OCR Text |
Show MEFE iff fffiSml ol k, D- Arpllo. Century Co., Ino. ' WNU S "By Jove, lime, I beIicve J proposing to you." Bert exclaimed Vth more ln,erest than he had shown since the discussion of the now partnership. "Not yet. I'm thinking about it and throwing out a few subtle hints, Joan explained. "Is this maidenly?" Bert asked lie gave the wheel a whirl that lifted Joan from her seat. "No. It isn't good driving, either It's too soon for you to get jealous of Hex. He won't have me yet, at any price. I can only live in hope." Hale said nothing. Girls were inexplicable, in-explicable, he was thinking. Here was Joan Knceland, making these poor jokes in the presence of a cousin who was still ill and in love with her. It wasn't like her. She wasn't that type. No doubt she was tensed up after her visit to the doctor. doc-tor. Hale rode back to the Camp in silence, hardly hearing the desultory desul-tory talk of his companions. CHAPTER IX The next three weeks' life at Halcyon Hal-cyon Camp moved on almost as serenely as Casper Kneeland had once dreamed it would do. Under the care of Doctor "Crosby Bert Kneeland was beginning to feel himself him-self again. Joan, too, looked and apparently ap-parently felt better than before she though never during the week-ends when he might meet the elder Knee-and Knee-and Finding himself alone with the doctor one day before the others oth-ers had come downstairs Rex hinted hint-ed that Joan's progress was not as rapid as he had hoped. "I've no right to butt in" he admitted. "Just the same-" "Just the same you're in love with the girl. You're mighty anxious about her, tod, as well you may be. Crosby spoke shortly. His cheerful, cheer-ful, sunburned face wore a look of perplexity. "Just what do you mean by that?" Rex spoke sharply. "Why should I be anxious?" "Because I'm anxious myself. Because Be-cause you're perfectly right. The girl is improving, but she isn't coming com-ing up as fast as she should. Every now and then, when I'm feeling most encouraged about her, she has a set-back. I'm beginning to think I may have been remiss. If we had been in town I'd have had her x-rayed before this. As it was, I didn't want to drag her to New York in the heat, and there didn't seem any very good reason for it." They were alone on the porch. The doctor had been lounging in the big wicker chair. Now he sat up and looked at Hale almost resentfully. re-sentfully. "All her symptoms might mean acute nervous indigestion, as I've I "Not about her diet," Rex told him. "She's taking a milk nightcap night-cap once in awhile. I caught her at it one night this week and spoke to her about it the next morning." "What did she say?" "Oh, that she had only done it a few times when she was thirsty. She likes milk, it seems. She had been just about living on it this summer till she went to you. She has been brought up on the theory that milk is the ideal food for us all." "She's got to let me decide that," Crosby said shortly. "I'll speak to her about it." He had no opportunity to do so that day. Joan didn't come down ta tea, and the doctor refused an invitation in-vitation to stay on for dinner. The little conversation lingered in Hale's mind, however, and when that night he again met Rose taking a thermos bottle to Joan's room he was ready for the encounter. Indeed, he was more than ready. He was ruffled and disturbed out of all proportion to the incident. His eyes had the reddish look they took on in anger. "Milk?" he asked curtly. "Yes, sir." "Did Miss Joan order it?" "No, sir. I was told to leave it in her room in case she wanted it during the night. She used to have it every night, you know. Now she doesn't often drink it." "But you leave it there every night?" "No, sir. Only nights when she doesn't eat much dinner." "Who told you to?" "Jane, sir." Rex took the thermos bottle from the tray and held it in his hand. "I'll take care of this," he muttered, mut-tered, and added more calmly, "Rose, you want Miss Joan to get well, don't you?" "Oh, yes, sir. Of course I do!" "Well, the doctor doesn't want her to eat anything between meals. So don't tempt her. Don't leave any liquids or food of any kind in her room after this. Those are the doctor's doc-tor's orders. You won't forget that, will you?" "No, sir. I'll tell