Show dont F tell jia e at the abife BY alf te i 5 CHAPTER VIL VII continued the conversation meanwhile had tended toward in informality as it became more general thus aided by the at least seeming dis concentrations of inta interest rest from them abner was making bold to talk to joan with less restraint still in subdued tones of course inaudible except to eavesdroppers and since eavesdropping is an art that cannot best be practiced in public even by the scandal attuned ears of the elite the lovers felt rather immune joan a slight flush on her satiny cheeks that was not alone of th the e fresh winds making was listening uri with th downcast eyes to unflagging uk talk the ardor in eyes the honeyed drip of his words were as plain as and potent to ranny as red flannel shirts to pasture bulls to this haunting flaunting of illicit bliss dannys poignant reaction following the normal way of all male flesh divided itself into two spasms the first a madness to bury his fingers in throat and presently gloat over a subsiding circle on the water marking the spot where ab ners body went down the only sign of that spasm was a nervous clinching and opening of his powerful hands the second impulse in due c ourse course was a cynical searching of his mind and soul as to whether or not lie he really cared after all there were other flowers in the social garden joan was a chrysanthemum he had always loved to think of her as a strong straight supple mum a great white flower decking the glories of autumn conservatories conserva tories but here at hand was an orchid a pale aesthetic fragile flower mrs clare Cle moneau in all her blonde bloom truly her cheeks were petals her arnis arms soft tendrils he noted feasting his eyes upon her clare grew conscious suddenly of his intensely personalized gaze his intimate interested inspection surprised delighted she flushed with inner satisfaction a faint tint diffused over her creamy cheeks and shoulders shoulder you are very beautiful ranny whispered he folded a coppery hand over her slender fingers he noticed that these were warm warin vibrant A living vibration that trembled preciously upon her lips her nostrils and glinted in her eyes he had never suspected so deep a passion in so frail a flower livingstone turning impatiently from a desultory chat with an arid and dowager fumed inwardly at the spectacle of his especially marked fair prey breaking ardent lances in an eye joust with another champion was a man given to quick and effective decisions he decided after an indignant glance at clare and ranny and a quizzical inspection of abner and joan that a cool sea bath would be a most effective damper to certain hot bloods before the gun sun goes down lets heave to and take a swim he proposed its too cold said joan positively nonsense the water temperature in october changed a whit from the summer mean it will ivill be invigorating just what we all need but none of us brought bathing suits livingstone curtly objected a fattish man clare took command 0 of the situation in her languid yet strangely domineering way livingstone you old dear a ducky suggestion no pun intended As for suits pouf away out here chos to censor clare paused and raised her ter brows in an arch daring smirk you immoral little vixen giggled a matron 1 I never heard beard anything so wild you dare think of suggesting it except that you know youve got the best figure in our set clare smiled faintly ar gratified ratified at the mock horror she had stirred up a amongst io n the women vo nien the genuine ahe shock ll 11 0 1 I she had caused the men but gratified led most by the black look she felt joan casting upon her ali ah life was sweet and she had not really said a thing stressed that clare means of course he grinned that style gives way to utility upon the briny deep ive an ample supply of the very latest cut one piece swimming suits mostly cut if all go to your rooms ill have the steward pass out the suits and no questions asked it will be a bully laik alk lets go the last one in is an old sea crow he chanted exuberantly thus demonstrating that the richer and rheu mier some men get the closer the they return under the skin to first boyish principles livingstone be yourself chided clare moving off so languidly that her warning seemed to arise naturally from a foreboding that she would win the nomination with which had pla playfully threatened the slothful A gift for giving misleading impressions pres I 1 however was but another of the qualities itie of clares art As a matter of fact she was the first to reappear upon deck though her manner was no less languid than before and gave no suggestion by quickened breath or color or otherwise that she had hastened her actions one iota guess she have much to take lake off giggled mrs under her breath to joan certainly she has very little on oil rejoined joan how is it her suit Is ib so much more extreme than those of the rest of us I 1 thought sir mr had provided a standard lot