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Show ickjKkssi ve ------ IJIJU ill V ' V 4 THE STORS SO FAR: An orphan, Charlotte (Cherry) Rawlings knows almost al-most nothing of her early history when, acceding to the wishes of her guardians, Judge Judsoo Marshbanks and Emma Haskell, she becomes the secretary to Mrs. Porteous Porter, wealthy San Franciscan Fran-ciscan Invalid. Busy as she Is, Cherry sees the Judge from time to time and meets the members of his household; his dictatorial old mother; Amy Marsh-banks, Marsh-banks, debutante daughter of his dead brother, Fred; and Fran, his gay young second wife. Shortly afterward Cherry learns, through Emma, that her mother (never married) had been Emma's sister. sis-ter. Charlotte; that her father had been the Judge's brother, Fred Amy's father and that, shortly after Cherry and Amy were born, Cherry's mother had switched the two babies! Poor Cherry Rawlings Is really the rich Amy Marshbanks. The judge confirms the amazing story, but to protect Amy his mother burns certain papers that would have proved it to be true. Meanwhile, Cherry had fallen In love with Kelly Coates, a young artist (who for a time had been infatuated with Fran Marshbanks); and Amy is determined to marry Count Mario (Go-go) (Go-go) Constantino. Cherry is Jealous when Fran intimates she had lunch with Kelly at his SausaUto studio, but he tells her he hasn't seen Fran In weeks. Old Mrs. Marshbanks tells Cherry she resents her presence in the house. Judge Marshbanks Marsh-banks Is shot to death In his library and everybody In the house is under suspicion. Kelly finally convinces Cherry Cher-ry that he Is over his Infatuation for Fran and she agrees to marry him. Amy marries Count Gogo in Reno. Cherry discovers there are gunpowder marks on Fran's negUgee. The police find love letters let-ters Kelly wrote to Fran. Now continue with the story. I had to tell them, Kelly she said breathlessly, apologetically. earth do you suppose was In those letters, dear? Plans for murdering Jud Marshbanks?" "You comfort me," Cherry whispered, whis-pered, her eyes shut "You don't know how you rest me, Kelly." He twisted about a little so that he could get an arm around her. "What was In them?" she asked faintly. "Well, I suppose the usual thing. That I was oh lord perhaps that I was happy in my new friendship for one of the most fascinating women wom-en I'd ever known," Kelly said, half amused and half impatient "There must have been more than that because she was so frightened." fright-ened." "I'll be damned if I know what scared her," he said. In a genuinely puzzled tone. "She was beside herself. her-self. 'Kelly,' she said, 'it isn't for my sake but yours! Your career is ruined." And she wanted me to take her away. 'Take me away and marry mar-ry me!" she said over and over again." "And what did you say?" Cherry asked, paling. "I said that I loved you." Her eyes filled again. Cherry could not speak. "Then she said that I didn't know what might happen," the man pursued, pur-sued, still in the tone of one completely com-pletely bewildered, "and I asked her what on earth she was afraid of. She said, 'You don't know, you don't know how they soundl You've not seen them for months." It was the darnedest thing I ever knew." But as for the police and the press exploiting ex-ploiting them and landing me- in tail, whv it's iuct cillw " hand on his shoulder, "this is the strange thing. Fran did have that negligee on at first but when the police and the doctor and all the others got there she didn't She had on only her nightgown, for she was shivering with cold, and one of the maids went and got her an overcoat from the hall closet." "Ha!" Kelly said, his brow knitted. knit-ted. "Sure of that?" "I'm absolutely sure. The first thing I saw when I opened my door was that the halls were lighted, and May and Molly and Helene, the other oth-er maid, were coming down from the upper floor, and Fran halfway down the stairs saying it was nothing, noth-ing, that we mustn't get excited, and wearing that negligee. But when the doctor and the police got there, she didn't have it on." "She could have run upstairs, hung it up, and gone down again without anyone's noticing?" "Easily it