Jane what you say." Rose spoke coldly. She liked this young man very much, but she had just decided that in this little matter mat-ter he was exceeding his privileges. Rex smiled at her and took the thermos ther-mos bottle into his own room. He left it in the bathroom, and made his night toilet slowly and thoughtfully. He was wrestling with one of the hunches that always irritated irri-tated him, useful though they had so often proved to be. At last, when he was ready for bed and should !yHl'lKR VUl-Coiitinuod sun was behind n bank of -d a light breeze had sprung -fii they took their places S' 'riily seated himself beside lg' lo need to consider Stuyvc-en Stuyvc-en .,, or be jealous of him. Stuy-1S' Stuy-1S' s annexed and labeled ns ly" wrty of another girl. The I'j se'neral and much livelier I u'i-A been earlier in the day. .;',nt and Hale were in high , The others did their best Ljj -e the mood. nc ,31 really be nice to have you ii j York," Joan told Hale un-h un-h -.-ir of the mild discussion be-m be-m stuyvesant and Bert. "I'm ' --iof lots of things you can do (. Besides," she added se- ;r "id rather live in New York Chicago or California." : shook his head at her. ::'re trying to upset my .'he said severely. "It can't :;. Besides, my present plan u of a hopeless love for you. 'I : do that if you keep on en- 3 ::. me with these flirtations. 3 ve every time you smile at Hew the devil can I die if you i- :a smiling?" It Jin't you give up the funeral Jj ;e for me?" Joan wanted to ;l. But again Hale shook his Usher. fS not marry you, Joan," he J:mly. "Neither will I let you j-me. But you're driving me . rerate measures. I think'l'll 11 3? heart and hand in self- 3 to Aunt Hosanna. She can -:; me." 1:?jM it," Joan said thought-"She thought-"She isn't even up to pros' pro-s' Mrs. Spencer Forbes." shot a quick look at her. it what do you mean by that?" ;r:!hir.g. It's merely one of those Stic remarks that keep my f i guessing." She dropped the ;3t so definitely that Hale al-ieard al-ieard it fall. -'consultation with Doctor Nick nythe following Tuesday morn: ;33 brisk and business-like. !:yin his office was a very dif-t' dif-t' person from the chatty man world he had been on Mrs. i -! veranda, during Rex's first ;;with him. At Joan's sugges- -rtbas the first appointment ! 't's suggestion Rex accom-; accom-; him into the private office. ' assumed without discussion -an's examination would take j'-ime. All Bert said was that j s nervously run down, and I I help in upbuilding. Crosby some tests, asked some ques- Save him some advice, and j out a prescription, all inside j-ity minutes. Then Joan went j 'iie doctor alone, and the two men waited for her in the Mm. She was gone three-;rs three-;rs of an hour. When the doc-i doc-i bowed her out of his private Rex muttered a word of apol-M apol-M went into the consulting-Wmself. consulting-Wmself. There he faced the r expectantly. he asked. ;y shrugged. erything jn Kneeland's case 318 what you told me in our 5st night. He'll soon be all w'th proper care and treat- 1 Miss Kneeland?" not so sure about her. I &e some of her symptoms. "soon to be definite. I want '4 her a while." it do you think the trouble ely you must have some no- I holding my notions in abey-She abey-She may have nothing but a :e of indigestion. That can ie very mischief with a pa-:ace pa-:ace it gets a bad start. I've 'er a tonic. I've told her not 'nything between meals, and ''i rich dishes. She has no The tonic may help that. ;ss been living principally on i that's all right for some peo-j't peo-j't not so good for others. I've II 't for the time. I'll talk j' about her in a week or ! was crisp, professional ;st communicative. His man-!-'Eested preoccupation and an ''Wrent of perplexity. Hale yhorne in Bert's car with the V'ients. It yyas a shabby af-. good enough for the ap-; ap-; roads of the regibn. Both 's avowed that they liked the Sives me confidence," Joan "He asks some odd ques- ""Wgh. I'd hate to be his try to have any secrets j shabby car sank into a deep the occupants groaned. !' 