Show 0 1 HARRY PUI MC all ir maguire Is wife or 01 nappy go mike editor and mayor ot of cov luco y inthea eliom born banker mays la Is trying to to in for or criticizing his banking meth slie she is 1 the mother of four children tom rom whose real estate job peters out in i a bigger blee city y but hose wife mary SIU its refuses to give up her secretary ollow follow him to the smaller town iab 11 orce is impending 0 CHAPTER clupter continued but she cant have gone I 1 tell you she has nowhere to go said abc his face very white IC kathleen ahleen shrugged her shoulders sie she was the last down to breakfast she flourished a small folded piece of paper alee alec reached out his hand but ij kathleen shook her head its addressed to laura aloes black eyes watched fever ashly while his mother read the lines which aich lou had written in a small cramped painstaking hand well he demanded sharply she says that she thanks us for tl all our kindness but she cant impose pa e on us any longer tike mike swore under his breath toor poor little devil he said 1 I daresay she felt as uncomfortable as a weed at an orchid show his younger son glared at him PL listen Iten he cried fiercely maybe she never went to finishing school probably she always know which fork to use but ashes instinctively a lady that kid ive net inet a raft of girls id die before id bring brine home to mother but his voice broke lou one of them ap alee alec began laura cimpl imploringly oring but alee alec had slammed the door behind him dowiel Zo wiel cried kathleen Is our little brother sore or is he 1 I must find that child if any of us are to live with alee alec laura said laid CHAPTER the telephone rang eight times before laura finished the dishes it was mostly friends and acquaintances calling to tut tut about shirley about nine mike rang up he had bad learned that a brief memorial service was to be held for pete knight at nine thirty in the old mission church near the railroad shops mike hike himself was in conference and could not attend but he thought laura might like to she did lou was certain to be there no matter where she had taken refuge to save time laura got out the family sedan but two blocks from the house the old motor wheezed choked and died the gas feed was topped stopped up laura wasted precious minutes because sometimes you could unscrew the bottom of the vacuum tank and blow through it and all was well but not this mom morning by the time ime she gave up the struggle and called a taxi it was a quarter to ten she had hopes however of arriving before the church was vas quite emptied and did but there had been only a handful present and these scattered quickly although laura waited outside she taw law nothing of lou alee alec did not appear when laura called the grocery store she discovered that her son had not shown up for work that day so much for alecs glowing promises of the night nigh t before laura could have wept 1 I must find lou laura told herself but she find her or any trace teace of her and alee alec did not come home come to dinner or telephone it grew steadily later and no alee alec he had never stayed out all night before but day had broken and a blocking bird was singing outside lauras window before she heard alees alecs step coming on tiptoe up the stairs airs tt laura got softly out of bed and d met him outside his door alee alec darling ive been so wor tied there were tears in her voice sorry he said stiffly I 1 tried to find lou for you lie he shrugged his shoulders forget it she be happy here we I 1 realize that now he turned away and laura went 11 back down the hall 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 on the last saturday in june laura 11 aguire decided to run up to the city ty for various and sundry reas reasons ons roe of 0 them pleasant it had been 1 month since shirleys shirleye Shir leys marriage W squalliest squal liest month laura had ev ever er experienced Penen ced nothing went right 1 l depressing monotony to 14 the first place mike continued trades tirades against banker mays and B latter retaliated with t telling elling force i every time the clarion pub ched wed a thrust at the financier both circulation and advertising accounts felt the shock then there was as kathleen going ry where with young gene mays end apparently delighted with his Dur pursuit suit about alee alec she had even less rean 1011 to feel happy alee alec had de loped ped into a deep dark secret and laura ma was afraid to probe into the complexities ot of his behavior he alid cutely mutely lu tely kept his own counsel for ways ya that t were re weird he ad lit ly developed aped a maddening t he ae had not stayed out all night j tact fact h he e was usually home jn mile 1 although he never lingered downstairs but stairs to vis visit it with the others went straight to his room he as I 1 ose gone every ery morning moning when laura van without breakfast lie he said vaguely K that he was dieting dieling to pre ma girlish figure he also SIXTEEN the story so sc ment fytch clerk alec and after at running last A long with liege ak job of as a grocery around with a divorcee he H had brought flashy the e town drunks 1 lou knight ath daughter I to his h arnoth ers home when aher her father died resau ing a crippled boy in a fire shirley at last married to jaird new um surn though ma htay wanted him I 1 0 jearry marry connie mays may the bankers banker daugh dah said d to expect him 0 pa at table when wh they saw him and that was seldom enough to worry laura to the point of tears but on this sultry june morning it was about torn tom lauras concern was chiefly exercised tom had been home a month doggedly working away in colonel shoups office making progress slowly but steadily steadily and looking more drawn and haggard every day laura had decided to take the bus to the city it was cheaper than the me tram train and money was becoming distressingly scarce in her establishment lish ment with mikes business steadily submerging that was partly lauras errand in town sometimes in in a pinch she took orders from a womans comans exchange tor for home canned fruits and vegetables it pay a lot and was hot tedious work but laura had on other biffi cult occasions collected several odd dollars that helped to turn a hard corner on the way out of town the bus passed what had formerly been joes place now christened the oak tree laura