The Washburn leader., 1916-06-09
The lrple
Comet
O4 A4OS -t
Dramatic Climax. to a Ride
In the Car.
BY CLARISSA MACKlE.

Mrs. Osmond emerged from the
milliner's abstractedly buttoning
her glove. She crossed the pave
ment and entered small electric
brougham which was waiting at the
curb.
"Home," she said to the chauf-
feur as he closed the door.
In an instant they were gliding
up the avenue. As they threaded
the maze of vehicles crowding its
length Alicia Osmond leaned against
the cushions and closed her aching
eyes.
The glare and hustle of the busy
streets had tired her already over
strung nerves. She felt sense of
grateful relief when they entered
the quieter uptown district.
The gentle motion of the car dull
ed her into somnolence. She must
have dozed. When she finally rous-
ed it was to glance from the win
dow with little exclamation. They
had left the city streets and were in
the open country. The car bowled
along the old post road, with oc-
casional glimpses of the blue waters
of the sea between the bare branch
es of the trees.
A glance at the leather cased
clock added to her astonishment.
The hands pointed to l o'clock. It
had been II when she entered the
brougham!
She signaled to the chauffeur. To
her amazement he did not respond.
His great square back partially
blocked the window. The collar Of
his coat was turned up about his
ears and met the cap, pulled we'll
down on his head. With gauntlet
ed hands grasping the steering
wheel and eyes set straight in front,
the man seemed oblivious to his
surroundings.
Alicia Osmond was thoroughly
frightened. Could it be possible
that her chauffeur had suddenly
been bereft of reason and that he
was carrying her no one knew
whittier? She; leaned forward and
raped desperately on the plate
glass with her silver portemonnaie.
"Stevensw she called sharply.
The only response was the increas-
ed speed of the car. She called
again and again, but received no re-
ply. At last she sank back on the
seat with real alarm.
After awhile she calmed herself
and looked eagerly from the win
dow. Help might be obtained in
their swift passage through the
towns, but their speed was SO great
that the people they met flashed by
like specters, while trees and dwell
ings were blurred panoramas.
She recognized the country now
they were near Ferncliff. Her
lips quivered, and the slow tears
rolled down her cheeks. Ferncliff
had been her home and Norman's
ever since their marriage, but since
their serious quarrel and the quiet
separation which had followed she
had taken the town house, and Nor
man had disappeared quietly from
his accustomed haunts- to
Europe, said the gossips.
The sight of the familiar country
gave her a sharp pang that made
her forget her anxiety over her
strange predicament of the mo-
ment. A hot sense of grief over
whelmed her again, as it had over
whelmed her many, many times in
these past sad weeks. As soon as
her first unreasonable anger had
vanished she had known poignantly
that her quarrel with her husband
had been mistake. She felt with
bitter woe and passionate self re-
proach that she loved him-loved
him more than all the world.
The, brougham whizzed on des-
perately, but she did not notice it.
She was sobbing stormily and call
ing for him who was far away. How
good Norman had always been to
her! Everything she had wished
for had been hers. The automobile
in which she rode had been his last
present to her.
'The Purple Comet, darling" he
had announced, laughing his great,
boyish laugh as he indicated the car
with. a sweep of his hand. The
thought brought her back with q
start to her situation.
At the instant it dawned on her
that there was something unfamiliar
about the car. There were the fit
tings of cream leather and purple
velvet-but the clocki The gold
monogram beneath its enameled
face bore the initials F'B. c." in
stead of "a. Z. o."
In place Of the purple velvet