Show TANGLED r WIVES by peggy shane copyright by peggy shane CHAPTER XII continued 20 1 I felt as 1 it hat rd id be doing if I 1 married him I 1 knew george was in earnest and I 1 convince howard rocky nodded 1 I understand its just as you say to someone who wants to leave your house in a rainstorm 1 I lont dont want to give you pneumonia was that it oh yes im afraid ill never be aole able to make anyone understand about that note IT ill call up the he hospital find and get them mem to put george mortimer under arrest the wedding rehearsal was finished but most of the party were still gathered around the bishop discussing it IL rocky followed doris over the long preen green path that led to the house they came to the small side porch that belonged to beatrice and entered it through a screened door in the small sitting room inside it rocky rang up the hospital oe he got the doctor immediately rocky scowled nis his distressed eyes were on doris iles hes gone gone yes doctors a bit upset ne he put the receiver lver in its holder had a broken shoulder bone you know and a fever they told him to stay in bed lie ile drew town down the ends of his mouth stared at dorla doris with lowered head it if he gets away there may be trouble for you she was bewildered you mean they wont take my word for it 1 I dont know we must get in touch with the police where was he going toward canada I 1 think ile he came down here to find me lie ile saw the story about the arrest in the papers rocky tapped nervously on the tele phone desk Ofte ourse hes crazy she looked frightened it if I 1 marry you you wont be safe hell come at you sometime out of some bushes iier her features worked convulsively you see I 1 did kill howard I 1 ought never to have married him nonsense morbid lie he wont get me doris went to the door and looked out on the gay screen porch her eyes were blank the way howard talked rocky rose and put his arm about her but darling the pollee police are sure to get him her voice was dry constricted un til they dohe do he ind find out about us I 1 tell you hes not normal nell hell do something awful to you rocky kissed her averted head dont you worry the police will have an easy time lie ile wont know the alarm Is out for him and with his arm in a sling lie he let go of her and turned back toward tile the telephone hell be stopped at the border ile he sat down anil and put his hand on oil the he receiver but lid did cot take it up now the great thing is to get in touch with the right people if I 1 simply call for the police have the news all over the world in nv no time george ceorge mortimer will he warnel warned and then he may never be caught the big thin thins to avoid Is publicity and that ought not to be hard if lie ile did not finish his sentence be cause three newspaper reporters walked into the room they had come to write up the st gardens wedding but they knew a good story when they saw it it there was a dead moment in which doris looked at the girl reporter ex lesAy the two men reporters stood still staring one was a young blond boy in bag baggy Y gray clothes the other was shorter and older with very large cars and hair that needed cutting the girl reporter spoke first my ily G d the blond young man rubbed ills his chin with a grimy hand you youre drunk lie said or am I 1 drunk the man the big ears cars spoke with a slow new england drawl do v rou qu see what I 1 see the girl reporter smiled her nicest smile showing white teeth and crinkly blue eyes and I 1 thought I 1 was covering a society wedding 1 rocky left the telephone stand and went to doris as if to protect her she was no longer afraid she knew who she was now besides she liked the girl reporters looks she smiled at her now courageously yes im diane merrell the girl reporter sighed happily a prayer of repletion as it if she had lust just eaten the best dinner ot of her life 1 I last just cant believe it I 1 the man with the big ears cars drawled olt it looks like our big chance the blond boy clapped his hands on the shoulders of his two colleagues said itt fame a big abig chance you glitter coy boy heres where you leave the we well weil il get her away before the other guys wise up theres a t mean guy here for the AP and hell hel have this in every paper in the coun try before we can get through on long IOD distance if we arent careful ile U pushed the other man away and moed mo ed toward it let me get to that tha telephone kalb rocky held eld doris in a vise nc ile was wa beyond speech ue ile was tac me frightened oue one her face was pale and drawn but ut she ehe held it high as she said 1 I aien t shoot howard valery P the reporters paid no attention to tc her statement they were too dizzy with joy at finding her to think or ol anything else but retting getting tho the credit for their discovery before the glory ol of it was snatched by a faster thinker while they argued rocky quietly took possession of the telephone look here he be tried to intervene in the talk it was useless beside the dazzling possibility of nn an exclusive story their situation was as nothing rocky held a inn firm grip on the telephone Is there any way of making friends with you people arent you human at all it you want a story I 1 should think listen to it weve got one that will knock your eye out maybe you can help us decide what to do before anyone could answer the telephones ting ring pealed through the tiny room rocky answered are we human shouted the boy charley of course we fire are arent we offering 11 nello hello said rocky into the tele V 11 I 1 yes im dlane diane merrell phone suddenly he smiled at doris its reno yes res the rest of his words were lost in the hullabaloo made by the reporters rocky hung bung up the phone its all right its all over he said to doris A door opened on the screened porch that its the wind rocky holding his place by the telephone interrupted with some firmness before anything else happens this lady and I 1 are going to be married oil rocky yes there Is a bishop just coming in from the garden cant you hear his firm tread on the stairs have you got a license no but ill get it for you said barley hows that for friendship now let me get new york on the phone all ill say Is that diane merrell Is on her way it to give herself up to the police and will reach new york late this afternoon that v w ont give us time to get married this time every one heard the step on the porch A man sprang from behind a huge chair a dark shape looming in the doorway the face of the man in the