grinned to herself shirley was the only comfortable spot on her mothers horizon the town had nearly burst its side with derisive laughter when shirley and jaird took on the hamburger stand but people who dropped in at the oak tree to sneer remained to envy curiosity may have accounted for the rush of business W 1 1 1 0 na 1 1 40 40 op 50 the oak tree the first week but it was good food appetizingly served in attractive surroundings that swelled the cash register the second and third and fourth weeks the oak tree had become quite the rage as well as the rendezvous for the young elite even belle now pointed with pride to her sons achievement CHAPTER lauras visit to the womans comans exchange was not heartening it appeared that everybody had had the same idea the market was glutted with the products for which laura had hoped to receive orders but she did wangle a small commission fifty jars of watermelon preserves on the strength of one of old aunt julias recipes which laura had brought from her fathers planta tion by then it was almost two and she was hot tired disheveled and hungry she went across the street to a large cafeteria which at that hour fortunately was not crowded picked out the most economical dishes on the menu and balancing her tray made for a table in a secluded corner near a window only to come face to face with mary etta mary ary etta had finished her lunch her black eyes looked startled when they recognized laura who had instinctively paused b eside her 1 how are you mary etta she asked gently splendid of course the girl said as if daring laura I 1 to 0 think otherwise do doto you u mind if I 1 sit with you Is inquired mary etta et laura tF shrugged her sharp shoulders laura sat down m grieved about you and said laura at last tom tas mary ettas lip curled why be she demanded should s you youve got him backa YOU mothers always take their sons from their wives if they can away he thinks because and you can youre perfect par far ter shirley and jaird buy a ham burger stand kathleen who despite herself becomes become interested in ritchie graham 1 who ho aids her lather father in fighting may may she thinks ot of her mothers mother hardships hardship when he be tells tella her his hi wife tarve starve kathleen tells tell ritchie she has ha no wish to live in poverty was was there a sob behind her voice laura could not be certain no mary etta I 1 got my son back hes under my roof yes but his heart why did he marry me and make me care when he wanted someone so different cried the girl in a tormented voice e then you do care mary etta care mary etta laughed bitterly do you think anyone could have had tom and not care why you come to covington with him because he want me because hes sick of the sight of me hell marry someone like you of course when I 1 divorce him my lawyer mailed tom a notice yesterday mary etta the girls haggard face twitched theres no use living on chained to the corpse of a dead love I 1 can at least set tom free and yourself mary etta shivered 1 I swore no one should ever matter enough to upset my life I 1 vowed id not be submerged as my mother was but if its any satisfaction to you I 1 pull it off you see her voice sank she looked away tom does matter more than anything on earth you dont know what its been like this past month wanting him missing himl him longing to go down on my knees and beg him to love me again laura glanced at her wrist watch can you be packed and ready to go home with me by six mary etta started violently go to covington laura nodded it if your lawyer mailed tom those divorce papers yesterday he got them this mom ing and hes been in hell ever since id cut my arm off to spare him that but I 1 cant only you can change toms hell to heaven mary ettas hands clenched tom will be glad to be rid of me she insisted tom loves you mary etta but he believes youre disgusted because he been a violent financial success like harvey leigh tom thinks you want a divorce to marry leigh and tom will give you a divorce if you ask for it but you shirley and I 1 may be his ideal but you are the woman he loves youve got to go home with me tonight and tell tom its been a nightmare but its over mary ettas thin hands gripped the table tremblingly and I 1 thought you hated me laura laid her hand gently on the girls quivering shoulder it matter about me I 1 bore tom I 1 reared him ive done everything ery thing I 1 could for him but long ago he passed from my keeli keeping na into yours I 1 dont hate you mary etta but I 1 am afraid of you because you can make or break my son great tears stood in mary ettas haggard eyes it if I 1 could be sure tom wanted me 1 I am sure oh Mo therl mary etta had never called laura mother before laura stooped and kissed her while their tears mingled she would not come into the house with laura she was afraid of a public rebuff at toms hands she asked laura to tell tom she was waiting outside in the car come his voice sounded thin and stretched and when laura opened the door he be was sitting at the reading table staring straight before him and the face he turned to her was ghastly and then she realized that he was alone but wheres alee alec she asked your father said alee alec came in almost an hour ago he went out again but mike see him tom said nothing only his eyes were very sorry for her and suddenly laura knew maybe she had suspected all along hes only been pretending to sleep at home she whispered tom nodded and laura staggered a little I irn so terribly so sorry rry said tom laying his hand on her arm you dont deserve such t trouble roubie as this she came back from a long distance to stare at him blankly and then to remember that after all to tom m was also flesh of her flesh and he at least could be snatched from I 1 the he burning mary etta is outside in her car she thinks you hate her and ashes breaking her heart for you you ciyou must be mad she hied filed suit for divorce yesterday 1 I know but she t want a divorce tom she wants to be taken into your arms and told you love her better than life better a thousand times than you have ever loved me or shirley or any other woman but I 1 do love her like that said tom simply 1 I always have he was gone taking the stairs two IVO at a time H he e had forgotten his mother and alee alec he had forgot forgotten teh everything but the woman who was his to have and to hold TO BE AUE CONTINUED |