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Show I JUl McFarlane, whose tatber, Richard, Rich-ard, dliappeared In World War I .falls In lovt with Lieut. Spang Gordon. She Is upset to nnd that her brother, Klc, hat (alien In love with Sandra Cal-tert, Cal-tert, a divorcee. During her absence, Richard returns from the dead and visits vis-its her mother, Julia. He Is using the assumed name of Captain Mackey and la stationed at the same camp as Rle. lull Is heartsick. Richard tells RIc be knew his father In France, and later threatens Sandra with exposure of an Ulegal divorce if she doesn't leave RIc alone. Julia, her father-in-law, John I., and Jill are . horrified when they get a letter from Rle announcing his marriage. mar-riage. 8andra will live with them. Richard's oice came again. r "Dooley, I've sei the boy. He didn't know me, of course. I- haven't told him anything. You've heard from him, today?" "Yes." She had to hold her lips stiff, keep her face calm because John I. and Jill were watching her. "Yes, Captain, I heard from him today. He told me that he had been married." "That's why I'm calling you, Dooley. Doo-ley. I wanted you to know that I did everything I could. As soon as I suspected that he had this reckless reck-less marriage in mind, I had him up before the board and arranged for his immediate transfer, but I was too late." "It's an Impossible marriage, you think?" (Oh, Richard, Richard, why are we talking like this.? We're Ric's father Snd mother! And we must speak to each other like formal strangers! ) But a little warmth lightened her wretchedness. Richard had tried to save RIc. Richard had not betrayed be-trayed himself. It helped a little to 1 ; myself, in a minute." "I'm stopping," gulped Julia, swallowing the ragged sobs that tore at her. "I don't know why I went to pieces like this. I never do cry. I haven't cried in years!" "I could kill Ric for doing this to you! He lied to me, when I went down there. I was furious at him. But to do a thing like this, not to have any pride for his family-Please, family-Please, Dooley, don't begin again. Come upstairs -with me. I'll get you some hot milk and a sedative tablet" tab-let" 1 " She followed Jill meekly. She lay on her bed, where the dying light of September- dusk came through the branches of the great trees. She drank whatever Jill brought her, she was grateful for the cool cloth laid over her eyes. She was aware of John I. In the room, felt his worried wor-ried eyes upon her, wanted to comfort com-fort him and was too numb. She did not talk, because her spinning brain wal so full of cries that must not escape her lips. Because her ears were hearing Richard's voice again, calling to the old ache within with-in her, touching that old tenderness CHAPTER XV Julia said, "Jill think. Ric is going out to fight, for us. If he loved this woman enough to marry her, the least we cari do for Ric is to make her welcome." Jill's face was stony. "I love JicHeJs my brother. But when 'Wifcj&ajfernale tramp here to sytpinother It's too much!" owi rVhad come bumbling up t$k tSerh? "Confounded young tl'OTtV.. mnrtuH "Hp'l ffOt jjljiT.much use for a wife as I lava." 'J?s this war. It's that feeling ofdesperate haste they all have, "thirihey fnust crowd a lifetime of mving Into a few weeks or a few uayi." Julia said. "She can't be the dreadful creature that Jill thinks she is, she wouldn't have appealed ap-pealed to Ric." "I saw her, I tell youl I had lunch with her." "Why doesn't he send her to her own people?" John I, wondered. "Probably she hasn't any. Probably Prob-ably they threw her out, long ago. If you're going to take me to town, Dooley, we'd better go. The telegraph tele-graph office closes at nine." "Go up and put on something else then. You certainly can't go to town in a negligee and nothing much under it. , Tell Mamie to help you with the zippers. I'm still shaking shak-ing all oyer." Julia dropped on the long seat in the hall. Every Inch of her body was cramped and cold. Her throat ached Intolerably. She said, "Should I have told Richard about Ric, John I.T After all, Richard is his father. He might have found an opportunity to talk to Ric. He might have saved him from this folly." "They're both soldiers. Soldiers go where