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Show Alabaster Lamps By Margaret Turnbull Coorrltht. by Marlturet Turnbotl. WNU Servlc. CHAPTER XIII Continued 21 With the pulling together process, Mary hardened her heart. If Mother wus going to shut her out completely, tie could not, of course, confide in Mother. Ordinarily she might have told her mother a little, If not quite all, ahout Ned Carter, especially as gtie hud remembered thus late in the day Dorothy Seidell's warning. Mary would like to know now just what it was Dorothy had hinted. Hut I'olly Johnston barred every avenue of approach, ap-proach, and continued to keep the bars up during luncheon. So Mary went to the Accidentia twenty minutes early, with mutiny in her heart. Ned stood waiting in the doorway. His face was turned from her as she Blighted from her gondola, and Mury had time to study it. It was extraordinary, the effect this nam had upon her. She did not 1 i lie it. She was used to. men, and to their alteutions. Why should this gooil-loolring gooil-loolring grocer's assistant stir her In this manner? For one moment she contemplated (light. The next moment she rejected the thought as cowardly. Ned caught sight of her, and the look-on look-on Ills face revealed to Mary the extent ex-tent to which this young man was enamored. Along with all the other emotions, she felt a sudden sense of power. "Anything wrong?" Ned Inquired, scanning her face anxiously. "Everything ! Where can we go and talk cpiietly until Father comes?" "We could' take a gondola." "No! We could not!" I "Oh I say" Ned began. Mary Interrupted. "I simply won't ! Do be sensible and help me. What hall I say to K-.ithO''? Mother found out last night. She was waiting for me when I came in." "I thought her far too clever to bo fooled long," commented Ned. Mary continued: "Mother sent for or telegraphed to Mr. Rangeley. Mr. Loren Rangeley, to join her here." Ned's exclamation made her look up, surprised. TIow can you know what that means?" she asked, ascon-ihed. ascon-ihed. "1 I'm not quite -sure," Ned managed man-aged to say. "It means that Mother will tiy to divorce my - father and marry that cold-blooded fi3h " "Mary, don't I Loren Rangeley's my father !" Only Ned's strong arm savl Mary from stumbling, perilously near the cunul. "How can he be your fathei? Why, you're " "I'm Ned Carter Rangeley. I quarreled quar-reled with my father. I told you all about that, long ago. That is, I told you everything except his name. You see. 1 wanted you to love the grocer's cleik." "It would be much easier than to marry Loren Rangeley's son." "Mary 1 You don't mean that." "I do. How could that be the reason rea-son for calling yourself 'Carter'? You did it before you ever saw me." "I was tired of being just my father's fa-ther's son. I wanted Claude to like me for myself. Mary, you must believe be-lieve me." "I see my father," Mary Interrupted. Tm going to him." "Not until I Mary, many me now, and then your mother won't marry my father, and Claude will have his cluuice." "Ulter and complete nonsense!" "It Isn't nonsense. You know It Isn't. Mary, look at me Is it such utter ut-ter nonsense?" "Falher!". called Mary, movinfe quirlcly forward. "Here we are." They moved together into the Accademia, Ac-cademia, and as Ned stopped to pay the fees, Claude and Mary went up Btairs together. "What's wrong, darling?" asked (Maude. Mary put her hand on his arm and drew lii tit into a little room at one side, empty of sightseers for the moment. mo-ment. She noticed, with extreme annoyance, an-noyance, that It contained two or three paintings by lielllul. She feared she would always forget their beauty and only associate them with this most troublesome day of her life. "Mother knows," she said In a low voice. "Well, that's all right," Claude answered an-swered easily. "I'olly must know, sooner or later. 