Show PARADE R A by evelyn campbell copyright by evly evelyn campbell 8 arvic CHAPTER VII 12 loves lovea labyrinths iler her step lagged a little but she Atif fenel as site she entered the hotel the elevator was directly before her and she could have gained it with a few steps she turned however and walked toward the grilled enclosure where a gentleman a lesser gentleman with other oilier dimmer figures was in stalled tn in that lint curious haughty allence that Is peculiar to high priced hotels I 1 lindas ja daa walk was one of the rarest qualities slie site possessed she was so tall full and slender that site she seemed always about to bend and break under tile the demand of effort tier her wraps were always slipping from her shoulders but never neer did tier her eyes halt veiled appeared Bp oared to see nothing but she had seen distinctly the loos looks that followed and greeted her the bellboys on their bench were watching her furtively the second gentl embri at the desk leaned on tits his pointed elbow to listen to her arid and watch all of then them saw tile the new expensive hat and the pearls slipping from tier her rich fur sly aly letters please lindas voice was sweet and very low slie she spoke us its little as possible to such persons as se the letters were in her hand and she wits was turning away before she he old thank you in a negligent to tone tie e as though that grilled in group had no meaning for tier her they looked after her hopelessly site she seemed rich itch tind and prosperous tile clerk looked doubtfully at a letter that had been separated front aiom tile the rest finally he tucked it away in a private pigeon hole it would not do to make a mistake in this case hut but linda knew nothing of this she passed on to the elevator ele ator leisurely examining tile the letters in tier her hand lundn ahida no longer occupied cousin amys house when the family were away the fiasco of her marriage was a half told secret discreetly ignored by her relatives whose number seemed to have dwindled perceptibly it isa Is one thing to chaperon and champion a young girl very beautiful and pathetically poor but quite another to be responsible for a widow however young and beautiful whose affairs to say the least are in a muddle and deeply mysterious cousin amy ralston halston told some of the others that she mie always felt a cold chill down her back when she heard beard lindas voice in the hall so it hap bened that by degrees her own voice became so cold so brief that linda not wishing to give ghe pain refrained al most wholly front communication with her sensitive relations she had plenty of friends any woman free and pretty dressing more than well and seen at her best every where Is bound to have friends ond and invitations imitations only to linda the people who took her about and entertained tier her seemed oddly less like friends than it ft was a curious feeling that had grown upon her lately site she was always tin on guard always standing off a little while she smiled smile d and a n d tal talked it ed softly it was as if a hundred pairs of eyes were seeking for a crack in her armor which site she was determined they should not find for a long time site she had had a 9 splendid time slie she wits not in the strict sense of the word a women of so society clety rather slie she took what she wanted of society and let the rest the bores tile the dull parties pirt les the commit tees alone the llie people she was seen with lilt were usually charni trig though thoughts some were a little vague about them thein selves there were always plenty of hosts hasili duped dazed hv by the ense ease tile grace of cinda at n nil lier her friends who were quite rendy to tn pay nv for tile the party it hu hat puzzle thein till all that she it had a d not again there must ha have ve beail plenty of men to tn marry tier her rich desirable men who could give ghe tier the setting slie site lc served bin bill I 1 indu inda ans its faintly by tills this won cpr p r talk tit nf morr hige always brought before her llie lite vision of tile the of her twenty four hour honey for it had lasted no longer longe r than that site she knew but lifter after site she niel met brian arlan anstey ansley she began to think tit if again not consciously though marriage as a form or ceremony did nut not enter her mind she would luie have checkel checked the idea tit in its birth it 11 tier her conscious self had biad not been drugged by the artful subconscious hill knows so well liow how to tahe its victims unaware linda could have argued herself ow oui of lc lot lct t with a poor young joung inan if lov lev had tint stolen upon her find blinded tier her eyes with beauty and silenced her lips and deafened tier her with deennis she never neer thought of marriage hut bill slie site began begaii to ro chafe tit nt tile hie lite life slie site led tile llie handsome rooms she occupied strewn with will costly trifles trl lles prisoner tier restlessness site she wearied of eving about gibout and wearied of tier gowns unit anil tit UK meaningless jargon of tier lier friends slip she tit begun gan to think of quiet cool still pie spots to visualize what she hw hain never known she found herself re ine inhering every step of that hint pit grini oge ninde made with alth brian ansley tit in that snowy dusk and tle little houses with their lumps title uni red cirps site she would arouse hers hersal tit from rom these mein ories orli try to elude hern hem try to hate hale then them hut bill it was BO an use time and line again they returned each time willi the humble plen plea of pence peace she sli dipped sed herself carefully tor for tant fira dinner with brian it would be ba simple because became he must not spend much money entertaining her she contently cont antly remembered that he be was poor slie she chose the plainest frock in her ar drobe and had look more lovely than ever against its plainness her beauty shone ke she had not quite lost that faint exaggeration ge ration of every point that women always found a flaw daw at the eastmo last moment she lung flung the double strand of 0 pearls courtney rotala sardonic pres ent around her neck she was transformed at once to splendor but w when afen ifen silo she sow saw this she tore t them hem ro roughly off and tossed them into their case she wanted nothing like that to have a place alme in their hour she knew from the lie first that brian adored her and so sweet was the knowledge of this unaccustomed girt gift that she yielded deliberately closing tier lier eyes to consequences she thought she could draw back in time one night there was a party with the Fen tresses and she watched the pretty blond girl grow anle and flush under a word or look from brian who was entirely unconscious of it all she loves him thought linda poor little thing I 1 site she has haa everything she lias has lone done everything to please and I 1 who have done nothing 0 site she felt suddenly humbled and ashamed she ought to go away find and I 1 because she has ha money linda finished as ai frankly as a he le leave a ve these two alone they would come together as naturally as two birds alone jn in the sky I retty arent they said simon fiatito fentress ress at her ear ue he was watching brian and daisy with a rather sardonic 0 tile smile that he be afterward turned upon linda youth la Is always charming she said how those beady black eyes looked into her now you are young too only a couple of years older than daisy and yet iet you are not youthful you youve ve been taught things my gle girt will neier never know because she has bus money lindado linda finished as frankly as he not entirely it in the child to know she likes muslin frocks ills eyes traveled over her long graceful elguie bow illow shortsighted nature Is al I 1 if you had been born my daugh ter ills his kindling face bold with the light of said what a s splendid life they would have hadl what worlds would have been conquered I 1 you think I 1 hate muslin S said aid linda with tier her faint smile unless they ore are made in paris you think I 1 could not endure pov eity city site she persisted lie ile looked nt at tier her a long time it will would id he a grout great waste waite my dearl he s it III gently bently as it if he was sorry aora for her senator converse did not remain in ignorance of all tills this lie ile fell of at first into tile the natural error enor of imagining hint linda was attracted by the of the le entress millions but this impression pres slon did if nut survive watching her dunce dance bilth brian ansley one night TO OE BE CONTINUED |