was , a madhouse for a while. And nobody was watching or checking." "She wiped that revolver on the first thing that came handy, a fold of her dressing gown," Kelly formulated formu-lated it slowly. "And then it occurred oc-curred to her that the stain would be a hard thing to get rid of. She couldn't count on anything she had to clean it with ..." "She grabbed that gun instinctively instinctive-ly and cleaned it before she realized real-ized that if those smudges were discovered dis-covered matters would be worse than ever," Kelly continued. "So she took the boldest course and as it turned out the safest one. We're not far from Fisherman's Wharf, Cherry; how about an oyster stew?" CHAPTER XVI "This is the first I've heard of this," said the old woman, in a voice of desperate resignation. "I only knew of it myself yesterday. yester-day. I'd put them in a place that seemed absolutely safe. They ferreted fer-reted them out." Cherry had finished. She went to take the chair opposite the older Mrs. Marshbanks at the fire. "Hello, everyone!" Kelly Coates stood in the doorway. Cherry's heart gave a great spring, began to tremble with fear and pain. Oh, she did not want to see Kelly this morning, not after Fran's story of the letters, not after the wonderful day he and she had had together at Topcote! She would have escaped, but there was no escape. He came in, greeting greet-ing Fran and old Mrs. Marshbanks and Gregory, catching Cherry's hand as he stood beside her, but with no other look or greeting, and spoke at once of Amy's elopement He hoped it had not too much distressed dis-tressed her grandmother. "'I don't know any good of him!" Mrs. Marshbanks said of Count Go-go, Go-go, visibly touched by Kelly's solicitude solici-tude in spite of her stiff manner. "At all events, Amy is a determined deter-mined young lady and knows her own mind. She may mold him into just the husband she wants," Kelly said comfortingly. And then to Fran:- "You telephoned that you wanted to see me about something?" some-thing?" "Could we talk for a few minutes, Kelly?" Fran asked, rising. "Some- thing has happened. Cherry heard her say as they went away together, "and I don't know how serious it may be." Cherry's own heart sick with apprehension, ap-prehension, she went through the gloomy big halls up to her own room a few minutes later. It seemed to Cherry that life would never be right and happy again. She was trying try-ing to master her tears when May came in with the message that Mr. Coates would like to see her a moment. mo-ment. Kelly looked at her a moment, then squared her gently about with his big hands and asked her why she had been crying. "I've felt so horrible!" Cherry faltered, fresh tears welling in her eyes. She could not face him. "What about Marchioness? Nerves? Is all this beginning to get you?" "Oh, Kelly, I'm so wretched about those letters! I knew of course I knew," Cherry faltered, "that you were fond of Fran; I knew that just as soon as I met her, or you! But it hurts me so it hurts me so when I was so happy thinking that you and I would be together to have this happen now! To have the police get them and the newspapers; newspa-pers; it spoils everything!" "Why does it spoil everything?" he asked gravely, still holding her lightly with both hands behind her shoulders. "Look at me. Cherry. This doesn't spoil anything. Do you mean that you don't want to come to Sausalito now?" She smiled up at him through tears. "Oh, Kelly, but it makes it all so horrid!" she said, even though hope was dawning in her voice. "Cherry, you just said that you knew I'd cared or that at one time some months ago, I thought I was crazy about Fran. I never asked her to come to Sausalito and run me; I never thought of her doing any such thing." jaiL why, it's just silly." "And you really don't think there's anything dangerous in those letters?" let-ters?" Cherry asked on a long sigh. "I know there isn't. What gets me is that she thinks there is." "It's clearing. Cherry. Get on your coat and rubbers and tie something over your head. We'll go for a walk." "If I can keep my feet on the ground!" she said, adding in a longing long-ing tone, "Oh, Kelly, it'll be so good to get out of this house some day