Show BRISTOW feature rap STORY THUS FAR herlong motion picture producer married elizabeth whose first husband arthur kittredge was reported killed in world war L I 1 arthur badly disfigured and not wanting to live was ln in a german hospital dr jacoby who was treating him finally secured a promise from arthur that lie he would try to live providing the doctor reported that he was dead arthur did not want elizabeth to know of his condition when he arrived in america he secured a job with spratt and was invited out to his bis home he be knew who elizabeth was but believed the change in him was sufficient so that she would not recognize him CHAPTER XIV have you ever been to the united states before mr kessler he turned to her at once and amileth ebeth thought hes as relieved a am to have that look between us broken or if hes not then im letting my imagination go haywire he was answering Sherry cherry yes miss herlong but that was many years ago long before this country was brightened by your existence say very good dick exclaimed with a grin elizabeth flashed him a teasing glance you will oscar they all laughed and dick said to kessler you speak awfully well for a man chos just been here once and that so long ago it has been three years since I 1 left germany besides I 1 have visited england and scotland we have more chance to practice foreign languages in europe than you have here oh yes of course you do said cherry we dont have any we take french and learn to say have you seen the garden of my grandmothers cousin and then school is outi out for the summer and we forget it t least I 1 always did you three children mrs herlong why yes said elizabeth but brian is only eleven so he had his dinner early but she could not help asking how did you know there were three mr herlong told me and showed me a picture of you all brian asleep yet is he a sure he do you want at him too 1 1 should like to very much if its quite convenient elizabeth laughed a little mr kessler you should know its never inconvenient for a mother to display her jewels dick will you run up and get brian sure but better warn mr kessler that hell be all smeared with glue and bugs brians mounting butterflies does it all day and night and hell talk your ear off about them if you let him 1 I should like that tell him to bring his specimens down and show them to me there are thousands cherry warned but kessler showed no dismay he only said then tell him to bring a few and dont make him brush his hair abl 11 dislike me before he sees n il he and dick exchanged a look of understanding As dick went out kessler turned to elizabeth 1 I hope im not upsetting a domestic arrangement mrs herlong in asking that he come in but your two older children are so entertaining that I 1 help wanting to see the other arent you nicel exclaimed cherry thank you for saying so answered elizabeth of course their father and I 1 think they are but we love havin having other people agree with us im sure other people do you should be very proud mrs herlong he glanced glance ii around him when men one sees a home like this one knows who is responsible for it I 1 dont mean the physical furnishings nish ings of your house attractive as they are I 1 mean its atmosphere its not by chance one achieves such confidence and vitality he spoke sincerely obviously meaning what he said elizabeth felt a glow of pleasure it was like what she had felt when she sat on the balcony yesterday afternoon before she heard the children talking in the den she wondered what kessler would say of them now it if he had heard that conversation she said 1 I hardly know how to answer such a compliment mr kessler has it occurred to you that perhaps we have too much confidence a good deal more than is justified by the world we live in oh yes he replied instantly true of nearly all americans at least it seems true to anyone who comes to the united states from europe but surely he added smiling you cant hold yourself guilty when a man long surrounded by terror comes into your home and feels encouraged at the thought that this and not the other is the normal state of living his words made her feel better than she had felt all day now that the two of them seemed to be back on a normal basis from which a friendship could be started it occurred to elizabeth that perhaps kessler fresh from nazi germany but evidently not part of it could tell dick more clearly than she ever could something about the issues at stake in this war he was going to be asked to fight much as she loved dick she could not disguise from herself the fact that he was more superficial than she would have liked him to be so occupied with girls and football that he was glad to accept cliches that relieved him from being occupied with more troublesome matters dick was a nice boy but mentally he was a rather lazy one and neither she nor his father was quite capable of coping with him spratt was inclined to believe he would begin to take life seriously when the time came elizabeth thought the time had come for it sometimes it happened that a friend was better at this than the parents who had spent so many years being more indulgent than they should have been or who at least had emphasized pha sized details of socially acceptable behavior at the expense of the much harder job of making a bo boy y think for himself her thoughts were interrupted by the opening of the door from the hall spratt and dick came in with brian who had a glass topped box bok of specimens under his arm this is mr kessler brian spratt said he wanted to meet you so he could know the whole herlong family how do you do sir said brian all in one word and held out his hand fortunately kessler was sitting down instead of leaning on his cane and so could give him a handshake brian stood uncertainly one foot curled around the opposite ankle your brother tells me you are interested te in natural history said kessler and I 1 asked him to tell you I 1 should like to see some of your specimens Is that in the case brian nodded butterflies want to see them look out warned dick and cherry said simultaneously you dont know what youre getting into mr kessler paying no attention to them their r guest already had his head close to brians as they bent over the butterflies together dick poured a cocktail for his father and saying need another one one too mr kessler if you let him get started he refilled kesslere Kess lers glass kessler appeared to be deeply interested te in brians butterflies brian was chattering that thai blue one is easy to get everywhere except where its too cold for them the name is lamp lambides Lamp ides something I 1 forget but ive got it written in my notebook this is a monarch butterfly they fly north in the summertime like birds the copper and I 1 b I 1 1 17 V q its never inconvenient for a mother to display her jewels black one youve seen