Evening Star Newspaper, September 20, 1935, Page 40

DAILY SHORT STORY- HER GUARDIAN ByG.C 'HE irony of the | % situation was | ldst neither on Jimmy nor on 8lade as they faced each other tensely g across Slade’s desk In the office next door, they botn knew, Tom Moul- ton sat, mulling | late over business papers probably, and just as prob- | aPly letting his d driit now and ahin to that prob- lem which had wiinkled his fine blo\\- with per- plexity for months plist—the problem of his ward, Mary. Jimmy and Slade were concerned with the problem of Mary, too. But with something of a difference. Jimmy's fingers closed | tightly around the heavy handle of | his walking stick, where it rested next his chair, as he said to Slade: “You know damn well I can't pay the money, Slade. When you ad- vanced it to me, you said I needn't efen think of repayment for several years.” Slade smiled, not pleasantld “Of course,” he said. “But yon see, I'm | rather hard-pressed just now; I} cpuldn’t foresee that when I made the loan.” He stopped ¥ ¥ ¥ x HE smirked at Jimmy's frowning | >~ face. : “Looking back,” sald .Jimmy, “it's| o easy to see what your game was. L was a fool not to have seen it &boner. You were so generous with your market ‘tips': so confident that things would work out all right; so willing to ‘help me out,’ as you called it—which meant plunging me farther | ghd farther into debt. I should have Mriown your motive, Slade. Anyone who knows you at all should guess | that the bias of your temperament | i® not toward charity. But it never accurred to me to connect Mary with Your schemes.” | “Jimmy stared at him sullenly. = Something of Slade’s smirk came beck. “Ill play the sport, Jimmy,” | he said. “T'll call the debt square | gnd give you $1,000 to get out of the | ogountry. That's not hard to take, ‘The sullenness in Jimmy's deepened. “I get it,” he said. | lgave the country—under a cloud, of oourse—leaving you a clear field with | Mary, to tell her what vou please gbout me, to persuade her to marry you and forget about me.” - “Very well stated” Slade said, | “allowing for your biased view of the | Your | alternative, of course, is to stay in | facts. How do wou like it? the country and face certain disgrace from the unpleasant publicity which I shall make it my business to secure | Sor you.” “And what,” Jimmy asked, “makes you s0 sure that your plan will work “ perfectly in all its details? supposing for the moment that you have listed all the alternatives for me—what of Mary? You're quite| confident she will marry you?” | * % ok X i LADE nodded toward Moulton’s | office. “With the help of our friend | there,” he said, “I think I can man- He doesn't like you. you know. | lous spec- | ulation,” Slade went on, ! confirm | bis opinion of you. He thinks you're | young and reckless.” | « “He's no graybeard himself,” Jimmy teplied. | . Coler. #: I mean, | | her, and—she loves me. “He's 35, Slade said. “And the re- sponsibilities of guardianship make him feel| older. He was fond | of Mary's father He wor't let her make a mistake in marriage, He won't, in short, let her marry & young scoundrel.” | ‘‘Nor an old| one,” sald Jimmy. | “Apart from your | vears, what have | you to recommend | yourself as the ideal suitor? Idon't think Moulton likes | you any better than | he likes me.” Slade smiled happily. “I've rea- son to think other- wise,” he said. “I| talked with him the | other day about Mary. Told him I thought an older man would be better | for her than a young one. He seemed quite impressed and said he thought so himself. He spoke of you—rather | vindictively, I thought.” Jimmy was silent for a moment. “You seem,” he said pointedly, “to | consider me enough of a threat to | make it worth your while getting me out of the way.” “Yes,” sald Slade darkly, “I do.” He shuffied his papers again, and went on very rapidly. “We've listed the alternatives, Have you made your | choice?” and spoke. * ok ok % IMMY got slowly to his feet. The | walking-stick was still in his hand. “We haven't listed all the alterna- | tives, Slade,” he said. Slade saw the mction of his arm, He started to rise from his chair, had not even time to cry out before the blow fell. The walking-stick dropped from Jimmy's hand to the soft car- pet; Slade's body crumpled forward | out of the chair. Jimmy stood very still, watching the | inert form and the crimson circle | widering on the dark carpet. He | heard a door close out in the corri- dor. His hands trembled: Moulton was coming. It could be no other. If he could stall him—if he could keep him from seeing what was be- hind the desk—he'd gain time any- | way, to clear the town, to find a hideout. He perched himself on the | desk, facing the door, trying to be | been accemplished within seconds. | The door opened. It was Moulton, | “H—hello.” said Jimmy, weakly. Moulton did not return the saluta- tion. “Slade here?” he asked. To Jimmy he looked very impressive in the doorway—a handsome, rather aus- tere, 35. | “Slade’s gone,” sald Jimmy, It was | characteristic of Moulton’s reserve that he did not ask why Jimmy should be here, alone in Slade’s office. | He turned to go. Then he stopped and spoke. “I might as well tell you what I came to tell him—it should interest you, t0o.” | “Yes?” Jimmy asked, barely keep- ing the quaver from his voice. I think you should know that Mary and I were married this morning. My position as guardian made me ! diffident for a long time. But I love It took us That's all. | a long time to find it out. Will you tell Slade?” “Yes,” said Jimmy, “I'll tell him.” Moulton went out. | Jimmy sat staring at the door with vacant eyes. (Copyright. 1935.) $150,000 FIRE DESTROYS| "LUXURIOUS NIGHT CLUB Blaze Routs Hostess, Family and ¢ Employes From Fashionable i Vivian Johnson's. By the Associated Press. | { MONMOUTH BEACH, N. .J., Sep- tember 20.—Fire destroyed Vivian Jdohnson’s luxuriously furnished night Qlub today at a loss estimated by Fire | Ghief Harry Woolley at $150,000. | Mrs. Vivian Johnson Jonassen, 35, fr whom the place was named; her Mother, Mrs. A. O. Johnson; her brother, Sidney; Bob Blair, bartender, | #hd Amelia Henn cashier, were | routed from the building in night| 'ess. | »Vivian Johnson’s, long a fash:\omhlei @hthering place for Summer residents | of the New Jersey seashore, was closed fir the season early this month. 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