The Washington times., 1919-11-15
CHAPTER cCII.


.iiius cate, Inc.
eIas about o'clock 1t stopped
.is'o .15'ea a raining. I decided to for
,.3sr,x sake my lonely big chair in
uosilthe lobby of the Inlet House and go
r-sfg cut for a walk. 1t seemed to me
srj' that the poker plsyers must be
tni tired and headachy now from their
:, :. long confinement in Lane ~Cosby's
room. and that Valerie or even Jim
might like to go with me for
ss-Hbreath of air. So hurried around
= to the door and tapped gently. No
Then 1 raped smartly'
and after a minute or two Lane
TTFcosby came to the door.
His coat was of and his sleeves
..,rroiled above his elbows The room
csxas heavy with smoke. Every man
-rnabut Jim had removed his coat. Val
Twas in their midst, narrow-eyed
land nonchalant, smoking cigar
Ic~kette and rufhng the edges of her
cards with a slim forefnger. There
xneas a tray of sandwiches and gin
x<sgger ale on side table.
~ IT'S cleared" l announced, with
waning enthusiasm. Il thought you
f~Ir| nlKnL nave nOLfCcu IL oOs L III SoAA-
49, hs your attention to it Who's
for walk with meT'
IN Before anyone else could answer,
Jim looked up, the crease between
his eyebrows folding in and the
EHHrows themselves twitching as I'd
Tever before seen them do. His
xAngers beat a tattoo on the table,
Thhs shoulders hunched-Ris gam
S-1ng posture.
my wife doesn't know poker
LAhy understand it's charm" he ex-
3ldained jer<iIy. while stood humil-
<fated at having him explain me to
he three strange men who were
In the room The games not
ever. Anne Probably won't
c-tiIl when did we say? Oh. yes.
ss30. Run along, child. and take
tour walk"
S~Yalerie looked up. smiled at me,
waved the hand holding her cigar
elite. Then the door closed to a
AUrmured: I'm sorry" from Lane
Cosby.
1 lswhen I got to my room I found
that I no longer cared to take
sr"Of course can't go out" told
myself walking over to the window
and stretching my eyes wide and
holding them fixed and solemn on
II slim, white, spire-topped church
Ear away. How could / go out in
n haven't any. So. OF course, / can't
20 out None OF US can possibly
today"
Then I flung myself down on the
e>xx bed to rest for the evening. But
42s3- had no physical WEAKNESS from
ich to rest and no refuge from
DEy own thoughts
& sAH day long no one had paid the
ESfe<sst attention TO me. I simply had
~not counted That dreadful break
Fast in Valerie Cosby's stuffy un-
tidy room; my lunch alone: the
dragging hours. How different u
as ID eould have been II I'd stayed with
Betty Betty would have thought
" oS me III and suffering. she would
srSo11neve been a kinder hostess than
5sizooshe spoiled beauty a few doors
,ssrpe~ay.
ss.,-.,sS Contrasting Terry. tall and trim
.sssszsed perfectly groomed, with Lane
Cosby. whom his wife called a big.
brown bear" was almost funny.
And there would have been Tony.
tso-kind unselfish. patient. de-
pendabIe Tony with his steady, ice
R4y klue eyes under heavy brows that
Et4idn't twitch
VI I brought myself back with a
u Sart with whom was ! contrast
Ing Tony?
FThen I must have dozed, for all of
uS sudden I heard Jim's voice cry
.N Haven't you started dressing
yet? It's and dinner will be In
half an hour. Val left us an hour