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Show . Sometliir;" Settled By MEREDITH SCIIOLL Associated Newspapers WNU Service THE late twilight enshrouded Lorraine as she sat on the hammock on the porch. Kenneth came up the walk. She called out to him and he came eagerly toward her. "Lorraine!" He sat down, groping grop-ing for her hand. "Mom says Roger Is coming home!" "Roger?" A chill swept through him. "Roger?" he repeated. "My brother?" "Mom says your mom had a letter let-ter and he's coming for two weeks." Kenneth released her hand. He sat cold and rigid. "He's here," he said. "He came an hour ago. He's over at the house now." Her excitement was like a living something there in the darkness, like a barrier suddenly looming between be-tween them. "Here?" She caught her breath. "Then then " Kenneth turned on her savagely. "So that's it? So it's Roger you love want after all? It wasn't me? All you wanted in me was what belonged to him. All these months that he's been away, you haven't loved me at all. It's him ujl'Jn't waste time on a weakling i:!:e you." "Then come and get her! Come take her like you have everything else of mine that you wanted. Let's see yuu try! " A moment the big man hesitated. Then in the gloom he smiled and came up the steps. "That's what I'm aiming to do, shaver. Now get" Kenneth swung blindly. The force of the blow surprised him, awakened in him a spirit of confidence con-fidence and faith in his own strength. The feel of his knuckles against Roger's jaw was good. Sight of Roger staggering stag-gering back brought a sense of joy and delight. "Why, you " Roger came at him, his face contorted, his hands reaching out. But Kenneth stepped down, under the reaching hands, and swung once more. The blow sunk deep into Roger's middle. The big man grunted and bent forward a little. And Kenneth struck again, a savage jab that caught his brother broth-er under the chin. And he followed this blow with another. "You've always taken what you wanted. Never considered me. Always Al-ways laughed and scoffed and joked when I protested." His voice was low and vibrant and harsh, filled with passion and hatred. In that moment he wasn't Kenneth the weakling, the small, puny, laughed-at laughed-at younger brother. All the humiliation humilia-tion and anger and hatred he had known and stored in his soul until fffl IK g. there was no longer room for more was investing him with an unnatural strength. It was the spirit of what he had always longed to be asserting itself. Presently it was over. Roger lay at his feet, bleeding from a half-dozen half-dozen wounds. Kenneth stood over him, his lips drawn back, sensing for the first time the sweet contentment content-ment and exultation that is the reward re-ward of victory in physical combat. As from a great distance he heard Lorraine's voice. "Kenneth. Oh, my darling! My dear! However could you have thought it wasn't you I loved?" He became conscious of her hands clutching at him. He turned to face her, cold, aloof, triumphant. "You fool! Keep your hands off me!" She staggered back beneath his thrust "Kenneth!" Her cheeks were white, her eyes incredulous. "You do love me! You said I was yours you proved that no one could take me from you. Oh, I was a fool not to have known before it was you I wanted, needed." But Kenneth had turned away, was being lost in the gloom. His laugh, hard and unreal, came drifts ing back to her. She heard his voice. "And I should have known it was you I didn't want nor need. I thought you possessed what I was seeking, but now I know that I was wrong. For I've found it, and it was in me, not you." And Kenneth struck again, a savage jab that caught his brother under the chin. you wanted, him you planned to get, through me!" "Kenneth!" "That's it! I know now. I should have known all along. But I wouldn't let myself believe it. I wanted you to love me, I wanted L to think you did. I made myself 1... UjW-you did!" f ' - Kenneth, please! It isn't that. It isn't! I I knew you were lonesome, lone-some, and so was I and and and we did have good times together, didn't we?" "You're lying! You're lying now the way you've lied all these months to me. Leading me on. Letting me think you cared! I should have known, but I loved you too much to let myself believe. I was weak. Weak like I've always been." "Kenneth, don't. You're not as bad as that!" He laughed harshly, standing up, clutching at the hammock chains for support, staring into the darkness. dark-ness. 'Because I'm Afraid.' "He's coming over. He'll be here any minute. He'll take you in his arms and kiss your lips and you'll want him to." He paused, not hearing hear-ing the girl's quick breathing. "He'll take you from me, like he's taken everything else. Ever since we've been kids. Because he's big and strong and fun-loving and everyone approves. And I'll let him. I'll stand by and grin with that hero-worship hero-worship look on my face because I'm afraid!" He started toward the steps, lurching drunkenly, a strange, hard whimper coming from between his lips. Lorraine followed him, clutched at his arm. "Kenneth, don't! I can't stand it to see you this way. You shouldn't take on so. Kenneth! Please!" He shook her off violently. "I'm not blaming you! Not blaming you at all. Nobody loves a coward. Only," his words tightened, "you shouldn't have let me think as you did." Footsteps sounded on the concrete walk. A cheery greeting came to them out of the darkness. "Hell-o, Lorraine!" It was Roger. Big, strong, handsome Roger. Coming toward them through the gloom. The two on the steps waited, silent, si-lent, dreading his coming, yet grateful grate-ful for it, afraid of what might happen. hap-pen. The big man materialized out of the darkness. He was grinning, hurrying hur-rying along, but he stopped at sight of them on the steps; the grin faded, because he sensed, with seeing the look in his brother's eyes. "Kenneth!" he cried, trying to sound good natured. "What the heck are you doing over at my girl's, you danged little runt?" "She's not your girl. She's mine! She's been mine ever since you went away. Mine! Do you hear! Mine!" "Yours. Lord, son, what's come over you? Yours? Lorraine yours? A little runt like you!" "Ask her!" Kenneth said tightly. "Ask her how we've been carrying on." Behind him, Lorraine moved; her fingers pressed into his shoulders. shoul-ders. Roger's face was suddenly dark. "Listen, you little squirt. Lorraine belongs to me. She always has. She |