Show THE LIFE OF THE PARTY PA R TY BY ELIZABETH JORDAN 0 D appleton co inc service SYNOPSIS yo young u n g rex hale calls on casper kneeland f friend of his father in new york and finds him proudly successful but strangely preoccupied lie he tells hale ot of hla his cifes death while insane invites him tor for the summer to halcyon camp hla his home on long long island and promises him he will be useful is as his secretary there CHATTER CHAPTER I 1 continued 2 this is the first american outfit ive ve had bad for severa several I 1 years hale t told old the clerk been living abroad theres a certain satisfaction in starting from the ground up the clerk agreed and led him firmly to the socks underwear and pajamas hale bought a lot of them and threw in a new dressing gown hed give his old one he decided to the chap who cleaned his boots at his modest hotel it was certainly in hand me down condition he paid the bills with undiminished cheerfulness and went to a popular restaurant at one for needed rest and refreshment the restaurant was one kneeland had recommended in the final moments of their interview he ate his excellent luncheon with open enjoyment it was great to eat well cooked food again acain A hand fell on his shoulder hello old man maxim ought to keep you here in his restaurant as a permanent exhibit you look mike like the cat that gobbled the canary 1 I feel like her so would you if you had been eating omelets and tough beef in spain I 1 got back from there yesterday so kneeland said oh you know mr kneeland rather he sent me here to look you up said he had advised you to lunch here today and he thought you would the newcomer dropped into the chair hale indicated what will you have hale asked a s ked nothing but a cordial thanks apricot brandy ive had my lunch hale summoned his waiter and ordered the liqueur he was not enthusiastic thusia over the encounter but it was pleasant to see almost any familiar face he had had to think a minute to remember who this fellow was someone he had known at chicago no at cornell yes he had him now ainsworth frederick ainsworth he looked exactly as he had looked then dark thin sleek green eyed catlike cat like sardonic on mr Kne elands mind now he asked conversationally Ain reply showed that he had changed as little in character as in appearance A good deal I 1 fancy he said lightly as he sipped his liqueur but nothing to pass on to you that is he send you any message I 1 think he told me to look you up because he wanted to get rid of me I 1 dropped into his office at twelve and he care to take me out for lunch hes been very successful hale murmured yes an odd expression fell over Ain smooth face it w was as like a dark mask settling into place he stared into the small glass he held in his hand somewhat estenta ostentatiously piously he changed the subject he tells me youre coming to halcyon camp yes im going tomorrow afternoon good im out there myself it will interest me very much ainsworth purred returning to his liqueur to see what you make of us youre in tor for some surprises that sounds rather cryptic hale smiled its a cryptic place on the surface everything is sweetness and light be charmed tomorrow night by 1 our carefree manner and our sunny faces but dont scratch the top youre apt to find some ugly crawling things underneath a queer way for a guest to talk hale said stiffly his early dislike of ainsworth was increase increasing ing with every word the fellow uttered then he pulled himself up remembering that for the moment he was the fellows host mr kneeland told me he had three house guests he went on more naturally chos there now besides you and the family only two more ainsworth ainswo rth had plainly decided not to be offended by the others criticism theres miss hosannas hosannah Hos annas friend mrs spencer forbes an ash blonde lady with a past chos the other guest doctor craig a friend of berts hes another mysterious person if you ask me but were all mysterious as ive hinted find us an interesting study in our romantic setting of sea and sky and woods halcyon camp is quite off the main arteries as I 1 suppose kneeland told you he laughed halcyon camp he quoted ironically kneeland says sayi he wants it to be a serene happy place the contrast between the camp as it really is and as aa he meant it to be is awfully funny it if he knew it I 1 he no hes too absorbed in his own big problem hes an unhappy man and with good reason but he wants everyone around him to be contented he has always seen himself as a benevolent god in the machine working his miracles to benefit others it is to laughl laugh hale moved abruptly in his chair and ainsworth took the hint he had finished his liqueur he got up ill be off now he said see you at halcyon camp shall I 1 tell miss hosanna join our happy band in time for dinner tomorrow night yes thanks the dinner hour is halt half past seven and the run down takes almost two hours better come on the half past four train 1 I will thanks again they shook hands and with a strong sensation of relief hale watched Ain departure he ho he wants a new car mrs nash explained when she had returned to her scat after the jerk he thinks it if he wrecks this hell have one you wont darling she assured the boy ive often reminded you that my annuity dies with me have to go right to work probably on a truck and darling please dont turn to point out the beauties of nature to us when youre driving at this speed theres no sight more beautiful to me than a young driver who keeps his hands firmly on the wheel and his eyes on the road the cub turned and waved a careless paw he was lightly clad in a low necked khaki shirt khaki shorts and a pair of dirty white tennis shoes he had a brown skin brown hair and brown eyes mrs nash