| Show S fail U P th E if S UN ur 1 0 e CHAPTER X continued I 1 15 i she had been troubled that eve ing she had questioned her ri re r tion ship with jeremy she had aver done that before he had at it very close to her had she ought again of af what he had i told it er not I his is ifs symbolism ad swept he probably otien ottenius ott entus his meaning across she had defended him in thoughts 1 I dont appose you really liked picking eans and chati changing ging tires the dar ngi late in the afternoon follo following wini ir vaughns departure jim drove j the station to inquire for thi the mckage which he was to readdress he be e pressman told fold him thit that it ad p been delivered h t meadow rook earlier eailler in the afternoon jim rove out to the estate parked his bis ar at the side entrance of the ahe louse ouse and went into antii the hall 9 0 I 1 A low voice murmuring in the lying room gro attracted his attention le ie walked to ta the door and abid stood boking oking in smiling at wh what at he saw usan usaf was apparently putting her elf through a dress rehearsal for ome ame impe impending ceremony sh she e lore ore a p pale ale peach colored frock ight quaintly itly ruffle edi dt with sash of a deeper tone and a hatching ribbon binding her taffy colored hair she stood before a ang ang mirror practicing a curtsey lur hur unintelligible words asting an oc occasional cas ional glince glance at her hei abet et festive in peach colored socks nd white slippers ri tied with bows jim IM said shirled Shyr h led around from froin the mir or ET guilty flush staining her heeks jim asked miling are you going to be pre courte court 1 v im going to be in the wedding susan replied mary gillians ill hans mother invited me im a white ra satin ribbon when hen ithe the ik wedding edding comes tip up the isle we iric practiced tic ed this afternoon loolu awfully nice ire he saw diat he had pleased her jim laughed 9 adoure youre growing ap p sue did the pressman i leave i package here this afternoon ills opt an on the kitchen porch I 1 aea card rd lio nora tell miss parker she to the porch with im aim walking demurely amusingly ons on clous of her wedding frills jim bound aund the package lying on a bench to mark it with the the camp caio in maltie maine look jimal susan said in a enright right interested vol voice ce theres neres jerry erry clyde I 1 J jims im s eydi eyes turned to follow bollow her branly pointing finger looking out edween vines he saw jeremy seat 3 on the narrow rim around the mn oun tain apparently gazing at his reflection lection sf in thi the water narcissus jim observed susan was was too deeply interested in aie ie news she hadbo had to impart to denand deland an explanation a hes mad she said cheerfully he and cecily had a fight this mor lorning nind A jinn jim whittled whittied a point on i the black crayon he had brought to i read readdress diesi the package wealthey Well they hit each other or r throw anything susan contin tied id perching herself carefully on the ie end of the bench they were mad lad though he wis was anyway and cecily eally was too after a while he was as mad because marjory marjor v patton is hiving having a dinner party and a dance for ir her wedding party tonight just the ie grownup grown up ones shi she added re fretfully gret et tully fully he invited just an even number in the wedding party ariy and if cecily took jerry it upset everything everything and aa jerry said lid slid she was ashamed to take him for ir fear he know which and cecily cecili said helas ac t ak e a s spoiled little boy and ih lecik e W ed d sweet to him at first ind id then she got mad you know the e wa way s she e does liki like a princess or something im ething and jerry said hed abl ly get drunk or something and cecily icily said she care what he did d susan from sheers sheer necessity caused aused to gets get her breath where were you when you heard all 1 this jim printed an anivin uneven in beside a staggering g well vella I 1 was fishing inthe in the brook ajust just happened to be under un der the bridge idge ahern cecily and jerry came abid id leaned against the rail and I 1 thought ought maybe be bd embar assed if I 1 came out io so I 1 just stayed ayed underneath that Tha was considerate of you sus susan wriggled wriggle uncomfortably co ort ably 1 I 1 co d t hilp help it she sat 1 I just happened t to 0 be there it Is nt being abood a good 11 sport to listen iten to conversations you are arent nt tended intended to he cheari I 1 r 11 1 jim said gild fae feeling hypocritical po critical making excuses tor for of his oven own well jerry susan sap art ex cx an any breach of etiquette he treats me asif I 1 was a baby like ilka people do who much sense and hes bes certainly stuck on himself tommy says jerry acts acta as though he bei gives the girls a treat just by living and I 1 think for once tommy tommi had bad i a sensible idea dont boit you think io so tim jim 1 I think better go take off those clothes before you ruin them and upset the wedding 1 I guess id better susan slipped off the bench are you going 6 to stay here this evening she asked lingering on the porch no jim replied im going back to the riding academy after supper why dont you she asked coaxingly its going to be pretty lonesome tonight daddes daddys