cab showed above a white bandaged arm doris screamed youre going to marry him after every everything thlu ills eyes gleamed strangely ills his left hand held field a small revolver 1 I knew come back here I 1 knew you were crazy about that man the two men reporters stood like statues the girl sagged against the portiere and clung there rocky halt half rose from the telephone bench doris stared into the nuzzle muzzle of the wavering ive been looking tor for you tor for six weeks I 1 went to detroit after the girl that was found out there cilli calling it ng herself dlane diane merrell errell ll I 1 saw the two girls they picked up in now new york then just as id given up hopes hope his olce bolce was thick like that of a drunken man its overtones were heavy with self pity 1 I made a mistake a ble big mistake when I 1 shot howard valery I 1 should have shot myself instead myself and you doris turned terrified eyes on rocky for one short moment momert she could feel his telis tenseness eness even across the room and she knew he was going to lunge in front of her rocky would be killed that would be the second ma man n dead on her account strangely elou enough gh she felt no tear for her own safety she wanted george to shoot her it if only lie he get rocky george mortimer laughed the shrill high note of insanity you first then mei me rocky threw himself ne ile seized the shaking wrist and pointed it upward as the gun went off george mortimer fell straight back without bending rocky woke spoke out of the side of his mo month lith heres eres your real scoop lies the murderer of oward howard U valery charley had recovered some of hla his poise so we gathered from hla his general conversation what shall we do with him lies hes a looney and dangerous doris had opened the clothes closet where beatrice had locked molly a good idea it took all throe three men to lift him and put him in the closet 0 0 0 0 4 when beatrice st SL gardens wedding was over rockwell st gardens was drinking a quiet glass of 0 finein wine in the seclusion of the rose arbor alth his good friends oscar and adoree dl val beatrice had ridden safely away with the governors son most ot of the guests had gone though the bishop was still there quietly resting after his days work it was so beautiful sighed mrs alm du u val sentimentally never have hate I 1 aseen seen a wedding go 90 so smoot smoothly bly and we well really it was like a play oscar du val lifted his glass and watched the failing fading light change and deepen the color of his wine my ily only regret was that doris and rocky here ah yes said their host it was too bad she seems a very nice girl but I 1 hardly saw her when she was here she is in bad health poor girl she mrs du val leaned her fat elbows on the table and looked at st gardens yes tes she Is 19 that Is true she has not been well her cooing voice rejoiced and mourned alternately it Is a sickness we do not mind seeing a young bride having west nest ce pas st gardens lifted an eyebrow 11 1 I did not know congratulations congratulate ions mrs du val beamed happily come oscar it Is now we drink the health of your grandson that Is coming As the three lifted their glasses to drink a strange young man bounced through the gate his blond hair was wild and hla his gray suit needed ing but his blue eyes were dancing with excitement mrs du vall val 1 this Is mrs du val it in the good lady rose her eyes widening with alarm something has happened to rocky I 1 tell me I 1 can bear it nothing ties hes getting married and he be wants you to come quick st gardens rose oscar du val ran his hands excitedly through his white hair put but no it Is not possible ne ile Is married to doris 1 oh all right ile he divorced doris today ties lies marrying dlane diane I 1 merrell Mc rrell get it in his exuberance charley went so far as to give mrs du vals well cushioned ribs a poke dinne diane merrell the dlane diane Merrel Mer ll mrs du val ta gave a low scream oscar du do val caught her in his arms divorced doris she moaned why did I 1 ever give birth to such a boy I 1 we will soon stop this said oscar du val yes tes yes perhaps it Is not too late oh that poor little doris I 1 st gardens followed the du vats vals into the house meantime the bishop was being roused from his quiet meditations two insane people were pounding on his door rocky and his friend mike alike charley had got a marriage license which was now in pocket and there was a very important wedding to be performed downstairs they told the good man nis its li mercy fercy met his oh my goodness his this Is not quite in order were as disregarded as it if they had never been said but when he saw tile the two that he was to marry he be had bad nothing more to say a holy man it was his business to say whom god hath joined together so so be knew from their faces that it was all right ne he made no more inquiries lie ile prepared to do his duty but before he could begin parents came in followed by st gardens mrs du val was so relieved to see doris that she burst into tears they told me you were divorced but now I 1 see it was only a cruel joke no it a joke rocky and I 1 are getting married and we want you to we want mr air du val to give me away there was no time for many more explanations then the du vats vals watched wat clied their son being married la in a kind of stony amazement doris had bad given herself up to the tha pollee police but she had been released and george mortimer was being held so well had she been guarded by her three reporters that not a hint bint of what had happened disturbed the tha wedding rocky and doris got into their car not halt half the story had been explained to their parents but as rocky said it would take tar far too long to go into it all and as oscar du val never read the newspapers lie would not even know who dlane diane merrell was charley would explain after they were gone goodby good by goodby good by the gears slid into place and the car started down the long pine fringed way toward the cement pavement dlane diane merrell said oscar du val to himself slowly then as his son had suggested he went in the house and began to look at the newspapers the first thing that caught his eye was his own name DIVORCES SON OF OSCAR DU VAL Offe offspring pring of famous sculptor was stingy doris du val avers settlement made out of court oscar du val settled himself to read there was a good deal to explain to adoree anis and he might as well weli t begin to find out what had happ happened enod THE END andl |