turned her full attention to hale and gave him a few details about the neighborhood very casual at halcyon camp she told him when she 11 1 az 15 57 it was a long time since he had experienced a hunch so definite and disturbing told himself irritably that the fellow had pricked his balloon and the next instant reproached himself for being so susceptible to the mans influence hale finished his shopping and saw an amusing play that night it diverted him even more suc successfully cess fully than the shopping had done he took a calm mind to bed with him and into dreamland but his dreams were troubled kneeland had told him to leave the train at a certain station adding that it was three miles from the camp and that probably he would not be met hale left the train at that station shortly after six the next evening and was not surprised to find no one in sight who seemed to be looking for a red redheaded headed stranger it was a lonely little station and only one passenger had got off of with him this was a slight woman coolly dressed in blue voile she had bent a furrowed brow over a notebook note book during most of her journey she seemed to be unsuccessfully adding columns 0 of f figures that annoyed her A small sedan car with a youth at the wheel was waiting for her on her way to it she heard hale question the station agent who stood on the platform as to t the he direction of halcyon camp she turned and came toward him she was a woman in her forties with prematurely white hair a youngish face and a worldly smile you must be the young man miss kneeland is expecting today she said cheerfully anyone met you hale jerked off his hat and returned her smile with warmth he liked her on the instant no but it far to the camp ill enjoy the walk you wont enjoy three miles of it with all that luggage put it in my car and ill take you to the edge of the camp clearing I 1 dont like the road that leads to halcyon camp itself I 1 can drop you when we come to that road within a quarter of a mile from the house awfully good of you my name is hale 1 I know youre the young engineer who has just got back from spain miss kneeland told me about you last night im mrs wilbur nash one of her neighbors this Is is my son wilbur better known in the neighborhood as the nash cub hale had put his luggage into the car now he got in himself and took the seat mrs nash indicated beside her the boy started the car with a jerk that lifted his passengers from their seats and sent it along the narrow rutted country road at almost 50 miles an hour reached that point of interest it never occurs to them to meet guests or to get them to trains for that matter time means nothing to them and no specters re rs of persons mr kneeland talks about living close to the soil he lets his guests do it but he makes himself thoroughly comfortable you wont catch him ploughing sloughing hing through the underbrush and along muddy country roads to the camp miss hosanna and joan do it half the time mr kneeland keeps his car for his own journeys back and forth bert has a four wheel wreck that he disappears in every day when he off in his motorboat motor boat here we are sorry I 1 cant take you to the door follow those excavations at the right they represent a road hale thanked her and jumped out of the sedan he grasped the bags and his hatbox hat box and started off along the branch road that ran at an angle to the so called highway at a rather unexpected turn in the road he saw the camp he stopped put down his luggage and looked it over it was not a camp or a bungalow but a big mid victorian house set in a wide clearing seen at that short distance it had something of the effect of a brooding gray hen with outspread ad wings crouched close to the earth and aad un im willing to be approached or disturbed it spread over a lot of ground A large screened in veranda ran along the entire front of the frame building another extended along the right side french windows opened on these there were a number of out buildings several tents were set up on pine board foundations and entered by roughly built steps there was an impressive outdoor oven for camp cooking down on the beach he saw what were evidently private bath houses a boathouse boat house and a pier A good sized float loomed up some distance from the shore yet with all this halcyon camp did not suggest a hospitable home throughout his life hale had been subject to what for lack of a better word he called hunches his hunches were sudden and strong convictions without understanding them he had developed a certain respect for them he had a hunch now and he did not like it hale straightened drew a quick breath and picked up his luggage it was a long time since he had experienced ced ed a hunch so definite and so disturbing he approached the strangely silent house there must be a number of human beings in and around it but not a sound suggested their presence many of the windows were open and their chintz curtains billowed in the breeze not a voice was heard not a note of mu music sic i came out to him not a dog bark barked ed one would think have dogs in a place like this if they had the dogs were inside hidden like the humans hale strode up the wide ste steps PS leading to the front veranda passed through the screen door reached the double front doors and pressed a compelling finger against an electric button on a side panel light steps came along the inner hall and the right hand door swung open A young and pretty girl in a maids uniform gave him a welcoming smile and stood as aside id e to let him pass even before he spoke she was so pleasant to look at so matter of factly reassuring that the newcomer experienced an absurd sense of relief he smiled at her as at a familiar friend TO BE CONTINUED |