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Show TRAILER GIRL By VERA BROWN THE STORY Tlll'S I Alt Lvnn Morrow, bountiful blonde Now Yirk Ctrl. Is strtuuioil In Pnlm Heueh In h,'r balhlns still Willi only 50 conls when her emplovor, Mrs. Holon Watrcn, dls-Lnoeiirs dls-Lnoeiirs with ear and trallc-r from n ' camp where she. Buddy, nor son, and lvnn had been living. A note tium Mrs. Warren advises Lynn to call at her New York attorney's otlice lor her clothes and wanes She Is rescued by Terry Mc-Nair Mc-Nair whom she met at (he beach. She toes 'to his home, where he has a maid nrovlcle her with some of his stsler's evenins clothes. They then fio to a beach club His sister appears and a quarrel ensues Lvnn accepts the help o( a slranser to escape. He takes her to his home where he ldenlllies himself as Raymond Ray-mond (Wild) Austin. He accuses her of Irvine to blackmail him. Greatly Incensed In-censed Lynn flees. Stopping at a coffee cof-fee shop, she meets a young artist. Rene Bouehier, who Is returning lo New York by trailer and offers to take her there Ttiev enjoy rouiihtnK It alone; the road. SVte iinds Rene to be a decent sort ol a fellow. "Well, it was pretty tough on you. Dut lucky for me. I needed a cook!" Rene began to lnurjh: "It is funny!" "Well, it wasn't very funny to me." "I mean your being left in a bathing bath-ing suit, flat in Florida." Lynn smiled wryly: "I can't look at it that way." "I wonder why Mrs. Warren went off and left you?" "I haven't the faintest idea." Suddenly Lynn stretched out her hand and touched Rene's arm. "Maybe some day I can repay you for everything you've done for me." "Forget it." "You see. I haven't any relatives except a married sister. She is up in Bangor. She's older than I, and, well, I couldn't ask her husband to support me, too. Besides things aren't going any too well with them." "I know. My mother died last year. I kept my nose to the grindstone. grind-stone. I had her to support. Then when she was gone, I decided I'd and began rattling dishes in the galley. gal-ley. "How long before breakfast?" Rene called in a sleepy voice. "Ten minutes. Hurry!" Rene got up, called for the bathrobe, bath-robe, which Lynn threw to him over their gingham partition. "That brook's a nice place for a bath," she said. "I won't be five minutes," he promised. Rene was in great spirits. The 1 weather this morning was perfect. More like a Northern Spring. Everything Every-thing was green and fresh after the rain. He sang as he drove, and he told Lynn about his dreams. "What I want more than anything in the world is to go abroad for a year to study. I've got to get to work and make some money somehow." some-how." He lapsed into silence. "Now I better let you tell me about yourself." your-self." "I just want a job, that's all!" "What kind of a job? What's your ambition?" "Ambition for me is foolish. I CHAPTER III Continued 1 Lynn was in the driver's seat and Rene, beside her, directed, operations. opera-tions. Things went along smoothly, for Lynn took the road at a slow, even pace. Before they had gone five miles, Rene was asleep. The girl drove on until they came to a small town, and she stopped in front of the first garage. Rene awakened awak-ened with a start. Lynn smiled and urged Rene to go back into the trailer and sleep. , "I'll drive carefully, honestly I will." But Rene preferred to doze in the car. "I want to be sure we get out of Florida tonight. We'll go on and stop before dark. We've got to shop, anyway. There isn't anything to eat in the place." They picked up some groceries in a small town where they were allowed al-lowed to park on the street for ten minutes. When Rene came back with his arms full of purchases, he threw a New York paper into Lynn's lap. can t paint, i can't sing or dance, I can work with my hands, that's about all. I'm through high school and I can typewrite a little. That's the extent of my accomplishments." "Wouldn't you like to go into the movies?" "No." "What do you want?" Lynn hesitated: "What most girls want deep in their hearts, I suppose, a home, a husband and children." ' At lunch time Lynn got their food ready as Rene drove, and then they stopped on the roadside and ate it. It must have been late afternoon when they crossed into South Carolina. Caro-lina. The wind was