Show BRIGHT T STAR arm rap B by MARY SCHUMANN icis copyright by macrae smith co LL SYNOPSIS kezia kezi a marsh pretty selfish and twenty ar r ri rives ve home io in corinth from school and is met by 1 her ier older brother hugh he drives her to the th marsh home where her ber widowed mother fluvanna a warm warmhearted hea hearted self sacrificing and understanding soul welcomes welcom alf her cerias sister margery Mar pery plump and matronly with the care of three children is at t lunch with them hughs ite dortic dome has pleaded a previous ang engagement a gement on the lie nay ay back to his job iob at the steel plant founded by one of his forebears hugh hogh passes doc F hiller blier a boyhood friend shorn ft horn he be no longer s sees ees frequently because of domes antipathy fluvanna marsh wakens the next morning from a dream an her late husband jim whose unstable character she fears kezia has inherited soon ellen P pendleton ri dictou comes over she is an artis inclined inclined girl who is a distant niece ol of Flu vannas and a favorite of hughs she happily tells fluvanna she has become engaged to jerry purdue ellen fears that her father and mother gavin and lizzie will not approve the match hugh and dome go out to the freeland farms to dance with their friends cun and loan joan whitney incy whitney who has been out of work announces that he has landed a new position they see sec ellen pendle ton and jerry purdue cun and dorrie dance together and then disappear for a while hile dancing with joan hugh is amazed to find her in tears apparently she lias has some secret worry over her husband cun hugh sees kezia accompanied compa nied by a young man CHAPTER ill III continued 6 they rose and floated away to the rhythm of the sentimental music ellen felt closer to jerry when they danced than at any other time they seemed so completely attuned then step seeking step turning instinctively in each graceful movement he was just enough taller he gave himself to the spirit of the underlying sensuousness of the air communicated it to her the music ended with an increased tempo and a final bang they walked to their table where the waiter had placed their dessert the place was filling up there had been orill only eight or ten for dinner but now almost every place was occupied across the room ellen caught the eye of hugh marsh gave him a laughing salute dorrie and joan nodded to her and curl cun whitney too she had never met cun but supposed it was a pleasant informality evoked by the friendship of the others she turned to jerry hubl marsh you remember we called at cousin Flu vannas one night the one in green with the stunning hair is dorrie his wife jerry put sugar in his coffee coffe e your cousin hugh is a good picker what a profile profi lel it like a cameo what kind of person is she 1 I never feel I 1 jenow her ier very well ashes not aeiry friendly you have the sensation she is passin 9 judgment on you finding you odd or amusing it may be imagination on my part or what 1 I think a person so beautiful creates a wall around themselves such a picture that youre a little in awe of them wondering over the effect your fault really for you make them conscious of the admiration mi ration you feel and amused by it jerry nodded she sounds high nosed to me he pronounced briefly cutting through ellens struggling analysis Is kezia like her you 11 ll meet her soon she wants me to take you over some night just as they were leaving kezia came in with arthur williams and they met on the steps kezia turned cordial radiant eyes on jerry as she extended her hand nice to know you ive heard s so 0 much about you ellen could see that jerry looked pleased and impressed el youre not leaving are you came kehias sweet aggrieved complaint do stay with us and dance wed have a foursome arthur seconded the invitation sure a foursome the idea of leaving now but ellen pleaded another engagement ga and they took their departure jerry helped her ceremoniously ceremonious ay into the car his manners were much better than most of the men she knew she thought with pride if he learned them at home he had picked them up from observation of others they gouid pass muster with her mother kezia anyone she hugged the reflection to herself with pleased content one more point in the sum total of the graces which endeared jerry they drove down the winding drive to the main road 1 I wish we had stayed said jerry regretfully gret fully kezia ashes charming she I 1 have minded meeting hugh and her name too we could have had a good time E ellen llen was conscious of a pang the knowledge that she was dragging him away fron the gay company for an awkward interview with her family made her feel guilty well go out again sometime 11 she said quickly As they spun along the concrete road toward town edged with suburbs bungalows and an occasional farmhouse she wondered what would mother say any of the terrible things she had voiced before she left she hear jerry insulted she would be firm on that but how protect him from the iniquitous insult of the look lizzie could wear upon occasion she had watched farmy plaice shrink and wither under its disdain and disapproval the time caleb had brought her to the blu hi use se her mother had asked fariny fanny icy questions designed to disconcert her she come a second time and presently caleb had married ena mills mother do that to her and jerry she must not ellens delicate face looked almost steely in its valor as she decided that nothing r would shake her determination to marry jerry mrs pendleton was evidently waiting for them for she sat very erect in a stiff carved high backed chair the living room was in the full blaze of all ah the chandeliers like a queen crossed ellens mind in a nervous snickering instant mrs pendleton was a blond big boned woman with distrustful cold gray eyes and lips pressed close together she hesitated about taking jerrys hand then withdrew hers quickly gavin pendleton greeted them gave short hard pulls at his mustache then rushed out of the room only to reappear in a moment ellens father and I 1 were very much surprised very began mrs pendleton accusingly but knowing ellen said jerry striving for aig lightness atness and ease knowing ellen you be could you just what do you mean b by y that she spaced her words and fixed him with a glit glittering terin 9 eye this is awful thought ellen mother giving him the third degree and father waiting for his cue to play the heavy parent 1 I mean that anyone should be forgiven for loving euen ellen loving ellen mm mm gavin rushed out of the room snapped on the lights in the dining room put them out returned you see said gavin brusque ly we dont know much about you he turned got as far as the french doors came back he stood with feet apart his hand reached for his upper lip haven t paid much attention to whom ellen was seeing gave us quite a shock tonight mother not strong very bad for her shock girls mm thoughtless mm parents nim mm consideration lizzie raised her platinum framed eyeglasses eye glasses held them at the corner do I 1 know your parents she asked insolently jerry jerry colored at her tone ellen rushed in with mother they are mr and mrs paul purdue and lived here all their lives ive never met them it was slogging hopelessly but jerry braced himself and came through smoothly with extremely nice parents mine awfully fond of me and all that I 1 know it has come suddenly im sorry that youre not well mrs pendleton and that it has shocked you 1 I was feeling better hoping ever so faintly that I 1 might be able to enjoy the pleasures of life again and then this comes but mother it is nice something to be happy why do you take that dismal tone cried ellen exasperated lizzie glared at her and drew a deep sighing breath 1 I have been a martyr for years no one knows what I 1 have endured some days better some days worse I 1 can never make plans like other people never do the pleasant things I 1 want to do A sudden shock like this is gavin disappeared from the room and came back with a cigar wrapped in cellophane which he offered to jerry jerry took a chair nearest lizzie shook his head gravely it must be terrible he murmured 1 I have an aunt who is an invalid lizzie looked somewhat what mollified fied it started with a sore throat an infection in the blood stream A very slow and dangerous disease few are ever cured she actually smiled although it was the slow self pitying smile of the invalid who enjoys her illness ive tried every doctor here that I 1 have any confidence in and ive been to specialists in other cities sometimes I 1 am helped for a time usually all y it is money thrown away I 1 manage to get about just get about seems to me my aunt tried some kind of drinking water a S special kind lizzie knitted her pale scraggy brows gavin what was the name of the one I 1 used so long 1 gavin shook his head gloo gloomily mily dunno he also took a chair as if the worst of the tension was over TO BE CONTINUED |