livingstone himself was pondering von dering just that as coming on leek deck with ranny and clay ilis his astonished eyes fell upon what was at that moment the common object of the stares of guests and crew alike clare ejaculated glaring at where there a ragged remnant of evini swimming suit leg like scalloped necklace demurely clung to the zenith of a creamy thigh you hussy who ripped your suit oh livingstone it napped you know how I 1 just hate to look liec ever everyone y one else so I 1 merely took some scissors cis sors and did a little trimming the legs were too long anyhow and tle te neck too high scandalous thought dowager audibly A general laugh followed the men mell admired the women envied clares daring she turned a reproachful and hurt look upon sirs mrs bien appealed to ranny from under ahe golden curtains of her lash veiled eyes ranny you think its perfectly perfect fly nice and proper dont you dannys head had been swimming with the eye filling picture clare made standing there on the forward deck her slender yet rounded and firmly fashioned limbs like some fine old turnings of lathe masters art looking pathetically inadequate to bo withstand the searching breeze all the other women and men too toa wore heavy sweaters sv eaters draped carelessly over their shoulders not so clare her only protection against the autumnal nipping of the sound winds was the curtailed red berey swimming suit ranny more than an anything athing else in the world at that mon moment lent felt a yearning impulse in his fundamental masculine a crying aching urge to clasp that soft little body up in his bronzed manly arnis arms to shield those tiny delicate bare feet from contact with the gro gross ss boards of the deck however catching joans eyes upon him as she belligerently awaited his answer to clares plaintive inquiry ranny decided with great self fice that it might not be wise to publicly humor his manly impulses but he wet his lips gritted gritter his leeth and summoned enough h independence to assert emphatically 1 I thic its just ador abbl er r r very sensible mrs Cle you know know ones onea limbs should be all ah unimpeded for the best results in athletic diversions dear man lisped clare twisting up to ranny with slinky itly grac graceful eaul undulations of her hips claie ciale had what is known in the parlance of the theatrical world as stage pre presence sence an instinctive dramatic trick of capitalizing attention and focusing it upon her merest words and actions she worked the gift to its utmost in that moment she made sure that joan and everyone was watching her before she whispered soft and low to ranny 1 I just adore men who have the courage of their 0 own n likings 11 ranny staring with deep concern into those limpid fire pools of eyes felt that he was beginning to just adore their owner despite the intensity of his feeling against abner and joan he was beginning to grow abstracted in that matter while his open and shameless flirtation with clare which was originally meant as a means to an end in his campaign of vengeance was beginning to collect heartfelt dividends or on his emotions CHAPTER VIII captain marty wales was a maine man born bom and bred social graces do not accrue naturally to the genuine lean and old fashioned brand of down t hummers whose eyes are adjusted to the far horizon of open seas rather than to the foreshortened ones of drawing rooms and whose hands grow red and coarse of winters hauling up lobster traps despite his derivation however there was avous a positive quality of manly gentility about captain marty with his ramrod back and his six foot three frame of two hundred hard pounds that fitted him eminently well to the bridge of a gent lemans yacht yea even to the bridge of the finest and most fastidious gent lemans yacht afloat the speedwell of livingstone when he caught a signaled order from to nose the speedwell in toward a sandy spit of beach and drop anchor there was a regal gesture in the manner in in which he touched his cap in salute that seemed to distinguish him as owner instead of employee more there was no end of disdain and derision plainly visible in captain martys mien and voice as he surveyed the scantily clad society folk waiting upon the forward deck for him to heave the yacht to so that they mi might dive and s swim many times during his career on the billionaires millionaires billion aires yacht had captain marty seen bizarre escapades which he could overlook or merely smile about in his remote way but no blue nosed man from maine could be expected to observe with equanimity people going in in swimming on an autumn day A man of many thoughts but tew few words that was captain marty to his first mate now he grunted nutty bunch the old ones even moren the young ones the gals as plumb silly as the men the first mate was as dry as the fish on the sun racks in the little nova town of lunenburg from which he hailed he grinned you cant tell lem em apart from here men or women