they're sent. Richard may be in Africa by this time." "John I., I can't bring myself to that had never healed. "Dooley, trust me!" (Oh, Richard, Richard, why did you come now, so tragically too late? When he needed you, when he was little, when I was so alone, where were you then, Richard? He had no father to teach him honor, no one to teach him to be strong. Now it's too late, Richard, forever too latel) It was with trepidation that Julia met the train next afternoon. She had got Ric's room ready that morning. She had impressed upon Mamie that Mrs. Richard McFarlane, Mc-Farlane, Jr. would be tired when she arrived, and it would be kinder not to cook cabbage or anything else that smelled up the house. She had talked to John I. "If she should turn out to be a nice person, John I., do try to restrain re-strain Jill little, will you? I do hope we can meet this situation as nice people." "Jill and I will be so nice you'll admire us," the old man promised. "Only don't you get In our' way." That smudge of smoke down the shimmering V of the rails, was it another cloud that would lie darkly over her heart? She walked out to the track. She set her face In her best Imitation of a welcoming smile. "Don't you dare dress up, Dooley," Jill had warned. And Julia had countered, dryly, "You're still here. Jill? I thousht turn Rlc's wife away from bis home! Where would I have been In that other war If you had cast me off?" "It was you took me in, Dooley. I was a homeless old man, living liv-ing In a hotel." "You took care of us for years, till we could make this place pay. Perhaps this la the way I must pay back to pass that help along. I wish I could change Jill's attitude. She's so determined when she's angry an-gry and upset" John I. lit hla pipe, puffed It slowly. slow-ly. "You and I aren't so young any more, Dooley. You're young, compared com-pared to me, but you've lived long enough to know that things pass. Maybe she won't like it here." He chuckled. "Could be she wouldn't like it here at all. You just -relax some ways, and get tough other ways. Keep a strangle-hold on your money. Ric's done a lot of bragging about his family, like as not, and she thinks you're a wealthy worn-. worn-. an. Well, don't be wealthy when she's around." "How can I be wealthy, when we both know that if they put low celling cell-ing prices on hogs this ,year, we won't make a penny?" "If she, does come if Jill doesn't head her off, put on your seediest clothes and get her up at six o'clock. In the morning. Tell Mamie to churn all the cream, and we'll live on country vlctualsturnips will be ready soon, I looked at them today. I can be plenty tiresome, too, if I put my mind on it Any old man gets tn be windy. I'll talk her to death." "Yes, this Is Mrs. McFarlane." be able to believe again in some small nobility In Richard. Richard said, "It's a rotten marriage. mar-riage. She won't do, Dooley. She's no good. I knew her In the Islands. I don't know Just what I can do, but I'm going to try to do something." some-thing." "But she's coming here. That was In the letter." "Dooley, do the best you can for the present will you? And trust me? I know I haven't the right to ask it but I'm going to try to do something some-thing about this. Yes, she's coming there. She's already on the way." "Then I suppose there's nothing we can do? But thank you so much for calling, Captain." She wanted to cry, "Thank you, Richard! Thank you for trying to be a father to your son at last! " But Jill was listening. Jill must not suspect Richard said, "Wait, Dooley. I just wanted to tell you. Don't worry. wor-ry. He'll be all right. He's a fine looking boy. He's like you. He isn't going to be like his father. He'll outgrow this foolishness." "Oh, I hope sol" She said, "Good-by," "Good-by," almost in a gasp, and hung up. She turned to the others. "There's no use sending any message, JUL She's ajready on her way. That was one of the captains at Ridley Field. He said he tried to have Ric transferred In time to prevent this, but he was too late." "So, that's that! The next move then," Jill set her chin, "is to convince con-vince this Sandra person that Bux- you were leaving us forever, if Ric'a wife entered this house?" "I decided that it would be criminal crim-inal to desert you. You're such a softy, Dooley, that you'd let her walk all over you," Jill said. 