'he only girl of my set snta car," Joan said. "That now economical I am," she ,n cheerfully. "I have no tastes at all. God made sir ldeal bride for a yung V Til""8 al0ng 0tl 3 Sma11 ri ' hlnk that over, Rex," she j eeUy- "It ought to suggest I -iii'i if i -)iigflrH-ni"- - "She's taking a milk nightcap once in awhile." have got into it without further hesitation, hesi-tation, he abruptly gave up his mental men-tal struggle. He put on gloves, poured the milk from the thermos bottle into a new glass bottle that stood on a shelf, corked and labeled it, and packed it carefully in a small wooden box. He then packed the thermos bottle with equal care. It would reveal a choice collection of fingerprints his own, Rose's, Jane's, and perhaps others. But he now had in his growing collection the fingerprints of everyone in the house, just as he had bottles and packing cases in which to ship specimens for fingerprinting finger-printing or analysis. In a household where so many happenings out of the normal had occurred, it would do no harm to take some precautions. precau-tions. He grinned wryly as he took this one. It was time to get out of Halcyon Camp. He was having too many hunches. He was getting morbid. Nevertheless he walked the three miles to the nearest post-office early the next morning, and sent his parcels to their different destinations. desti-nations. (TO DE COXT1KUED) had put herself into his hands. When Hale pressed her for details of the improvement she said briefly that Doctor Crosby was very satisfactory, satisfac-tory, and that she was following his instructions. Rex was surprised, therefore, when late one night, during dur-ing the third week of her treatment, he saw Rose approaching the door of Joan's room with a small tray in her hand. He passed on; then on an impulse, he stopped and retraced his steps. He checked Rose as she was about to enter the room. "What's that?" he asked, looking look-ing down at the tray. "Just a little milk, sir." Rose was surprised by the question and showed it. Her expression confused the investigator. After all, what right had he . . . "I thought Miss Joan didn't eat anything between meals," he said, less incisively than he had spoken before. He was amazed by his own persistence, and still more by his resentment of that tray. It was a nice little tray, holding nothing but a napkin and a small thermos bot- said," he went on irritably. "The general condition girls of today get themselves into by the fool things they do passes understanding. She tells me she never went in for much cocktail drinking, but that last winter win-ter she smoked a lot twenty-five cigarettes or more a day, sometimes. some-times. She admits that last winter, too, she was going out every night and getting along on five or six hours' sleep. She says she didn't get to bed till three or four in the morning, and that she was usually awake by eight and couldn't go to sleep again. All that would account for the state she's in if she kept it up. But she isn't doing that. She's leading a perfectly healthy, normal life. She's dieting. She has all the air and sunshine and exercise she needs. With her natural constitution, constitu-tion, which is fine, she ought to be forging ahead steadily not up one week and slipping back the next, like the proverbial cat in the well. She has me guessing. But she swears she's taking her tonic and following my instructions." tle- "She doesn't, usually,' Rose admitted. ad-mitted. "Only once in a while. Jane said I was to bring this up because she didn't eat much dinner." Hale nodded and walked on to his room There seemed nothing more he could do tonight. He would certainly cer-tainly speak to Joan in the morning about that milk. It would not be easy. His relations rela-tions with Joan were becoming a trifle strained. She alternately tormented tor-mented him, teased him bullied him and was charming to him. That was all right, of course if it was the way she wanted to act. But this too, did not seem like her. He .took refuge with Mrs. Spencer Forbes and Bert, both of whom were very friendly, and with Miss Hosanna who also surprised him at tones. She admitted that she was tired. There were days when she was impatient, im-patient, almost snappish. He sus pected that all was not going Smoothly between her and Mrs. Spencer Forbes. Mrs. Spencer IZllse saw, was closely observ- ing VeTes h" omSfg ofThe lookAmsworth's had so often tested spectator following a Sy had formed the habitf dropping into the Camp at tea time. |