awai away and miss parker Is going to a card party in the ahe village and cecily win will be at the pattons Pat tons and lis its noras day oft and I 1 think tommy has a date because he be gave rose a quarter to press his pants there wont want be anybody here with me except rose she finished with a consciously ly wistful glance at jim jerry will be here jim reminded her oh chimil she made a face please why doret dont jou you jim the wistful expression was appealing jim considered taking her to the movies and discarded the idea zyoud better get to bed early tonight he said want to look as i fresh as a daisy tor loi the wedding tomorrow thoughts of the exciting day ahead consoled her for the prospect of a lonely evening susan went off contentedly jim completed the address reinforced in the parcel witha wrappings of twine at intervals he glanced through vines jeremas Je attitude was despondent a tableau arranged tor for cecilya Cec ilys eyes perhaps jim smiled a little grimly if youre contemplating suicide my lad he sald said under his breath that pool cool wont do d only bump your nase nose lie he felt surprisingly cheerful he whistled as he walked around the house taking the package to his car cecily came out on the side veranda dressed for the party in something thin and dark daik that floated as she walked a short evening jacket ot of brilliant brocade buttoned snugly at her waist hello she said walking across the grass her color was high and her eyes were bright her chin above the collar of the brocade coat wore a determined eap exp expression the giell he be thought silently applauding into battle all flags wu you look very lovely darling have a good time he said aloud 1 I beai mean to she paused beside jim for a moment but her eyes glanced beyond him into the garden where jeremy drooped beside the fountain if you hear my my escort arriving have nie me paged in the garden right jim smiled happy landings cecily 1 jims ayes eyes followed her until she had bad passed through the opening in the low hedge that bordered the garden then he besolt resolutely bitely turned away there were some things a gentleman did not do and one of them was openly watch the scene now taking place beside the fountain he left his car car parked in the drive and walked hurriedly to the ahe cottage jim jiin was in high spirits aisup at supper abi he laughed and made the mac Pher sons laugh he ate with a hearty appetite and asked tor for sees second helping hel pings s well I 1 must say mrs mac pherson observed its pleasant to have you act like yourself again I 1 bein been jim asked innocently ly Y 0 u v e been acting like a sick calf m moaning 0 a ning and not eating enough to keep a sparrow alive i ingoff ing off by you your seU bessiel bigi grimaced you have an unfortunate gift tor for description Ha he anly andy mrs macpherson appealed to ar her husband weve thought thought you you might have had something on jour your mind maa macpherson said looking it at jim ive had the job on my mind jim said not to mention my own incompetence 1 an and dlack of experience jim felt two pairs of eyes watching him all he said 1 I cantsee cant see any sense in your living oil off there by yourself mrs macpherson worried putting an end 10 lo th demoment emo ment of sentiment 1101 come down with a sp ellof something batin eating g heaven knows what out or of boxes and cans ima It lita swell zook cook Jimbo Jim boasted isted amazing how lighthearted light hearted lefelt he i felt thle this evening foil for no hill reason at all at any rat rate a it t forever rm im doming coming back here to stay when ive found a stable man I 1 heard of one today he used to work at the fox bun Him stables stable s if hell hell comi come for the money we can pay I 1 think hes hei oui our man they talked then of the riding Acad academy erny and the progress that had been made after supper jim sat for a time on the veranda with macpherson when he rose to leave it was getting dark twilight cargo came early now that autumn was approaching pro aching autumn with a lingering breath of summer in the still mellow low air air jim walked back to his car parked in the drive he must not forget to take mr vaughns vaughna parcel to the express office in the morning passing the kit kitchen cheri porch he hea heard rd susan talking ia to hose and glanced up I 1 one crystal star shone in the darkening sky tomorrow would be fair fine weather for the wedding hed like to see cecily in her bridesmaids m aids dr dress ss no there was battle in the atmosphere at meadow brook held hed better keep away he set his car in motion As he drove past the house he sawa saw a solitary figure pacing back and forth across the terrace tommy no jeremy clyde his gait appeared to be steady if he meant to carry out his threat of getting tight jim thought with fleeting eiting fl amusement it was obvious that he had bad not yet made a start I 1 CHAPTER XI jim flung his arm over the side of the chair in hi unconscious protest at being roused from sleep the knocking was repeated he made afi an effort to struggle up to the sur 1 have a good time ile said aloud face 0 of f consciousness through the gray tide that dragged at his senses A voice was calling urgently a little hoarsely who Is it jim answered not y yet et fully awake words came to him