The Climax-Madisonian. (Richmond, Madison County, Ky.) 1914-1917, 1915-03-10
cHAPrER III.

hi @IILBERT BLYE suavely ap-
preached June. and Mrs. VII
fNI lard went into an adjoining
~ office to talk with Mr.. Pink
NAM Following Blye came Grin Cum
bingham. Tommy Thomas and a white
haired man with heavy lidded eyes.
Then June received the great shock
of her life-Blye offered her a trip on
| private yacht. He had a photo of It
with him. She gasped I'm amazement
and refused It.
Then Cunningham drew out a check
book and asked her how much money
she needed. June's cheeks paled. She
burst into the office where Mrs. Willard
sat with the iron Pinknam-
did you bring me here to be tor
mented by those people?" she demand
ed. Her cheeks were flaming. her eyes
swapping.
Mrs. Willard hesitated a moment.
did your" insisted June. IF so I
shall resignr'
.'Why, no, child" returned Mrs. VII
lard rising and holding out her hand.
Il only want you to do the things best
for you to do
I'm goingr' June suddenly decided.
The iron man bowed. There was no
CLINT in his metallic eye, no smile on
his unbending lips.
June, followed by Mrs. Willard, sailed
through the magnificent reception room
and into the hall. Blye and his COM
panions followed them.
At that moment Ned Warmers taxi
cab drew up in front of the Bond Sc
| hut aIa 10
came the electric of Honoria Blye, that
lady driving it herself. bolt upright.
| June darted into the first elevator.
and her pursuers crowded I'm after her
Mrs. Willard put an arm around June
In a corner of the elevator, and there
were tears in her eyes as she talked
to the distracted girl. 1t was that
which brought sympathy to June. It
was her greatest weakness, sympathy,
and by the time they reached the
ground floor she had consented to re-
turn to Pinknam's with Mrs. Willard.
she would not talk to the others, how
ever, and they very wisely held their
peace.
| AS they emerged on the main floor,
however, Cunningham turned to her
with twinkling joviality in his eyes
and, leaning over. whispered something
into her ear just as she was about to
step into the adjoining upward bound
elevator.
/ At that very instant Ned Warner
strobe into the rotunda, closely follow
ed by Honoria Blye. He saw his beau
tiful bride in the company OF the black
Vandyked man, who was watching her
with that suaye smile upon his dark,
handsome face. while a debonair
white mustached man bent over her
Familiarity and whispered in her ear.
He saw June blush; he saw her step
back; then the lady with her drew her
into the elevator Blye and the others
crowded after her, and as Ned raced
vengefully through the corridor, with
l the shrieking Honoria behind him, the
door closed with a bang. and the car
shot upward.
They rushed into the next car, Ned
black browed and silent, and the shrill
Honoria jabbering necessarily. The
car lad scarcely started 10 move when
a sudden idea came to Ned, and he
turned to Mrs. Blye with the first
words he had spoken to her.
I'VE might miss Them" he snapped.
They may have seen US and not go to
the office you named. I'll go back
down and watt
AS they left the elevator at the
eleventh floor the door of down car
changed. If Ned had got out at the
first stop, which was the ninth floor,
he would have caught that down car.
But more than that. He would have
come face to face with June and the
one person whom of all the people in
this world he most longed to meet, GIL
bert Blye.
June, who had burst from her tor:
mentors at the ninth floor, stepped into
the down car which Ned two floors
above had just missed. Mrs. Willard,
still pleading. followed her. and Blye's
audacious crew laughingly Joined them.
Two down cars shot by Ned, and by
the time he reached the main floor the
faces for which he was watching were
lost in the throng at the door. He
might even then nave distinguished
his runaway bride and the man with
the black Vandyke had he looked IN
that direction, but he did not expect tc
see them there. He expected to see
them coming through the open door OF
an elevator, the girl whom he loved
above everything In the world and the
scoundrel whom he intended to stran
gle to death.
June meantime had hailed a taxi
She saw standing in front OF the dool
the luxurious limousine OF Gilbert Blyt
and understood why Mrs. Willard had
dismissed her own car.
so Mr.. Blye was to take US homer
she holly charged
Don't, childr' begged Mrs. Willard
beginning to be as much distracted al
June. Lets so home" And. stepping
in the taxi with June, she gave a sharI
direction to the driver. Don't you
dare follow" she ordered Blye and his
companions.
The tormentors laughed and walked
forward to Blye's car.
Uptown on busy Broadway sped
June and Mrs. Willard. and by the time
they had reached Columbus circle
June's suspicious of Mrs Willard were
allayed-
Through beautiful Central park witt
its branches interlaeed against the
wintrY sky. and now June was begin