Lynn did not know how ! to begin. ; "I know what you're going to say. " Yes, he thought we were married, ! and' I let him think so. I never dreamed we'd be stuck here. There was nothing else to do, Lynn. They'd never understand." "I don't suppose anybody else would, either." "Of course, they would, if they 1 knew you!" Lynn then suggested she write to Mrs. Warren's lawyer 'i and ask for her money. "Maybe I should tell him to wire it? What do you think?" "It will cost money to do that, f.. but maybe it is better than being l stranded." 2; So that is the way it was left. Mortimer was to wire the money to Lynn to the Western Union office in Lu Lu, the nearest town. I a hard time to keep the tears back. ' At the telegraph office she went in and asked about a wire. The girl 4 handed it to her. It read: 1 "Report to me immediately on ar- 1 riving in New York. Will pay you then." Signed Mortimer. "I am doing this in the memory of the girl I lost." tor an hour. The picture took shape, i pretty calendar-like picture. "Can I take it tonight?" asked Welks. "It's wet, better leave it till morning. morn-ing. You can get it when you bring the car out." Gradually the crowd dispersed. It was when the two were doing the supper dishes that Mrs. Lovell exploded the bombshell. "If my daughter had lived she'd have, been about your age," she said,' and tears came to the woman's wom-an's eyes. CHAPTER VII When they got back to the farm there was a car beside the back 1 porch. "That's the parson," Lovell said. "I want to see Mrs. Lovell," Lynn said. "Let me talk to her alone." Lynn went inside the house and was introduced to the minister. The Rev. Mr. Hoffman smiled pityingly on the erring girl, and Lynn was wild with a helpless fury. The kindly kind-ly old man talked to her as you might talk to someone who was very ill, had just escaped death. - "May I see you just a moment, , Bright and early the next morn- ing Rene was up and at his paint- ing. Lynn waited until the hired f man was going to town and sent i her letter in by him to be mailed. And there was nothing to do but i for the two young people to hope for the best. Mrs. Lovell came to call j " ' on her in the morning. 1 "Why don't you folks come up to i the house and eat with us? It will save you money, and my husband " tells me you are a little hard up. P You can help me with the work." Obediently Lynn went up to the big farmhouse. That morning she helped Mrs. Lovell clean an up--, stairs bedroom. Mrs. Lovell gave I her a couple of cotton dresses, for which Lynn was' grateful, and she wore one of them to the dinner table. ta-ble. Of course, there was the dreaded conversation always. Lynn finally . told Mrs. Lovell she and Rene had ' been married in Florida. That seemed simplest. j All in all, the day went smoothly enough, although Lynn was exhaust-J exhaust-J ed when night came. She came "ij back to the trailer after dark and found Rene there, the curtain up, nti I their beds made. ,i j "Did Mr. Lovell ask you where we were married today?" Lynn called. 3. "Lord, did she ask you, too?" iii. I "I said Florida." $ ! "I said New York!" Rene !! groaned. "I'm a fool." Mrs. Lovell before " Lynn could not complete the sentence. Mrs. Lovell, kindly severe, ushered ush-ered Lynn into her austere bedroom. Lynn, her back to the closed door, was desperate. "Mrs. Lovell, you don't realize what you're doing. I don't love Rene and he doesn't love me! Please understand that." Mrs. Lovell looked horrified. "Of course he loves you, my child. I know love when I see it. When a man wipes dishes for you, that's love. Now when I was first married, mar-ried, Mr. Lovell" "Please listen to me. 1 never saw Rene before until early this week. I've known him since Monday. Mon-day. We're not sweethearts" Mrs. Lovell took off her glasses and wiped them. It was plain she was shocked beyond measure. "I'm sorry, I. didn't know. "I wanted to tell you that before you heard what I'm going to say. You and Mr. Bouchier aren't married mar-ried are you?" Lynn could find no words with which to answer. "I sensed it all along. You didn t wear a wedding ring which was funny for a bride. Mr. Lovell told me to mind my own business. But I kept thinking of Nancy, and I just couldn't bear to think of you going around the country this way." "But Mrs. Lovell, you don't understand un-derstand " "I know. I know what you re going go-ing to say, but I know best Mr. Lovell is going to speak to your-to Mr Bouchier tonight." "Oh please, Mrs. Lovell. You ve been so kind to us, I wish-" Lynn found it hard to face Mrs. Lovell s honest, sincere gaze, ine puui an was deeply hurt. "But Mrs. Lovell, Rene has been kind to me, he's taking me back to New York. You must understand our friendship is purely Plat0,nIC7Tt Mrs. Lovell held up her hand It doesn't help any to call it high fanned fan-ned names, my dear. You're too n ce a girl. Father is going to bring matmaftohis senses' Sh patted Lvnn's arm, reassuringly. He s go ingo see that Rene marries you. Aghast. Lynn turned around and St "Bui, I don't want to marry him h nlpase Mrs. Lovell! Let us ne.PThis is something you know n0.ndg mTmarried for thirty-five years? My dear girl! Come nowj Tnow you must care for him a tot-She tot-She went on and on unti in a Jl CHAPTER VI "l Lynn and Rene would not have D been so confident of their situation if they could have seen ahead. On the second day, Rene was finishing i up the paint job. f All day there was a stream of ! farmers' wives and sometimes their j husbands from neighboring farms ' who wanted to look through "Mr. and Mrs." Bouchier's trailer. Once when Lynn came into the living room unexpectedly the conversation con-versation stopped with telling sud- ! denness. She knew they had been I discussing her. I; One of the neighbors was driving into the village of Lu Lu and Lynn went along to see whether there was S5 any word yet from New York. Un- I til the moment when she walked "If that is the case, my emm, n is certainly a blessing you fell into my hands. If I had an erring daughter daugh-ter I'd want some good woman to do the same for me!" She cleared her throat. "There will come a time when you'll thank me. I am doing this in the memory of the girl I lost!" She was silent, and, to Lynn's horror, Mrs. Lovell began a prayer. . Lynn had no weapon for such simple sim-ple faith. In a daze Rene and Lynn, each equally desperate, heard the beginning begin-ning of the marriage service. In the middle of it Lynn heard Mr. Lovell whispering to his wife that he'd got a wedding ring at the lucent lu-cent store when he was in town. Two minutes later it was over and Lynn had the cheap gold ring on her lelt finger. She caught a glimpse of Rene's face and he was furious. "Kiss your wife, my son, aid the Rev. Hoffman. Rene pecked at Lynn's cheek. Mrs Lovell was crying into her rocket handkerchief. She took Lynn Into her arms and wept over her. Then the Rev. Hoffman read them a long lecture about morality. He gave Lynn the marriage cerUficate, carefully made out, with a triumphant trium-phant flourish. It was while ell this was going on that Welks drove into the yard with their car. nOBF.COSTlSLED) SP3ir XVtTaUer Ren was not down to e trader on there, and Lynn "re jt was ..My God, Ly' StP "do yOU dn,t TCo.o.thI:atyens rdVHe says he'll have the law ' if we're not married tomor-" tomor-" " Rene slumped into a chair. ""That's what he called it. 'having That s w. terrible. Swerve thfrnoney to get out ofehcre. and then this happens! I into the telegraph office she did ji not think about the complications which might arise, since she'd nat- urally given her own name to Mr. Mortimer when she wrote. But only the operator was in the place, so , Lynn did not worry. There was no message for her. d By the third day both Lynn and Rene were discouraged. The car was done, the bill would be $50. "' With what Rene had earned they J could just about pay it. But where i.Ast was money coming from for gas - and oil and food on the rest of the trip? |