which tor for a moment had no meaning or importance smashup smash up side road hurry jim shifted his bis position in the chair his hand struck a glass on the table beside him knocked it to the floor the sharp thin sound 0 of t breaking glass brought him to full consciousness he sat erect blinking in the subdued light of the shaded lamp on the table what had roused him hed thought he had bad heard someone calling banging at the door dreaming probably he must have gone to sleep while he was reading A m agazine lay where it had fallen on th the floor at the side of the chair what time was it he glanced at his watch only a little past midnight he have slept long strange how real that dream had seemed was it a dream he pulled himself up from the chair crossed the room opened the door no one was there puzzled not yet convinced of the reality of the voice which had called jim walked out into the drive the night air c cool 0 I 1 1 and crisp blew away the last blurring cobwebs of sleep someone had knocked at the lie door someone a man had called smashup smash up the side broadi jim keen enough now sprinted through shadows to the fence that closed in the stable yard at the beai rear of the grounds from there looking across meadows he be was able to see the side road which joined the cherry hollow road a scant quarter of a mile beyond the riding academy the side road had bad a dirt surface I 1 it was ofie one of the many winding byways ways used by horseback riders nar narrow thinly wooded through a fringe of trees jim saw in the clear starlight star light two discs of plight light obviously I 1 the bead lights of a car people parked in the side road sometimes kids from the village young people looking tor for privacy in romantic surroundings jim had bad seen headlights in the side ilde roid road on fine evenings defoye tha position of these particular headlights howe however ver caused him to give a sharp exclamation jay they were not in horizontal alignment even een at this distance he could see thiv that one was was higher than the oth th er as though oner side of the cir car had gane off the road into a d ditch convinced atlant at last that something was wrong jim vaulted Pelf therence the fence enci and set off running in the direction of the light lightsy sj thi the distance across the meadows 1 iw the side road was not more th 0 than quarter of a hileas mile As be ran th through r gh meadow grass and goldenrod jim tried to or not there cheri mai was a ditch at thi the left side of the road he had ridden along it frequently on 66 lioi horseback but now he could not remember half way across across the fields field ift it occurred to him that he should have driven around in the car whoever it was if gone off the road n might need a towline well it far to go back might as well keep on now s looking ahead through the fringe of trees the body odthe cir car was nothing more than a baurr in the shadows it was a long car he observed a roadster with the top folded back one of the neighborhood debu debutantes out on a lark it late halt half past twelve A gentle slope upward he re numbered that the road was a little littie higher then than the meadows through which it ran jim came out on the road and was was gripped for an instant in throttling fear the car at the side of the road was Ce clellys Cec ilys ellys roadster he ran to the car his heart thudding his breath coming in painful gasps there was a figure slumped down in the seat a girls figure terrifyingly ump and still one arm hanging over the door of the car jim knew the instant he touched the figure his hands under the arms to lift it into a less cramped position that the girl was not cecily and relief flooded through him the interval of suspended fear was followed almost at once by incredulity and alarm for when he had lifted the inert figure higher in the seat beat and turned on the searchlight search light attached to the windshield he saw the girl was dolly she was alive thank god tor for thail but she was unconscious blood oozed from a cut above her temple where a lock of hair lay in a wet curl against her forehead jim wiped away the blood laid her lengthwise on the seat of the car rubbed her wrists took off his coat and folded it under her hei head if only he had some water dolly made no response to 0 his efforts to bring her to consciousness s she lay as he had placed hir her her eyes closed her hands bands with kith the bright red nails crossed limply over her breast incredulity and alarm receded before the necessity for thought and action who had brought dolly hers here in cecilya Cec ilys car car tommy of course jim thought who else but tommy would have taken cecilya Cec ilys car but where was tommy he had one for help for a doctor perhaps was it tommy who had knocked at the door he would return with assistance soon there was nothing to do but wait or perhaps the roadster was not seriously damaged jim examined the position of the car the left front wheel sliding into the depression at the side of the road had crashed against a low line of stonework the remains of an old wall jim judged noting with the aid of the revolving searchlight search light the moss which covered the stones tommy must have been driving at terrific speed to have struck so heavily the tire was torn off the rim |