thousands like it its a viceroy spratt sat down by elizabeth good fellow he he said under cover of the other dialogue yes indeed but we let brian wear him out 1 I think he likes it said spratt one of these men chos interested in everything elizabeth glanced at kessler almost ready to believe that her impression of self consciousness on his part had been mistaken certainly their exchange of remarks before brians entrance had not suggested it when the maid came in to announce dinner neither kessler nor brian heard her they were deep in conversation brian sitting on the floor with his case iri id his hands this time listening instead of talking one of the ugliest objects in the world but strangely fascinating kessler was saying to him it loois looks like a man with his hands spread out but they are tremendous hands many times larger than his body the first time you look at one you feel a cold shiver run down your spine what on earth are you tatting talking about spratt demanded brian started and turned his head the skeleton of a bat mr kessler says it if we can get hold of a bat hell help me mount the skeleton if your mother mind kessler amended of course I 1 dont mind sold said elizabeth but brian mr kessler is a very busy man and you use up too much of his time mother mr kessler says I 1 can come over to his house and we can take the bat apart there and deter peter can come too hes got time for it you mr kessler 1 I have offered if I 1 will you let him come mrs herlong certainly and its very vely good of you brian were going in to dinner wont you move so mr kessler can get up from his bis chair brian scrambled to his feet kM mother other I 1 come to the table recalling brians usual eagerness to avoid company dinners elizabeth was astonished kessler had won him evidently as he had won the others she let him come in pausing to remind him in an undertone that he monopolize mr kesslere Kess lers attention brian nodded solemnly As kessler stood up brian watched the procedure with undisguised interest for hitherto he had only seen him sitting down and I 1 had not been warned of all his new friends handicaps elizabeth felt a moments embarrassment until she reminded herself that kessler must have had to bear many stares from children and would understand that brian did not know he was being rude she was not sure she had been right in permitting brian to bring a chair to the dinner table though she had planned the menu with special reference to his disability kessler might nevertheless be awkward about eating with one hand except for her fancies which she was inclined to call absurd it was a very successful dinner they all liked their visitor and he evidently liked them and spratt was glad to find his family and his friend getting along so well together they had coffee in the living room over the coffee kessler said to her your household is exactly what I 1 most hoped to find in this blessed country mrs herlong I 1 cant tell you how much I 1 have enjoyed meeting all of you he spoke this time with a simple friendliness as though quite unaware that there had been any odd glances between them elizabeth said now that you know us I 1 hope youl come back to see us again thank you he be answered 1 I should like to very much i that was all they said to each other spratt got up and suggested that he and kessler go into the study and talk over their story problem the children said good night with a cordiality very warm compared to their usual routine of politeness toward adult guests and brian went upstairs A few moments later pudge and julia came to call tor for the two older ones get through dinner all right pudge asked with a sympathetic grin pudge said cherry as though conveying momentous news he was nice pudge scowled incredulously A refugee sure said dick but hes okay elizabeth went upstairs to say good night to brian he was enthusiastic about kessler and the promise of help in mounting the skeleton of a bat you know what he told me about bats mother he said if we had ears as good as theirs we could hear a fly walking up the wall he said a bat was one of the most mysterious creatures on earth we just understand them a bit that guy sure does know a lot the initial sense of familiarity returned to tease her but whether or not she already knew him kessler KessIer wasa was a fine fellow she reflected and she was glad brian liked him brian turned over in bed mother I 1 just thought of something peters a jew so what asked elizabeth mr kesslere Kess lers a german and you know how they are about jews he said I 1 could bring peter but I 1 tell him if mr kessler had approved of that sort of thing hed have stayed in germany brian maybe mr kesslere Kess lers a jew brian suggested hopefully Is he 1 I dont know but you worry about it hes not stupid enough for that foolishness 41 1 I guess not brian said relieved 1 I sure do like him so do V I 1 she reflected that kesslere Kess lers enjoyment of a happy domestic scene might mean he was lonely in a strange country brian she suggested since we like mr kessler so much lets prove it by doing something for him lets ask his little girl to bring some of her friends over to go swimming oh rats said brian one thing he could not understand about his big brother was dicks liking for girls brian suppose we had to pack up all of a sudden and go live in germany you be glad it if other children made friends with you instead of making you play all by yourself well do we have to not at all and mr kessler have to help you with the bat either come on brian be a sport well havea have a good party with lots to eat sherbet and one of those big cakes from Del havens and all have to do is be polite you can ask peter over and she can bring her own friends brian sighed be awful he objected all right lets put it this way if you go over to mr kesslere Kess lers and he helps you put a bats skeleton together you can play with his little girl one afternoon by way of saying thank you if you dont go over there you do it it brian mournfully considered the alternative it was a struggle but at last after she had tried again to tell him the value of give and take in the world he yielded As she closed the door elizabeth drew a long sigh of her own 1 I dont wonder so many parents let their children grow up to be monsters of selfishness ish ness she thought its so much easier but then they grow up to grab grab grab until they turn out to be fascists grabbing for the whole world she went into her own room glancing at the radio she wondered what fresh disasters she would hear about if she turned it on and did not turn it on she sat down at her desk and got ready to write some letters maybe my children are pretty self centered anyway she was thinking oh for sake why should I 1 be discontented with them not malicious disobedient untruthful simply hard and its the age they live in TO BE CONTINUED |