colder, but the sun was still bright. They were discussing where they should stop for the day when the motor began to knock violently. begin lo see something of this country. coun-try. Well, I did. But I suppose I'm not much of a business man. Money just seems to go. I thought I had plenty when I came down here." Then the two went out to watch the early sunset. It set in a bank of clouds which promised rain. Lynn came in finally and washed the dishes. When Rene came in, the oil lamp was lighted and Lynn was looking again at the New York paper. She threw it down quickly when Rene came in the door. "I want to show you some of my sketches," he said, "What did you do with them?" Lynn opened one of the deep drawers under her bunk. They were piled there neatly. Rene handed her "Lord, something's wrong with this car!" Rene stopped and got out and opened the hood. Lynn smiled at his hopeless air. She could imagine what Rene would be as a mechanic. They pulled off the highway and re-connoitered. re-connoitered. There was a farm house about a quarter of a mile down the road. "Let's go down there. We can buy fresh milk, and maybe they'll have a telephone. I think we can make it." "Four days old, but we'll know what's going on in the home town!" "Home town? I came from Vermont" Ver-mont" "I'm from Ohio, myself, but I'm a New York painter just the same," he retorted. They finally halted for the night ten miles out of Kingsland, Ga. Both of them were tired, but they'd made a good day's run. Rene pulled the trailer over on a side road. "I've got steak for supper and some potatoes," pota-toes," he said. Lynn set to work, while Rene read the New York paper. He was deep in the sport page when Lynn was setting the table. She glanced over his shoulder as he read there on the settee. There was a large picture of a smiling young man receiving a golf trophy. "Oh!" Lynn cried out. startled. "That's the man!" "What man?" ' f ! 1 i , Jk- - 1 ' Vs -d Lynn thought afterward how different dif-ferent things might have been if they'd never visited the Lovell farm. When they came limping up the edge of the big farmyard, the farmer farm-er who was pumping water at the well came out to the road. "How far to town?" Rene asked. "About five miles." "Can I get you to tow me in?" Rene asked, getting out to unfasten unfas-ten his car from the trailer. The man got his own car out of the garage, and they hitched Rene's sick automobile on with a chain. "Will it be all right to leave my trailer here? We'll probably be stuck overnight" "Sure. You and your wife can stav at the house if she wants to," "The one who followed us last night" "You mean this guy?" Rene de- j manded, pointing to the picture on the sport page. Lynn nodded. ! "Listen, child, you made a mistake! mis-take! 'Wild' Austin has all the money mon-ey in the world! You should have stayed in Florida!" The picture, full of white sunlight sun-light and wind, arrested Lynn. a water color of some bathers on the beach. It was a slight thing, and until that moment it had not occurred oc-curred to Lynn to wonder whether or not Rene was a good painter. The picture arrested the girl. It was full of white sunlight, and wind. "It's good!" she exclaimed taking it nearer to the oil lamp. "Thanks." ' "Oh, I'm not much of a critic, but I've always loved pictures. Let me see some more." They spent an hour over the sketches, and then Rene declared he was tired. They had agreed on an early start in the morning. With nine hours' sleep they felt they would be ready to forge ahead through Georgia. Rene got some blankets together, to go out into the car, when Lynn looked out the door. "It's , raining hard, Rene," she ,i "T rfnn't think vou should sleep the man added. CHAPTER V Lynn, standing at the door of the trailer, heard the farmer's offer of hospitality. "Oh!" It had never occurred to Lynn that she and Rene might have to explain their unconventional but highly proper situation. Then she forced herself to prepare pre-pare supper. For Rene would be hungry when he came back. As she was lighting the stove, Mrs. Lovell, the farmer's wife, walked down through the barnyard and knocked at the door. "I thought you folks might like some fresh milk. And here are a couple of pieces of apple pie. There's just you and your husband?" hus-band?" "Yes." Lynn managed