Evening Star Newspaper, July 26, 1935, Page 12

An Exciting, Ultra-Modern Love Story. By Wyatt Rundell. INSTALLMENT XXIL his breathing was They waited ia silence for him to continue. . “I—I went on down to the railroad tracks,” he said, brokenly. was in the gully at the bottom. I PAUL spoke with an effort and | a stir through the room and St. got — Jess out—and ran down the |8 stricken circle, forced to accept 1 felt her—move—a | the confirmation of tragedy that had couple of times—and she tried—to say | stalked among them, eye meeting eye tracks with her. something, but—but—she couldn't.” He again buried his face in his|that the girl whom they had seen hands, oblivious to his surroundings, | 80 recently, laughing, dancing, living, the muddy water dripping from his wet clothes to the floor around his chair. Homer St the bowed shoulders, Paul,” he comforted. “Don’t think of it: you did all you could. Accidents happen, you know. Just leave it to us. Where did they take her?” Paul's head moved aimlessly in his hands. He seemed helpless, distracted, unable to think clearly. “I—don't know,” he answered faintly. “I took her—to a switch shanty—and a couple of men called the ambulance. I put her—down—on a bench—and got out of there—and went on—somewhere— 1 don't know. Finally I saw a cab, so I flagged it and came--home.” His voice died to a whisper. St. George straightened. His face was grave and he turned to_the awed onlookers, a pallid company, hardly recognizable as the same merrymake:s of a few minutes before “Bud,” he ordered decisively. “Call up the hospitals. Let's get this thing straight.” Bud went into the living room. The group around the dining table waited breathlessly, some talking in low tones. Ina stood rigidly beside Paul's chair, her face bloodless, her eyes dark, tragic, never wavering from the hud- dled figure before her. Carol Haynes George put a hand on “It’s all right, spoke to her, but she did not seem | tainly. to hear. Like Paul, she was entirely labored. George asked the question that was “The car | when they brought her in—* insensible to the crowd around them, | distraught, bewildered. “Better report the accident to th’ police. too.” observed Tom Jencks, ad- dressing St. George. “It's the law, and Paul runnin’ away like that might look bad.” St. George'’s hand moved in a &1- lencing gesture. “We'll take care of that.,” he said curtly. He knelt be- side Paul and his fingers explored the stained shirt front expertly. When he had finished, the negative shake of his head reassured those who had pressed forward to watch. “Mighty lucky——" he muttered. The crowd turned. Bud was com- ing back. They tried to read the ex- pression on his face even before he began to speak “She's at General,” eves fixed on St. George. wouldn't tell me much—just said ghe'd been identified. Wanted to know who I was and where I was calling from.” he reported, “They He seemed reluctant. There 'was on every cne's lips. | “Is she—dead?” he said haltingly. “Yes,” said Bud. “She was dead There was no sound. They stood, wonderingly, appalled at the thought should now be dead. | Ina covered her face with her hands. She swayed slightly and Carol put a strengthenig arm about her. Paul, still slumped in the chair, moved his head limply from side to side, his senses still numb from shock and | physieal exhaustion, a wretched sight. st. George faced the guests. “Let's | clear out of here, folks," he urged. “Let's give Paul a chance to wash up and get some rest. He's had a ter-| rible experience. Bud and I will run down and explain things to the au- thorities.” The impact of the water had almost stunned Lady Beth, but shé managed to retain ‘control over her mental and physical powers so that she could put into effect the plan she had rursed from the moment that she became aware of the intended. Secretly she had taken her small knife from her pockat and concealed’ it in her sleeve. Now, as the rock dragged her downward, she brought it into play. Being an excellent swimmer and diver, she believed she could endure this breathless immersion until she could escape. fate which Niarchus Rapidly, but in accordance with a practical plan, she severed strand after strand of the fiber net that enmeshed her. Constantly through her mind ran a single admonition—"Keep cool!” 8hould she give wlv]lo hysteria, even for an instant, she knew she d lose! ‘The lake seemed bottomless. the stgands innumera- ble. The knife grew duller, her strength began to ebb. “Keep cool!” Her lung: were bursting. She was struggling now to force herself through the opening she had made. Her senses reeled. Uncone sciousness crept upon her! MUTT AND JEFF— MY FRIEND,DONT A Hopeless FEEL ANGRY TOWARDS| o\ E WHO | HUSBANDS IN FTS OF TEMPER YOUR WIFE - SHE 1S SUFFERING FROM His suggestion relieved the tension. There was & concerted movement | toward the front hall where wraps had been hung, a general resumption | of excited comment. Then came an interruption that left them spellbound! | Ina turned from her position be- | side Paul's chair, and her eyes| searched the crowd. “Carol,” she said, distinctly, ap- parently oblivious to the fact that her | friend stood just behind her. “Carol. | Wait—I'm—going with you!" Her words penetrated the half | coma into which Paul had lapsed and | he staggered up from the chair, star- ing at her as if he had not heard aright. He put out a groping hand. | “Ina—" he said hoarsely, uncer-| | “Don't touch me,” she rasped out. ‘You—murderer!" Her accusation cut through the un- dertone of the room, halting the de- | parting guests in their tracks. Paul “stared at her, his haggard features distorted under their cov ering of dirt and dried blood, his hands clutched helplessly at the ruin | of his overcoat. Her eyes held him, cold as ice, her mouth a twisted, con- | temptuous line in her white face. Outwardly she seemed deadly calm. but the