'Til give her two weeks. But If she's still hanging around after that, I may go to Washington and get a Job. Boots Palmer knows a congressman." con-gressman." "All right JUL But try to be a lady for those two weeks'. After that I won't rats any objection, whatever you want to do." Perhaps, Julia wat thinking as she watched the engine thunder toward to-ward her, Sandra wasn't too happy either. Perhaps she had let lovt rush her off her feet and now she was being shifted off on people she did not know, whom she might suspect sus-pect did not want her. But would a woman who had been married before be-fore be swept off her feet by a boy? Jill could be wrong after all. This might be a girl whom Ric had met later. She held to that hope till the train ground to a stop, then surrendered sur-rendered it resignedly. , Sandra Arrives At the Farm That had to be Sandra getting off. Julia's heart gave a sick flop. Small, blonde, no girl for all the soft curls, the delicate make-up. The face under the clever hat had been written upon grimly and a bit cruelly by life. f. Julia went forward. "You mutt be Sandra? I'm Richard's mother." Shit felt that 1nw hliia iraza) travel A Phone Call From Ricliard "John I., you're priceless!" Julia smiled again, reached for his hand, as Jill came pelting down the stairs. "Ready?" Julia said. "I still don't approve of this, remember, Jill." "It's my responsibility, Dooley. I'll sign my own name to the wire." "I'll get the keys." Julia got up slowly. And just then the telephone rang sharply and long. "I'll get It" Jill sprang to the receiver. Then she turned back with an odd look. "It's long distance dis-tance calling you, Dooley. Maybe she isn't coming after all" "It could be Ric, Jul I can't say cruel things to Ric I can't!" She sat down at the instrument She said, "Hello, yes, this is Mrs. Richard Rich-ard McFarlane." and instantly all the color drained out of her face, and the receiver trembled in her band. The voice that came over the wire said, "Dooley, is that you?" Richard! Richard was calling, and she could not let Jill know. She said, "Yes, this is Mrs. McFarlane Mc-Farlane " stiffly, formally. zard's Hill isn't the place she wants to live." "But surely we can meet this situation with some grace? After all," Julia protested, "we're still McFarlanes." "What is it worth to be a McFarlane?" McFar-lane?" Jill cried. "Ric's a MoFar-lane! MoFar-lane! She'll be a McFarlane, too. Dooley,if you go soft on us now, I swear Til tell hex that you're a mental case! I'll tell her that we're too tenderhearted to put you in a sanitarium!" Julia began to laugh hysterically, tears running down her face. Her throat convulsed, her teeth chattered, chat-tered, she shuddered and pressed her bands to her face letting tears pour out between her fingers. Making Plans For Sandra Jill looked frightened. "Dooley Dooley, don't I Stop it this minute! I didn't mean a word of It Dooley, I'm going to put you to bed right now. You've had enough for one woman to bear In a day. Grandfather Grand-father and I will take care of everything. every-thing. Dooley, if you don't stop crying, cry-ing, I'm going to begin screaming, over her, moving anxiously, but the voice, too young and limpid for that throat, cried, "How nice of youl I was afraid you might not get my telegram." "It came this morning. I'll have some one see to your bags. Are all these yours?" "They 'do look a frightful lot don't they? That's because since the war began I've had no real borne: I've lived In a trunk. I have trunk, too. Do you think It could be here?" "We'll ask." Moving across the platform, Julia felt the Impact of watching eyes . upon her. The eyes of women she knew well, women who knew to a day how old Ric was, and she knew that they were seeing, too. with pitiless, female clarity, that for all the Illusion of youth Sandra Calvert had achieved, artifice had put up a losing battle with time. It would be all over town in no time that Ric McFarlane had married a peroxlded old hag, she , was certain. She said, "I'm so sorry we have to take you out In the station-wagon, station-wagon, but, 'r piit up the ears for the duration.' " (TO BE COrnWUEDI |