the word. "What did you say his business was?" "He's a painter." Rene looked up at Lynn speculatively. specula-tively. She had made no explanation explana-tion of the matter of the night before. be-fore. "You aren't an heiress running away, are you?" "Of course not! You saw It Happened Hap-pened One Night!' That's your trouble. trou-ble. And as for 'Wild' Austin, I hate him! I never want to hear his name again." Then Lynn had to rush and rescue the smoking steak. CHAPTER IV "The steak's swell. Best meal I've had in weeks," Rene declared as he fell to it. When they had finished and were sitting with their coffee, Lynn, her 1 elbows on the table, brushed back her hair and remarked: "Why do they call him that?" Rene, knowing quite well what she meant, said: i "Wild, Wild Austin." "Because he is, I guess," Rene said as he lighted his pipe. "He's been in a lot of scrapes. I know some woman sued him for breach of promise or something. His brother's broth-er's just like him, having a big fight I with his wife. There was a lot in 1 the papers about it before I left." "I suppose I should explain about last night" "It is not necessary." ! She told him her story. "1 know what you're thinking-three thinking-three strange young men in one day." "And such young men. That Mc-I Mc-I Kair is a big shot, too, Lynn." ' The girl's cheeks flushed, there was disbelief in Rene's cool eyes. "I'm telling you the truth. How ! did you suppose I know how to work in this trailer? I'm a house maid, I I tell you!" j Rene laughed. "Here I was mak- ing up all kinds of romantic stories about you." i "I'm sorry I'm not more excit- i ing." "Well, it did seem funny, when you told me it was that Austin chap who was chasing you. I can't understand un-derstand why you ran away." "Oh, Rene! When he accused me f being an adventuress, of wanting to sue him or something, it was too terrible. I couldn't believe he really real-ly meant it. If he hadn't been so awful, I'd never had courage to run of! with you like this." in the car tonight." "I'll be all right." "No, that is not fair. I'm crew. There are two bunks here. I saw a curtain rolled up in the clothes closet clos-et today." She went and got out some crumpled crum-pled yards of gingham. "We'll rig this up. That's what Mrs. Warren always did. It makes complete little rooms." Rene patted her arm. "Good girl! You're a real sport. I'll fix that Lynn. I'll admit I didn't relish sleeping sleep-ing in the back seat of that car. I'm dead for sleep." So that was the way it was arranged. ar-ranged. Lynn kept her bunk at the front of the trailer. Rene's was on the sofa at the dining table. Lynn folded away the table, made up his bed while he went out to check everything ev-erything for the night, to throw a piece of canvas over the motor. P i have to nurse the old wreck along," he said. "If it gets wet, we 11 never get her started." Lynn awakened first the next morning. It was a pleasant day. QuTetly she slipped out of the tra, er wearing the only bathrobe Rene possessed. There was a stream nearby and Lynn bathed her face there and dabbled her feet m the cold water. It was a lovely morning morn-ing Like Spring, but cool, for they were now farther north. With a light heart she went back to the trailer, got into her overalls, "My, that's nice. He can keep things up around the trailer. Now when Melvin tries to paint he makes such a mess of everything." Lynn did not go into details about what kind of a painter Rene was. "You folks must be just married." Lynn murmured something and she blushed violently. "Now, I won't tell a soul. I know how sensitive you honeymooners are." Lynn was about at the end of her rope when Mrs. Lovell heard a car drive in. Lynn knew from Rene's face that there was something seriously wrong with the car. "I'm afraid we'll be tied up for a day at least," he said as he came over to the trailer. "Fa, why don't you have him paint the garage that is, if they've got to stay over? He's a painter, his wife tells me." "That so? How about it, Bouehier?" Bou-ehier?" Lynn expected to hear him decline with vigor. "That's not a bad idea. How much would you figure the job worth?" he asked. "How long would it take you?" asked the farmer. "I better look it over," Rene replied, re-plied, and walked 'Over to the ga- rage" (TO BE CONTINUED) |
