Show PAR A da by t evelyn Cam campber obell t s f service i copyright by evelyn campbell CHAPTER IX continued 15 she answered with effort po do not lure dare to say that you told me you ion lied tier her voice was lost nere was nothing she could say when he looked at her like that tier her face drooped upon tier her clasped hands 1 I 1 told the lie you wanted roe me to tell the thing you wonted wanted to believe ile he shrugged in the beginning you were po no doubt credulous but int dear young lady indy you were seventeen t then lien and ignorance to Is charming at t that hat age you tire are now twenty four twenty five tire A lady who has trav aled far you must have lent ned from all this adventure ills calin ness took all the rebellion out of her and when he went on after one of those dev devastating astatine pauses she listened with tit a muted face the personal note was vanishing from s between them and his words lashing as they were wet failed to stin sting her hei soul with the shame his naked eyes had put upon her hei he fie struck another match to his interminable cigarette you must have learned he went on slowly that everything has its price its rive give and take you roust must have known that these years have formed a tie fie not to be broken easily it Is broken now ile he gave her a long steady look loo from which passion had evaporated then he said you are more selfish than most women linda how did you learn it you were a sweet child once but I 1 dont don t suppose that you realize what breaking with me means yet what are you going to do she shook her head 1 I dont linow know site she was not thinking of consequences quen ces she was driven by an irresistible force to destroy one by one those ties iles of which he had spoken she had to be free of him at any cost tt it was like climbing a black tortuous mountain to meet a summit lighted by a marvelous secret glow once tills this was ever there would be something for her reward for loneliness for the coldness of her night he looked fit at tier her again and smiled ile he could hide his time slie she ans a little mad just now as women are when they fancy a 8 man lie he would have to wall a little longer you will not let the boy marry the right woman then he said you are determined to interfere well hes he s frightfully poor you know he cant afford to play around with women like you and youve got gal to he careful if you want him to get on ruin him in a week she unified as his eyes questioned her how little he be knew converses voice took on 00 a note dole of exasperation good G d dl I 1 women can be idiots lots when they choose I 1 believe marry the young tool fool I 1 she opened her eyes widely and closed them again the room the world wits was full of rosy light she had sensed that glow a long way oft off hut site she had not known it for what it was rut but now the abbe was at the top of the mount mountain nin and could look over into the vall valley ev and she knew yes I 1 noi ant going to marry him she said 0 there was wag the secret bett between it e in this lie guy hurry of crow crowds across UK dinner table where daisy prettiest af pf f hostesses made her futile bid abr what never could he be hers their eyes spoke to one line another there anso ans yo opportunity for more than a hind hand loop or a swift word without begin ning or end but carrying with it the he of his henrt to hers here they stood upon the brink of this tremendous experience hesitating to 1 whet wits was theirs sometimes site she rend doubt in brians branns ey eyes estand andl tills this wag ans sweeter than assurance aspuro nee she wits jealous of tier her power wi only site she could dissipate that hint doubt make him happy she lie did nothing to avold avoid what must r owe come but still site she preen presented ted it with that resistless forte which women bring to henr bear upon their ultima ultimatums tums slie she could riot not understand jer her own lay iny in her hand mit hut she wrt uld pot not clasp her lingers fingers and make it tier own she was like it n steeper sleeper shielding tier her eyes from the first rays of nf the sun morning was hers hersche the lung long perfect day was ahead of her yet she clung to oblivion she alie watched brian and daisy together seemed but now she knew and simon li 1 entress knew that thai it would never ti be I 1 more lhnn it was you are n happy woman the millionaire llon leonaire lio alre arild to her one day anil and you have never been happy before what Is it HI 1 I have learned to took look at 1 ufa 1 1 ac differently ferent ly site she told him fie ie shook his head A almy you yon wire were so perfect as you were are you certain ihnat you con can channel change tie lie had wondered more than on OB if there could be an anything thing in the talk that hint connected her name with converse surely not for if site she had been suit s u b a woman he could have offered b lier er more than these other two and slie lie had not been tempted by hla his obvious or preference she had her moments ot of panic whit li nt was she about to do the step was ns a tremendous one if ways wars and means were to he considered there wits money to be thought of hut but linda was in that exulted state wh n poverty Is hung bung with the sparkle of duy day dreams she begun began to be abbl bious tier her mind clear and alert cpr sprung ang to meet the future and searched excitedly among its possibilities she knew every one Thelin the con on meitlon reach far ar As undo linda roth in her self chosen isolation they bad avoided tier her with that ley icy acknowledgment of her existence more cutting than limn actual exclusion but she knew very well that as irian brian anstena Ans teya wife their influence luenie would belong to tier her ahey did not know brian it his s name meant nothing but it stood for all that hint such people hold dear respect solidity they would make him then alien she remembered how much he had resented influence lie ile had hated to know that his appointment came through simon dentress ren tress because he sensed through it the power of wealth but she dismissed this thought quickly brian was not worldly and she loved him for mal she loved loed hla his ideals with the indulgence of one who knows that most ideals are made of mache no one suspected her secret but simon fentress ren tress that small dry person sighed r when lie he saw her so beautiful so enger eager shy as his own girl was shy ile he wondered why things had to be that way brian had made tills this woman love him without lifting his finger and another man would have done far better for her but he knew better than to hint this to its his brian had accepted aid with rather bad grace from the first and of them all he be was the only one who did not suspect the real reason tor for the fentress Inte interest resL but daisy was as good a loser as her father not by one word did she betray the blank sense of loss that spoiled her young world perhaps Ier haps something will h happen appen yet iet her father thought watching her face and an watching lindas not knowing which to pity roost most CHAPTER X 9 1 I am linda roth happiness Happl linda before her mirror dressing diessl ng for a dance saw i a strange face looking back at her it had been years since she had ideen seen that face those eyes eves that smile the child linda haverhill had owned them all it la is not given gl en to many women to step bock back into girlhood with nil all its Ita fragrant hope and an d joy but in a single hour these had been given ghen back to her lie would ask tier lier to marry him tonight she 1 say yes there had been no promises and no appointment t but site she did not need tills this to know who ft ha v uld happen it fit was coming no as inevitably ns as the hours nothing bould hold it back no subterfuge ter fuge no hesitation she wore a long white frock glittering with crystals that clung to her slender limbs like frost wreathing wrea till g illy stems tier her delicate dell etite long arms arm emerged from all this whiteness and parade arkle like the sleepy stamens of a flower ower her face behind all its beauty and still happiness asked tor for something more without knowing it her eyes asked that this happiness should last not long before bedfor a hotel mold maid had fastened her frock and done those little tasks for h her er that must he be don i and had then been sent away any this wits a precious hour slie site benned between the candelabra to look at tier her reflection critically happiness in her ceol happiness lifting the corners of her mouth but her lips were too pole site she touched them lightly with rouse rouge and then saw that this accentuated the pallor of her checks ilow how foolish I 1 am why I 1 am trembling I 1 site steadied herself against th dressing table there was a vase of white gardenias clinging heavily to thick green stalks on a close by handshe and she thought flint the scent of these flowers must have overcome tier her A moment before she had been radiant and now this I 1 TO cro BE CONTINUED |