Evening Star Newspaper, March 17, 1935, Page 87

She lay in it so that it would look con- vincingly as having been slept in. Her watch told her that it was a quarter to one. An hour later, Mrs. Wyckoft got up. The lights, except for one in the saloon, were out. She held her mind focussed on injustices as she went. muffled darkly, through the quiet dark passage and out upon the cluttered deck. It continued to be an empty ship. Men were awake, she knew. down in the engine room. The mate was up on the bridge. A sailor stood at the wheel. Another sailor stood on watch in the distant bows. But they offered no suggestion of life. She went, a shadow among shadows, past a winch. over a wide metal guard, under the shelter of the deck’s ceiling, and stood before Edna’s door. She tried its knob and found the door unlocked. Mrs. Wyckoff con- vinced herself during the moment it took her to open it that her plan was perfect. Murder was a simple matter if you were not over elaborate about it, if you did not go in for poisons or chemicals, none of which were re- quired at sea where dark waters took the body, stilled with a blow, and hid it forever. h It was not a person that she saw vaguely outlined on the lower bunk. She refused to think of Edna other than as an inanimate offense, some immature gargoyle that it would be a benefit to humanity to destroy. She went to the head of the bunk and said softly: “Edna.” *Ralph?"”’ “No. Ralph isn't well.” “Oh, it's you.” ye" Sleep thickened Edna’s unpleasant “You have never made love to me once during the five years of our mar- ried life. You have taken me com- pletely for granted. You have never wooed me, you have never tried to please me. You have come home tired from playing your idiotic tennis and have expected me to be your refresh- ment and your solace. Like almost every other sportsman, you are as idiotically vain as a peacock, yet you take good care not to show that to anyone but your wife. You are kind to animals. You court dogs and horses, but you have never been my lover in all this time. And all that's the truth, may God forgive you." ““Jove, Julia, what an actress!”’ “‘Oh, I'm not acting!’ “I meant, what an actress you've been all this time. I never dreamt that you hated me.” “‘Oh, I don't hate you. No, Geoffrey, dear. 1 have no feelings of any kind towards you.” “You know how to hurt, don't Py ““While you, my handsome Geoffrey, hurt unconsciously and casually, like a conqueror. You have been hurting me for five years. Now that is over.” “Oh, is it?”" “The umpire's decision, darling, is final. No umpire being available at such short notice, I am substituting for him.” *“To hell with the umpire!” ““A most unworthy sentiment com- ing from one who has played tennis at Wimbledon!” : “So it's over, is it — your being my wife?”’ ‘“Technically, no. Actually, yes. “‘And | suppose it counts for nothing that I love you, that you are the only woman I have ever loved?”’ “You use the word ‘love,” Geoffrey, as though you hated it."” ““Julia, you are my wife. You are going on being my wife.” “But, darling, William the Con- queror died in 1087!" “Mock away! But, by heaven —" “Don’t touch me!” “You look at me as though I were a stranger!”’ “You are.” ““Then you refuse to be my wife?”’ “Yes. Until you court me as a man should court a woman.” “Court? Where the devil do you get these fancy words?"’ “The English language, dear. You ought to try speaking it sometime. It's quite a rich language.” “Expect me to make pretty speeches to you, do you?” “Pretty, no! Speeches, no! But a little affectionate conversation now and then — yes!” “By heaven, I've got it! Why is that bathroom door closed?”’ ‘“‘Because it's pulled to, dear.” THIS WEEK Black Night voice. ‘“What did you say about Ralph?” “Talk quietly. Ralph isn't well.” “Why? He was. What time is it?"”’ “About two.” “Does he want me?”’ “Turn on the light, will you?"’ Mrs. Wyckoff said quickly: “No don’t, it wouldn’t look well. After all, on such a small ship. Slip on your wrapper.’ The cabin was stuffy with cheap scent, and silk underclothes dotted untidily its darkness. Sleep still hung heavily about Edna, that first deep drenching sleep that comes to the young, and she stumbled against the rolling of the ship as Mrs. Wyckoff found a wrapper of musty satin and helped her into it. The narrow deck was walled by black mght and Mrs. Wyckoff went to the iron rail, and only her profile was faintly white and the hand that was not held beneath the folds of dark heavy silk. Edna said impatiently: “Coming?"” “Just a minute — I think I see something.” “What?" “So.methinz on the water over ore.”" Mrs. Wyckoff stepped back. A weighted stocking swung in a brief arc and struck sickeningly. Edna slumped and Mrs. Wyckoff caught her. It was as simple as that. The body was loosely heavy and seemed hot, a great deal of warm flesh under thin musty satin. It was very important that there should be no The “It's never closed as a rule. What were you doing when I came in here? You didn’t expect me back to-night. What were you up to?"’ “Am I to understand that you are accusing me of entertaining a lover who is now, for the purposes of con- cealment, in the bathroom?”” "By heaven, I'll strangle you! Irn— “You won't live to, if you choke yourself with temper.” “Who — is — in — that — bath- room?"” “Geoffrey, are you mad?”’ “There’'s someone in there, I'll swear it! I'll kill you and him before I've done with you.” “You brute, how dare you suspect me!” “That book you were pretending to read was upside down! You must have snatched it up when you heard me outside, though you pretended you hadn’t heard me. Julia, I swear I'll kill you if I find you've been unfaithful to me. And you lie there telling me about my behavior and character while all the time the truth probably is that you've fallen in love with some anaemric pipsqueak who can't come out and face me like a man but hides in the bathroom.” “Don’t throw cigarette ash all over the carpet, Geoffrey. You know how I dislike it.” “Who — is — in — that — bath- room?”’ “Find out for yourself!” “Julia, for pity's sake! If you only knew what I feel! I can’t bear suspecting you. I don’t want to open that beastly door. Julia, I loce you!"” “It's the first time you’ve said that convincingly since we were engaged.”’ “Will you swear to me that you —" “I won't swear anything. If you want to suspect me, you can. Only look out. Suspicions are apt to turn out true!”’ “You lie there looking like an angel and telling me you have a lover!"” “I haven't got a lover. A husband is quite enough of a bore.” “You're lying! Juha, Irn—run— “Take your hands off me!” “Will you swear to me that you don’t love anyone else!” “I've told you I am doing no swear- ing of any kind tonight.” “Julia, I've told you—1I don't want to suspect you. I shall believe you if you tell me that there is no one in the bathroom.” “I'm tired of talking. Good-night, darling.” “Is there anyone in that bath- room?”’ “Good-night, darling.” Continued from page two obvious splash and it was an agony for Mrs. Wockoffi to restrain herself from haste. With studied effort she swung the legs over the railing, then took a firm grip on Edna’s thick warm wrists, and satin rumpled loosely, as flesh scraped against iron. Mrs. Wyckoff breathed heavily from the exertion but she did not loose her hold until her own arms were stretched down at full length and Edna’s feet almost touched the slipping waters. Then she let go. Edna's scream shattered Mrs. Wyckoff with a physical wrench and instantly she realized her mistake, her not having taken into account the fact that the plunge into cold water would revive Edna almost at once. Panic seized her. She threw the incriminating stocking into the sea and started to run back towards her cabin, aware of an answering shout to the scream from the mate on the bridge, of the cry from somewhere of ‘““Man overboard!”’ Of the distancing screams of Edna, the harsh jangle of the telegraph from the bridge to the engine room, of a hurtling life-ring and a bright flare of scarlet fire, as its signal-can struck water, a colliding Filipino steward, and of Ralph filling the doorway to the passage. She clung to him. ‘“Edna fell over- board,” she said. The ship was swinging in a clumsy circle, the red flare of the lifebuoy qunte away astern, and again and again, most faintly, Edna’s screams. Ralph looked for a startled, compre- hending moment into Mrs. Wyckoff's eyes, then he gave a short ugly laugh and shoved her aside. He was in pajamas. He sprang to the railing and plunged into the sea. Mrs. Wyckoff joined the excited group cluttered by the rail. She shut her eyes, clinging bitterly to the cold iron rail and picturing that meeting in the waters, lurid with flaring red fire. Edna was a very good swimmer and Ralph, of course — while murder became an ugly and uglier word. The Yale professor pressed on one side of her, on the other the Russian Jewess hemmed her in. To all of their ques- tions she said: ““I don’t know.” The ship’s great swing was com- pleted and she was heading back along her wake toward that brilliant scarlet and confusing light. People rushed into the bows, leaving Mrs. Wyckoff alone, still pressing against the iron rail. Two sailors were fastening a rope ladder several feet away from her and the ship was no longer empty. It swarmed with noise and men. It was up that rope ladder that Edna, dripping in wet satin, would come, and Ralph would come. Mrs. Wyckoff wondered just what the procedure at sea would be if they didn't believe what she told them. She hurriedly constructed a plausible story for her having been up and for having seen Edna lurch and topple over the railing. It would be her word against Edna’s, the word of a woman of recognized importance against that of a tramp. Her hands were acquiring the quality of clammy flesh and her ears were deaf to the confusing shouts of men, as very red grew the light of the Locked Door Continued from page three “Julia, is there anyone in the bath- room?"’ “G'mght, darling.” me, woman!”’ “What?"” “Well, you wanted to know.” “By God! Your lover!” “What a beastly mind you've got!”’ “You—you of all people! My wife! The mother of our children!"”’ “Don’t be tu'eaome, darling.” “Julia, you're heartless! I don’t so much mind your being unfaithful to me — but haven’t you a thought for our children?”’ “Silly ass!” “We'll see who's the silly ass! By the time I've done with your lover, he'll have to spend the rest of his life in a bathroom. Come out of there, you swine!”’ “A man's home is his castle. Granted. But as soon as he thinks -omeoneeluisinit. he makes it into a pig-sty.” “The door’s locked! Come out of there, you dirty thief, before I pull you out " “Don’t be rude to strangers, Geoffrey! It's embarrassing for me.” “Hold your tongue, woman! I'm going to smash down this door."” “Geoffrey, just one word!” “Hold your tongue!” “Geofirey. let me warn you before you —' “Do you think I'll ever again be- lieve a word you say?"” . “You had better for just this once. If you break down that door —" “I can kear someone in there! Come out of it, you —" “Geoffrey, you will wake the children!” “Woman, make up your mind about this — those children are mine, and mine only, after this! Damnation, this door’s tough! Ah-ha, it’s giving way!" “You will hurt your shoulder, darling! Here's the key.” “You've had the key all the time?" “Yes, darling. But I wanted to enjoy the spectacle of you smashing doors. You aren’t very efficient at it, 1 think.” “Give me that key!” “Catch, darling. Oh, butter-fingers!"’ ‘Now then!. . . Good God!" “I told you so. darling.” “Your maid!” “Come here, Maisie! Poor Maisie! Were you frightened ?"” “‘Oh, madam, ever so!” “Look, Geoffrey, how you have frightened poor , Maisie! You had better go to bed now, Maisie. And let this be a lesson to you never to have a husband of your own.” “Yes, madam. Good-night, madam."” “Good-night, Maisie. Call me at ten. Now, Geoffrey, what have you to say for yourself?”’ “Julia, [ — T —" “Poor Geoffrey! A cruel joke, wasn’t it? I'm sorry, dear, but I couldn’t help it.” “Julia, will you ever — will you ever forgive me for suspecting you?"” “But, darling, I wanted you to suspect me! I heard you opening the front door and at once plotted the whole thing. Husband returning un- upect.edl_): catches chap in wife's “Well, I suppose I'd better go to bed. I'm no match for you if all you want to do is to make a fool of me.” “Darling, I just wanted to shake you up, that's all — to shake you out of your complacency. And I did it, too! How fierce you looked!” “Do you know, Julia. I’ve never loved you so — 30 madly as when I thought I'd lost you.” 3 scarlet flare and headway was lost on the ship. Ralph came up the ladder alone. “We were too late,” he said. “‘She’s’ gone.” Then he managed to get close to Mrs. Wyckoff and say quietly: “Wait in your cabin. I'll be there when this bunch quiets down.” She felt no sense of relief after she told her plausible story to Captain Dennon and then shut herself in her cabin and waited for Ralph to come. There was a queer angle to the situa- tion which she could not define, and which grew into an oppressive feeling of menace. Ralph’s expression when he came in softly and closed the door was dif- ferent from any way she had ever known it, not much, just a tightening of muscles here and there that gave him a feral look. Murder could easily, she thought, look like that. “I finished the job,"” he said. There was no sense of time or space. She felt dreadfully ill. Their voices just reached each other. “Why did you?" But she knew why, knew the full answer to his knowledge of the soap cake and the sock. He just stood smiling down at her, a different person and a different smile. She wondered how often before it had been murder too — in mass, they called it —rich widows like (Her honesty shoved her into it.) her sex-ridden self. “The Captain will marry us after this blows over.” She had never before, she was con- vinced, seen that face; she said, know- ing perfectly well that she never could: “I'll kill myself, Ralph.” He knew it too. ‘“No you won't, Mrs. Wyckoff.” Then she barely heard him say: “Not yet.” 3 “That’s usually the way. A silly world. Good-night, sleep well!” “Good-night, Julia! . . . Julia?"* “Yes darling?” *“Julia, 1 worship you, I adore you, I love you! Do you love me — just a little?"” I say, ing. “I'm going to have a bath now, after all that motoring.” "Nlee for you, darling.” “May I come in and say good-mght to Yyou afterwards?”’ Runember you've got that match “Damn the match!”’ "A.l'l?l”l more important to you thah “Julia, don't laugh at me!”’ “Am I more important to you than all games, dogs and horses?” “Thank you, darling.” ’ “May I come inand say good-night, Julia?”* " Siroil backs with a guarantee the claint that if you do not note marked improvement within two weeks—and you are the sole judge — your money will be refunded. Don’t delay. Write for booklet upon this new treatment. at once. Write SIROIL LABORATORIES 1214 Grisweld St, Dept. W-3,Detroit, Mich. - Please send me full information on Siroil—the new treatment of psoriasis. AN ADDRESS IR s e MO AR R e