The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-04-01
10 YES GAMBLE
 By CHRISTIE
By MAY CHRISTIE

1RlSlIE
 melancholy note. Instead, 1t was a great calm mirror, reflecting the
 beauty of the sky above
 When we're married you shall have cottage overlooking the ocean. Will
 that please your Burke was smiling at her
 Lucille nodded.
 "Gloriousv she said.
 They stopped at Blackrock, and climbed the steep road that leads up
 to the little shop, through which--if
 one makes some trifling purchase of sweets or picture postcards--one may emerge out to the wind-swept cliffs.
 Lucille was quite enchanted. The
 green sward here was all ablaze with tinly. multi-colored flowers. pinks and
 blues and purple rearing their starry little faces to the sky The scent of clover mingled with the salt tang of the ocean. And the fragrance of bog
 myrtle, wild thyme and the sea ane-
 none rose to the senses like a sweet narcotic.
 A lark fluttered from her grassy
 nest upon the cliffs and scared up enrolling into the illimitabIe blue.
 Let's sit down for a little while and
 talk" said Burke at last, after they had walked perhaps two miles, during which Lucille had been for the most part silent.
 From grassy hummoclz they , watched the fishing smacks far out to sea, brown sails and white.
 Adventurous little craft" remarked
 Burke tentatively. He thought of Shirley Marsh. Hadn't she once likened herself to something of the sort?' As though she had read his thoughts,
 Lucille turned toward him, smiling. The high seas may be fine and thrilling-but prefer to sail into port" The man, well pleased, returned her
 smile. His thoughts, however, fingered
 for a moment with Miss Shirley.
 I'd like to do something for her" i he said enigmatically. And Lucille understood. She wasn't in the least bit jealous. For shed won
 the day.
 "Yes? Have you thought of any thing?"
 Couldn't settle some money on her anonymously so she wouldn't
 know?"
 She's going to marry young Eim Dalton"
 But that won't alter her finances, will it?" Burke poked a tuft of grass with the end of his walking stick. Those painter chaps are nearly always hard up-no business sense at all" He drowned as he remembered the cheque for sixty pounds which Jim had given to Lucille Very possibly it represented three months hard work. Burke had destroyed the cheque last night de- spite sIucille's congratulations. His fu- ture wife, even in the capacity of Shir- ley's nurse mustn't be indebted to any other man.
 "Oh, but Jim Dalton has a large pri- 1 ,os1 How do you know?" eThe caretaker of the studio told me. That kind of person always does know everything. He doesn't depend on his painting for living" And a good thing, too." said Burke, little grudgingly. A man with a sound business head himself. he was l inclined to sheer at "art." !, I'm sure that Shirley will be happy" went on Lucille, "althouh she'll miss her country home"
 1 Cad; That's the ideal" Burke sat up suddenly. 'Tll make her present of the White Cottage, lock, stock and 1 barrel, for a wedding gift" i You're a dear, kind fellow" said Lucille-and kissed him warmly. SHIRLEY IS FRIGHTENED ] noe hour later Shirley Marsh pro- l ceeded along the cliffs in the direction l that David and Lucille had taken. l She walked close to the cliffs edge, 1 exhilarated by the dizzy thrills that 1 that this proceeding engendered. It 1 seemed to the young girl as though she 1 "a tiny atom-were perched precari- ] ously between sea and sky. l Wrapped in pleasing meditatons, ! then she rambled on. ] How quiet, how isolated it all was. ! She failed to hear the gentle pad- 1 pad of feet behind her, following her. 1 But after a time the sound of half 1 smothered cough quite close to her made her look round, alarmed. ! And there on her heels was a 1 stealthy, furtive-looking Chinaman. l Shirley's heart beat an uncomforta- ble tattoo. To the right of her was a i tremendous drop down to the shore
 and behind her, to the left, was this l sinister oriental. Not another human ! being was in sight.
 She decided instantaneously that she