South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1920-03-05
WHY Is UNDERWOOD HERE?

My first impulse after reading the
anonymous message with its insult
ing reference 10 Dicky was TO show
+ it 10 Lillian. My second, TO hide it
where there was no possibility Of her
finding il. At first / hadn't the
slightest idea what il meant, but the
F conviction soon came TO me that in
some way it was connected with the
vague threat Grace Draper had ut
tered when she was led out Of the
room upon the night of her capture.
Keep your tears for yourself
/ Eouu need them now, any day" she
al said.
/ she must have known Of some
I thing discreditable 10 Dicky, perhaps
/ something in which she herself mad
! manased to involve him-my fever
i ish fancy touched q dozen different
! possibilities-and had managed 10
/ get this message past her guards
/ with her beauty and diabolical clev-
! erness the wits and resolutions of
most men would be weak indeed,
| thought mOrbidly.
With the hateful paper crushed
1 in my palm 1 stood outwardly mo-
tionless on the spot where ] had
/ torn Ii open. while over my soul
/ rushed wave after wave of anger and
bitter humiliation.
] must obey the suggestion of the
| message This was the one impera-
/ tive fact which stood out from the
| rack of my emotions persisting i'm
defiance of my common sense. And
! I must hide my purpose from Lillian
/ for I felt instinctively that she would
| thwart my going if she could. There
/ was wounded vanity and pride IN
/ this decision. | could not bear that
even Lillian's eyes should witness
| whatever discreditable thing / might
have TO face upon the coming of
1 Wednesday.
Madge Goes to Camp.
1 had little trouble in arranging
my expedition. Lillian was away all
/ day-Mrs. Allis dead. and with
! Grace Draper and the man with the
SCARED hand behind the bars there
was no longer need for caution con-
/ corning me. and with a little throb
of thankfulness l remembered that
| little Mrs Duurkee was stationed at
the information desk run by vOlun-
! teer women workers at the aviation
camp. She had found that she could
not go to France with Alfred. So
! declaring with pretty vehemence that
! she should die or go crazy doing
! nothing '-she had thrown herself
into this valuable work. She had
written and had phoned me fire.
Z
/ the camp, but l had never been able
J to make the opportunity. But now
II wasted no time in getting her
/ on the telephone, and casually ask.
4 ing her if I might come to the
| camp upon the next Wednesday.
\ "Of course" she agreed cordially.
4 And you're in luck. There are a
/ lot % new chaps from some of the
I other camps who are going to do
some stunts on that day. They say
they're crackerjaCks. The men here
are quite excited over them. I'll be
waiting for YOU at the hostess house
at l o'clock so don't fail
She was as good as her word, and
her hearty, cordial kiss and greeting
helped to quiet my overwrought
nerves. But I found 10 my dismay,
remembering the injunction of the
I message, zone to five" that she
couldn't take me TO the flying field
| for another hour, her duties keeping
her at her post until that time.
However, there was nothing for me
TO do but TO control my impotence.
for I could not go without her, so I
sat quietly upon the chair in a cor
ner of the crowded little room which
she had given me, fighting the i'm
pulse to cry aloud my nervous dread.
It lacked several minutes of the
thour Mrs Durkee had named as her
/ release when / felt unable to sit
quietly any longer, and with MUIR
INJURED word to Mrs. Durkee | went
outside the little building and STOOD
watching the panorama of activity
before me
Far down the main street of the
camp there came q rushing taxi at
/ greater speed than the others I had
seen, on the seat beside the chauf-
| feur the inevitable NJ p. without
| whom no vehicle traverses "a mill
tary camp and seated i'm il recog-
nized with "A thrill of terrified as
! constituent the faces of Edith Fair
/ fax and Harry Underwood.
\ Strange Happening.
Both recognized me ~ the same
moment. but while on Harry Under
! woods face there was written start
! led amazement. 1 saw in the mo-
mentary flashing OF Edith FairfaN's