which is which now nov the speedwells Spee dwells engines were stopped and she swung gently on a flood tide from her chains while ca captain marty and his mate hung over over the bridge to shiver and marvel at the spectacle of grown men and women carrying on like boys and girls diving and ad splashing about in water which according to captain martys on 0 n way of looking at it of been no turkish bath for a polar bear had counted upon the plunge to arrest further developments of heat in certain rather young bloods he had expected too a chance to ga gain inthe the undivided attention of clare away from ranny he had planned to teach her to kivini swim for lie he was sure that she could not swim who ever heard of a lisping blonde widow who could swim livingstone was proud of the sturdy breast stroke that remained with him as a heritage of the naked days of his skinny youth in northwest lumbering livers but when he came to look for her clare the weak and languishing was ranny and easily outdistancing even that athletic chap as slie she clove the pearly water vater like a butter spreader was so sore that lie he involuntarily swallowed several mouth mouthfuls fuls of briny water wate mis mishaps liap in themselves which are not calculated to improve a testa rich mans mails temper whose yacht and whose baity was this anyhow he had brought the widow for lik liis very own and here was faibes steal ing her away from under his very nose Stiv iier had too much money and too grand a social and business position to be accustomed to the c deperi peli ence of having fond desires whisked out of his hands he breathed maledictions male niale dictions upon ranny and wished he be had not invited him it did not seem to be enough that ranny had biad lost him a cool fifty thousand on that polo game he must cheat him of his woman too wanted to make a business bu ines deal with him did lie he hall hah ranny would be lucky if lie met him livingstone ever again clay varick lead Stiv ners s mind clay was adept at mind reading no woman oman had ever been able to make up lip her mind to engineer a apropo proposal al out of clay that lie he had not be been en t me cally warned in advance of her nefarious design de signi forewarned forearmed and thus a jolla bachelor forever clay stroked over to ranny who treading water on tho the outskirts of the swimming group was fc feasting asting bis ayee upon the delicti ble picture clare made a as she exhibited for bi his edification certain postures of floating which she had learned anti and acquired at the lido A gold anti and cream creane feather was clale claie upon oil the fortunate water mater idiot clay when lie he paused alongside ranny you are arc messing things up in in fine shape Stiv ners over there giving you looks black and hard enough to sink anyone with inith a I 1 less ess thick hide than your abner and joan feel they have blanche so long as you act as you do with this blonde in short ne e came out here to set a trap for your wife and youve crawled into one of your ro ir own making and pulled it in after you dont spit in my car eluded chided ran ny ive just begun be un to live clay who weighed Nei glied two hundred and fifty in his B V D s put a liani ham of a hand on oil dannys head forced him under water and sat on him until the th indignant clare raced over and scratched him away with lier her tiny hands seeing that the purpose of the swimming interlude had miscarried woefully decided that in perpetual variety of action there was hope a and nd clambering upon deck bellowed to his guests a summons to conic come and dress for dinner its unhealthful to stay in the water more than thail fifteen minutes when it its eh philly illy lie he explained daar Dear dear dcarl complained clare clam I 1 putting one graceful giace ful little hand on ran IL in nys shoulder anti and allowing him to play tugboat to her until they reached the gangway 1 I think we were in fifteen seconds she turned lazily on her buck back to hoat float anti and watched joan swimming easily and sturdily in her straightforward it way side by side with abner as they returned from a excursion to the sandy beach clares long lashes drooped not altogether w with ith the dewy freight frei glit of water dimps upon them thein she waited until joan was abreast of her then you know she called ostensibly up to and in answer to his lu s summons but really for Joans ears cars 1 I could stay forever in the water near ranny without feeling the cold iles hes better than axel grease or steam heat the there ie must be something in in yachting parties that makes his blood boll boil and clare i oiled lolled her great big eye very knowingly all the v vis doni and instinct of feline and feminine from the cat of Bu bastes and eve in the sly wink winic in which one lid flut fluttered tere d down and up softly like a parchment shade covering and uncover uncovering mig a luminous dinou window to he be 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