| Show 0 U WEN BRISTOW 56 THE STORY THUS FAR FAK spratt herlong notion motion picture producer met and married elizabeth whose first husband arthur kittredge was reported killed in IT world war 1 but who later unrecognized went to work for or spratt under the name of kessler dick herlong enlisted la in the marines to do his part in finishing the mess tor for all time elizabeth finally recognized kessler she told him that she knew him to be her former ausba husband nd tie ile denied the fact spent considerable time in explaining that she was living in the past that she should forget the dreams of her youth and live only tor for her husband and children ile he said unless she could believe him he must go away CHAPTER in looking for that dream of security you have been looking for arthur he added firmly and incisively if I 1 were your first husband mrs herlong I 1 would tell you exactly what I 1 am telling you now you lont want him back elizabeth passed her hand over her forehead pushing back her hair the gesture seemed to clear her eyes and her mind with them she said you are not arthur then no your first husband is dead you cant have him back and I 1 repeat you dont want him back he paused to be sure she was listening she nodded to assure him that she was elizabeth thought of the time when cherry as a baby had bee been n so ill they had feared they might inight lose loose her she remembered when spratt had lost his job hit from behind by I 1 a friend he had trusted she thought of the night when she had sobbed secretly on his shoulder at dicks joining the marines and he had said what do you suppose im here for yes she exclaimed oh yes 1 I can be a friend of you both said kessler a dear friend perhaps but im outside your essential life because I 1 did not help you build it dont let me threaten it now mrs herlong you can keep it that depends on your self command not on mine no human being can destroy the structure of a marriage except the two who made it it is the one human edifice that is impregnable except from within keep iv you need it 1 Y elizabeth smiled without realizing that she was doing so yes she said to him 1 I need it elizabeth had a sense of freedom freedo m like nothing she had ever felt before she drew a long breath her mind flashed back to that bright year with arthur and then lingered on her twenty years with spratt the two periods were as different in meaning as they were in length she had known all along that the second had a value greater than the first but she had never placed them side by side as kessler had made her do today to see with vehement clarity how her love for spratt overpowered anything she had ever shared with arthur thank you mr kessler she sd said in a low voice you dont r abow ow what youve done for me kessler smiled at her gratefully but he did not answer it was as though having accomplished what he had set out to do he felt no need of saying anything more but as she watched him elizabeth was convinced of something else which was that he had meant just what he had said he was never going to tell her any more than he had told her if he was not arthur further persistence on her part would be useless if he was arthur it would be equally useless he would never tell her she might suspect to the endom end of her life but she would never know she understood as in her agitation last night and this morning she had aad not understood what kessler had done for somebody it if not for her he had resolutely moved himself into a sphere of his own where his disaster would be only his not interfering in any way with the normal lives of normal persons it was all very well to say now that if she had known twenty five years ago arthur was making such a sacrifice she would not have accepted it but if this man was arthur then because she had not known she had accepted it and now because she was not sure she had to go on accepting it if she had any magnanimity of spirit the only return she could make him was to accept fully what he wanted to give her by letting him believe she was persuaded he was not arthur but as she watched him elizabeth thought 1 I never will be sure ill never never know but she remembered that there was something else she could doo do for him he had told her so last night she roused herself to speak she said mr kessler last night you suggested you had a favor to ask of me I 1 hope still true kessler looked up with a slight start as though her voice had recalled him from a great distance for a moment he seemed to be getting his thoughts in order then he answered yes its still true 1 I told you last night said elizabeth id be happy to do anything in in my power for you after what you have done for me today id like to repeat that in capitals kessler smiled at her she had been right he did believe that she was fully persuaded and that was what he wanted thank you mrs herlong I 1 want to put shall we say a part of tomorrow in your hands margaret she was astonished you Y au mean you want me to take her he nodded but dont you want her I 1 thought you loved her so much 1 I do love her but I 1 shant be here always elizabeth sat up straight holding the arms of her chair what do you mean look at me mrs herlong he said quietly you ever wondered how I 1 have lived as long as this no I 1 your life has hardly seemed to depend on physical strength mr kessler forgive us what a strain we have put on you dick myself all of us we never stopped to realize you were ill that matter he answered so quickly that it was like an interruption please dont think it matters if you let this trouble you ill be sorry I 1 spoke please he be exclaimed insistently for she had risen to her feet ready to go before he wore himself out with any more talking elizabeth sat down again mr kessler of course ill take margaret ill take her now if let me but dont you want to come with her why dont you let me take care of you instead of staying here with nobody but a hired housekeeper if you only knew how much I 1 should like to do it no no not what I 1 want thank you but I 1 only wanted to tell you that its very unlikely ill live as long as margaret will need protection tec tion when I 1 can no longer be her father will you be her mother of course I 1 will no please dont start to thank me spratt and I 1 both love children now that ours are growing up weve often said we wished we had another younger than brian so dont start being grateful you may get a great reward tor for it said kessler 1 I told you how brilliant her parents were oh that I 1 hope ashes all you think her but if she it makes no difference ashes a dear child with au all my heart I 1 hope she wont