little hysterical uplifts in her | voice betrayed her. “You—Xkilled her!” she said pas- | | sionately. “You—and your lies!” Then her control seemed to melt and her next words were fairly flung at him: “It was no accident! She did You—made her do it!"” The cry vibrated through the room like an electrical current. The hush | was instantaneous, deathlike. Sue Train ran up to Ina's side and caught | her hand. d “Honey!” she begged wildly. * | his transfixed countenance. HYPER- INSULINISM! ARE REALLY SUFFERING FROM A THE pors NEW DISEASE KNOWN AS HYPER - SUFFERIN' SEALE HARRIS - Case IM THE [WIVES WHO THROW THINGS ATTHEIRE you NEED NOT INSULINISM; SAYS PROFESSOR | OF THE PROFESSOR- IWILL 60 IN AND CURE YOURWIFE! —By BUD FISHER MY GoOD FRIEND, THERE 1S NO HOPE LEFT FOR don’t know what you're saying—!" Ina brushed her aside unseeingly. She stepped closer to the dazed Paul, l who stood, mute, stiff as if supported by some invisible wire. “Why don’t you deniy it?" she shot at him. “Why don't you? Because you can't!” Paul made an evident effort to speak, but the words died in his throat. | The uncanny accuracy of her in-| spired indictment was written upon Ina ignored every other presence in the driving agony of -disillusion- ment, the bursting of the flood that had so long stagnated behind the dykes of a finally crumpled faith. All the misgivings, the doubts that she had so bitterly fought against, their verification now so terribly pub- licized, réacted in a storm of grief- stricken fury, irresistible in thelr cry | for redress. “She did it——!" she repeated re- | you—but she chose—to die—! | his, tragedy that unfolded before their es. “No,” went on the white-faced girl, her voice lower, shaken as if she tired rapidly. “She’s dead! You can't| change that. You—killed her! She believed in you—and lost. Now the | things that you've done—the lie that | you've lived—all have caught up with | you.” Her hands flashed as she tore the slender, diamond-set wedding ring from her finger and threw it on the table, from where it rebounded to the floor and rolled across the room. Whitey winced as it struck his shoe. No one spoke. No one moved. No | one essayed to stop the trembling girl as she turned blindly away. Paul | stood just as she had left him, stiff, upright, as if by some miracle, his eves, deep-set, uncomprehending, fast- sound but the rapid breathing of | ened on the floor. His head moved those who listened. Not a hand moved | in a despairing motion, defeated, de- as they stared, fascinated, at the'fenseless. lentlessly. “She's dead—because of you. Because you've lied to her as you've lied to me—as you've lied— always. You didn't think she’'d do jt—and now—you're shocked—you're afraid, because you know that the truth—would have prevented it. But you haven|t the courage to tell—the truth—even though it cost a human life! You hadn't the courage to tell me—of your obligation—to her—you said there was none—nothing between In- | side of you, you're glad—congratu- lating yourself that she is out of your way. She tried to take you with her, and the least you could have done—would have been—to go with her—to be where she is now.” Her fists were clenched, almost in his face, and her eyes, barning into were loathing. There was no Suddenly Ina wheeled around. !hei her slight body pressed against that | of faces. His legs refused to support ran back to him, clutched him with | red-stained shirt front. his mouth down to hers, laid her cheek against his grimy one, caressed the bruises on his forehead with gentle fingers, murmured to him inarticu- lately, heedless of all else, in the choking grief that encompassed her “I love you,” she sobbed. I couldn't this. But if it's the truth—I'll have | hands that were frantic, compelled him to look at her, terrified in the | full realization of what she had done. | “Paul——!" she cried brokenly. “Can't you tell me—that it isn't the | truth! ~ That it was an_accident! That I'm wrong in what I believed! Can't you—!" Her eyes searched his face in a sort of tragic eagerness. Those watching were forced to undergo the agonizing ordeal of witnessing the heartbreak within her struggle. Her arms slid around his neck. She talked to him as if they were com- pletely alone in the room. all her hardness gone in the reaction thet followed it. “Please — honey,” she pleaded “Can't you tell me that—I—want you to—" The tears ran unrestrainedly down her cheeks. She held him tightly, you. to—go—" fession. caped her Paul stared at her and his eyes His lips moved, bu: no sound came from them. For a mo- ment he met her questioning gaze. then he turned his head away, mouth agonized. taking the mute eloquence of his con- were tortured. Ina stiffened and a great sob es- | Paul dimly felt her hands drop from his shoulders to follow her with his eyes, but the room swam before him, a misty sea She drew | him any longer and he sat down heavily in the chair. He heard voices, excited, confused, footsteps passing him, but he paid no heed. His mind seemed dead; he wanted only to sit to enjoy the delicious sensation of complete inertia, the one escape from his racked faculties. For what seemed an age he was aware of no one near him, then a touch on his shoulder roused him. I—love go—without doing Here. drink An’ don't voice ur head worry—evervthing'll be okay A sudden commotion in halted the speaker. The half-con- scious Paul sensed a ring of drawn faces around him, an ominous tension in their conversation. “Bud——" came Puny's voice, thick with excitement. “We gotta get him on his feet. There's a police car down in front e (To the room his ‘There was no mis- He tried be continued) The testimonials you hear mean a lot more. .. ‘ Wlen you hear friends telling friends that they like Chesterfields because they are milder — or because there’s something different about the taste that appeals to them c ~—that means a lot more