1 meant, what's the trouble between you and Ned?" Mary decided that her falher would be safe, "lie wants me to marry him." Claude looked at her. "The young devil! lint I hardly blame him." "lie's Loren Rangeley's son." "lie couldn't help that. I'on't you like him. Mary? Ned has sudden ways, but he's a nice boy." "Father." announced Mary Irrelevantly, Irrelevant-ly, "if you'll come behind that easel I'll kiss you." "Sure," said Claude. They came from behind the easel, presently. Claude studiously avoided a glance at the painting, which he privately thought loo ugly for Words. '"Don't ask -me to look at any more big, i":;t women who wouldn't take any evercNe. lost their figures, and yet would have their portraits painted." lie be ::.-! d Mary. "Let's find Ned." Put M;'fj protested. "He can wait. Vmi don't know everything yet. i-'a-tlier. Mother's sent for Loren Range-ley. Range-ley. She's going to marry hir.i for his money. " "I.oren's got quite a pile." Claud" tigroid calmly, "but then, there's me. fcue'l) have to gut rid of me. tirst. Un less she hns?" lie cocked an Inquiring Inquir-ing eye at Mary. Mary shook her head. Ned joined them. Claude looked at him critically. "Mary told me about you." Mary gasped. Father was terribly direct. "If there has to be a husband, right away," Claude observed to the Relllnl in that room, "J'd rather It was Ned." "If you'll come behind the picture of that big, thick woman, who's been Roughly handled," Ned told him, "I'll kiss you." "Don't be sickening." Claude warned him, as they moved away toward the entrance. "Where can we three go to talk about our lives in general, and have a little privacy. No churches, no palaces, and no picture galleries," he warned. "My feet ache at the very thought of them, and they are all full of gabby guides." He paused near the gondola steps, and considered a moment. "We can take a gondola " He was unprepared and a little startled by the mirth of his companions, com-panions, but continued gravely and without waiting for an explanation, "and go to my sitting room." He handed Mary in, and turning to Ned, surveyed him cooly. "On second thoughts, which are often best, we'll leave you to find your way there yourself, and slowly. I've something lo say to Mary, and," he added with a look that quelled Ned's tendency to rebel, "there are times when n father and daughter actually like to be alone together, though you don't seem to think so." A fatherly squeeze of Ned's arm helped Ned to interpret these re- mm Ned Stood Waiting In the Doorway. marks and to withdraw with better grace than Mary expected. "What a comfort you are, Father." "You don't have to marry Ned, you know, ,unless you happen to want to." "Don't worry I Loren Rangeley will put his foot down. He knowa Mother's money's gone. I'm only a poor grocer's daughter." ' "Is your mother's money all gone?" "Pretty nearly. That's why she's considering Loren Rangeley." Claude considered her gravely. "Do you mind the grocery business, very much?" Mary patted his arm. "Of course I don't. Only, Father, you're foolish to spend so much money traveling. When I go back we'll need to niter things a little. I can save you money by wailing behind the counter or keeping keep-ing the books, until we see what I'm best tilted for. I do hope you'll let me ride around In the car with you when you deliver orders." Claude's arm tightened, about bet. "You're my girl, all right," he said with husky voice. "I'.ut that Isn't necessary. As a matter of fact, Loren will jump at the chance of getting my daughter for his son. Ned, of course, doesn't know this," he added quickly. "Ned thinks he's asking you to put up with what he's got. lie has some of his mother's money, and he can earn more. He quarreled wirh Loren. you know." "Why should Loren Rangeley -jump' at me?" Her father looked :it her. She was so pretty, so lovable, und so unlike I'olly, in that money meant So little to her. "You see, daughter, I'm 'SCOUR KI.'N' the 'Dirt Destroyer'." Then, in answer to her look of amazement : "You've seen the signs. surely. They're everywhere. It's u good article, ar-ticle, too. I Invented It out of Mom's ..TAY.'