and into the free, open air and to forget everything that's gone on here!" "Don't you think sometimes of the fact that if things had gone just a little differently you might be a rich woman.. Marchioness?" he asked, as they walked along the wet sidewalks, leaning against the wind. "No; I never thought of it, really. I wouldn't want it. I'll fee so rich as your wife, Kelly." Cherry said, "'that it would just be a bother to me. Just to be over there, alone with you." she continued, gesturing gestur-ing towards the far hills, "there's no money in the world that could tempt me to give up a minute of it!" "It's going to be a great adventure," adven-ture," Kelly said, "It's going to be heaven! I can't believe it yet." They paced along together, facing fac-ing the wind. "Oh, I'd forgotten, what with Amy and everything," Cherry said suddenly. sud-denly. "Yesterday when I was in Fran's room, and she was showing me the overnight case that the police po-lice had broken open when they got your letters, she went into the bathroom bath-room to take a shower and while she was there the wind blew in through her closet and I went to to close the window and one of her dressing dress-ing gowns blew against my hand and Kelly she'd wiped a pistol barrel bar-rel on it! No mistake. Grease and gunpowder, and it was all puckered up . . ." "What are you talking about?" the man demanded, interrupting "Fran had wiped the barrel of a revolver on one of her dresses?" "One of those negligees she wears And that was what she had on when she ran downstairs that night when we'd all heard the judge shouting and we all ran to our doors. The minute I saw it I remembered it although I'd forgotten it until then " "Forgotten what?" "That that negligee was what she had on." "But someone would have seen her if she'd picked up the gun " "Not necessarily. We were all so franticl But. Kelly," Cherry went on impressively, laying a gloved "Oh, Kelly, I'm starving!" She laughed her old joyous laugh as he caught her arm tightly in his. and they went along together at a walk that was almost a run. The restaurant was as plain as coarse linen and cheap chairs could make it. but the fragrance of the boiling crab kettles outside scented the place appetizingly. "Honestly, Kelly, is there one chance in the world Fran did it?" the girl presently said. "I don't think so. I'd swear she didn't have the nerve. But it strikes me it's seemed to me all along that her position is that of someone who knows something, or thinks she does; she's protecting someone. But who? Amy? The old lady? I don't know . . . Here are our oysters." "It's just one o'clock." Cherry said, "and I think I'll telephone home that I'm not coming." When she came back she sank into her chair, gripping the table, trying to speak. "Cherry, what is it? What's the matter?" Kelly stammered, catching catch-ing at her hands. "It was Mullins," she whispered They want us to come straight home She said-she said she and Jud had quarreled over you. Fran has confessed!" When they went out onto the wharf ookmg for a taxi. Cherry held Kelly Kel-ly s hand tightly. "Fran's confessed, eh?" he said more than once. "I wonder what ftat means? Why does she drag me m- She knows darned well that whatever she's up to I'm not in it." But-she could say you were!" Yes, but that's not enough." Kelly," she said, when thev hart signaled a cruising taxi and were on Anything," he said hZ'0"1'56 me 11131 no matter what Bl?HPtS- nW' 00 matter hw tan Eled things get. you and I are-fnr -rand eternally-bound be'Sd m d,arling' my darg" Hereaw;ar..tiyUrUfe now' how, instead nf tv, ulcers 'here two; Fran 'was tl n r to tell." 6 lt- B"t 1 had To OK Co,v;,,v, , "Didn't she tell you about the letters?" let-ters?" "Of course she did." "You you comfort me by just s-s-saying anything!" Cherry said, laughing with wet lashes. She seated seat-ed herself in a big fireside chair, and Kelly came to sit on the broad arm, holding tight to her hand. "Let's have it What about the letters?" "She had them, Kelly. And a day or so ago the police found them." "So what?" "So what?" she echoed dazedly, "Can't they use them, Kelly? Can't they make it seem that perhaps if you loved her . . . ?" "Why," Kelly said, "what on |