need us but if she does well be very happy to have her dont fear for margarets future she spoke quickly and sincerely 1 I wont he promised her smiling not for hers nor for yours thank you now im going you are very tired kessler who had risen when she did had sat down as though too tired poor kid of course well take her to keep standing he had sat holding his cane rigidly looking at it instead of at her while she talked but he had listened with a faint smile of gratitude as though what she was saying brought him a great sense of peace now still without looking up he said very low thank you mrs herlong I 1 hope you will never be so lonely that what anyone will say to you can mean as much as that means to me he was silent a moment then goodby he said goodby said elizabeth she went over to him he was still looking down she bent and kissed his forehead quickly before he could say anything else she went out kessler leaned his arm on the table by him and bent his head to rest on it she was gone and she seemed to have taken all his strength with her he thought of elizabeth leaving him for years of vigorous living he was so tired that he could hardly imagine what it was like to be vigorous but he be had given her those years to come she had told him so not dreaming how much her words meant to him he was convinced now that she did not know who he was but he knew and that was enough when she told him what arthur had done tor for her it was as though she was telling him that at last he had fi finished what he had set out to do that day in the german hospital he thought of what he be had said to jacoby that day you never loved a woman enough to die for her it had been hard enough to die for her once but in retrospect that seemed almost easy compared to what it had cost him today to kill his image in her soul when spratt came home that evening she only told him kessler was ill and had asked if they would take care of margaret spratt agreed without hesitation poor kid of course well take her you wont mind if ashes a bit of trouble of course not said elizabeth she nearly added even if she were id do anything on earth for him but checked herself that would require explaining and she did not yet feel ready to explain spratt was talking look here elizabeth maybe that guy is too sick to work and is just keeping it up because he cant afford to stop do you suppose we could persuade him to take a rest oh spratt please try make him let us pay for it and please yes what tell him it was your idea I 1 dont think hed take it from me what an intense sort of person you are spratt observed with a grin you feel things all the way through all right ill give him a ring in the morning rather late for it tonight the next morning she was up having coffee when spratt came into her room thought id cau call kessler now he said if he feels like seeing me I 1 can go by on the way to the studio he gave her a sidelong glance now that youve slept on it do you still feel like having margaret here yes if you do its all right with me youre a prince spratt he chuckled not me youre the one have to bother about her clothes and lessons and teeth and disposition it wont be as easy as looking out for your own children either who said they were ever easy your minds made up then she nodded okay said spratt he sat down on her chaise longue and picked up the phone this is spratt herlong can 1 I speak to mr kessler what yes yes I 1 understand ill be right over he set down the phone and turned to elizabeth who had been listening in alarm what is it spratt she asked spratt wet his lips and shook his head slowly as though trying to get used to what it was he had just heard he answered kessler died this morning 0 at six for a moment he and elizabeth sat staring at each other they were speechless with the curious shocked feeling of trying to get their minds adjusted to a sudden announcement no of death spratt spoke first saying something about having to call the studio for a moment he was silent again then he stood up this is strange he said slowly like being hit on the head he never said anything about being that sick id better get over there right away yes go right over said elizabeth she felt as it if there was a great deal more she should be saying but she could not get it out now she asked why he tell us spratt maybe he know 1 I think he did said elizabeth spratt went over to the door and opened it 1 I guess we were about his best friends too he said guiltily as he went out there was nothing more she could do now nothing but sit here staring at the curtains but she suddenly remembered that this was not true there was still something she could do something she must do at once she must get margaret elizabeth sprang up at the idea of margaret alone again in her desolate little world she found that she was not quite as numb as she had thought she had to get margaret now before the child began to feel utterly abandoned she began to hurry into her clothes when she reached kesslere Kess lers apartment she found that spratt had been there and gone to attend to the last arrangements somebody had to attend to the housekeeper was very busy answering the telephone and carrying out the various instructions spratt had given her margaret was curled up in a big chair in the corner where the tree had stood last christmas she had put on her clothes in a haphazard fashion very different from her usual neatness yesterdays crumpled dress one shoelace untied the parting between her pigtails pintails pig tails carelessly awry when elizabeth approached her margaret looked up showing a streaky little face worn out with her having cried too much elizabeth did not say anything she sat down in the big chair for margaret did not take up much room and there was space for her at the edge of the seat she put her arms around margaret and drew the untidy little head to rest against her for a moment margaret clung to her without speaking then she gave another choking little sob he died she said brokenly everybody that belongs to me dies elizabeth felt like sobbing too she was not used to hating bating anybody but with margaret in her arms she felt that if all the words of hate in every language could be rolled into one they could not express how much she hated fascists and what they accomplished not everybody margaret she said gently we belong to you too margaret looked up at her again she shook her head slowly no you dont belong to me dont you want us to belong to you margaret was puzzled you she asked you and who else my husband and all our family we want you to belong to us and we wont leave you stay with us always TO BE CONTINUED |