.TATATyi.I.Ti'I'HM'H;I' old kitchen cleaner recipe. Then I had an Idea for a fancy tin can. It caught on. It's years since I've been a poor grocer. At first I kept qitiet about It well, because of Folly. I was fool enough- to fancy she'd come back, if I had money. I thought I'd keep It dark and go and find her myself, my-self, and surprise her. Cut I never did. There was a time, wtien I had no money, when I really wanted to find her; but after considering everythingwell, every-thingwell, I Just couldn't. Remember, Remem-ber, I didn't know about you." "It kept piling up." Claude continued. con-tinued. "The money, I mean. If a man failed, and I as agent, mind you," and he twinkled at Mary over this time-honored joke, "loaned him money, blamed if his business wouldn't boom. He'd be paying it back to me in no time and I'd have all that spare cash on my hands. Money breeds money.' I've spent all I wanted to, In a quiet way. I lived behind the grocery gro-cery mostly to keep Aunt Lyddy hapr.v, but I've had fun building and remodeling houses to suit me. The White house you und Polly lived In was one of them. I own nearly all of Clover Hollow. But, till I met Ned here. I never really enjoyed traveling about and using money on myself. I'm a kind of timid man about some things. With Ned. it's been grand. And yon ! When I knew about you, I knew what the money was for. Think of the fun I'll get out of just buying things for you! Now that I'olly knows you know me, can't we go and do some shopping? I want to buy you all the things I've wanted to hang on somebody and didn't know you were waiting for me." "Father, we mustn't be reckless. I can't take It quite all in. How irany thousand have you?" "It runs nearer to millions, Mary." "Mercy, what will Mother say?" Claude, watching her face, saw It change. "What are you afraid of?" he asked bluntly. But Mary could not, or would not, say. Her father helped her from the gondola. When they entered the sitting room, he said: "You're not afraid of me?" Mary shook her head. "I simply love you !" "H'm, I'm always afraid of those I love getting away from me." He watched her remove her hat, and then move about the room. It was lovely, she told him, to be in his rooms. Still Claude had a feeling she was not at rest. "If it's Ned, you needn't be uneasy,'" he told her, cryptically. But Mary apparently ap-parently did not hear. Claude went to the balcony and looked down. "Here's Ned now. Pretty prompt, you are. I said half an hour." "It seemed half a century," Ned told him, coining straight toward Mary. "Well, have you talked me over thoroughly, thor-oughly, and come to the right conclusion?" conclu-sion?" "Funny, Isn't It," drawled Claude, as he saw Mary color, "but we had other things to talk about. When Mary mentions It, we'll take up your case. The . question to consider Just now Is, are you prepared to face your father?" "Father! Coming here?" Claude nodded, surveying Nod coolly, but- avoiding 'Mary's eyes.' "You see our advantage. We can decide de-cide what we're going to do and pull the strings." Ned, still astonished, looked at hlra In silence. He wondered, confusedly, whether this could be the explanation. Was Claude Dabbs the agent for Loren Lo-ren Rangeley? There was no time to follow (hat train of thought at present, pres-ent, but he would return to It. "I see. Take the wind out of Mrs. Johnston's John-ston's sails, eh !" Mary rose with decision. "I'm going go-ing back to Mother. Father, you can see that I can't " "Can't join In with a lot of men to let a woman down, you .mean?" Mary looked at him dubiously. "I well, something like that, only " "Only you wouldn't have put it that way. That's called sex-antagonism, daughter. Don't you trust me any more than that? I'm a man, but do yon think I'd hurt you, or let Polly down for any man?" "Father, it's all perfectly horrid. I'm so mixed up. I love you, and I do trust you, but Mother well, she's mother." "Sure," agreed Claude. "It wculd all be quite plain and simple If Polly hadn't muddled things up. It's the children who suffer from mixed mo- tlves und marriages. Well, my girl, j we'll niaUe it plain and simple again. All I ask of you is to stay here and ; ive Mr. Rangeley, the elder, some tea. and keep him waiting while I go and tnlk to your mother." j Mary gasped. "Mother will never ; see you !" j "1 think better of Polly than that," ! said Claude, and was gone. I (TO BE CONTINUED.) 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