The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1921-04-28
When A Girl
 Marries
By ANN LISLE.
CHAPTER CCLxIN.

appeared in ScOrnful swirl of dust.
 Then he jerked around to the tea
 tray where ring lay looking small
 and deserted amid the contrasting
 largeness of cups and saucers and
 glasses.
 Jim's eyes were fixed on Neal with
 a queer expression-at once quizzical and demanding, as if he were meas uring Neal and trying to force him to measure up-
 In their long first period of mis- understanding I had stood between my two boys and tried to interpret them to each other. Now T. had to Elet them alone, to permit them to work out their own estimates of each other.
 Neal looked up suddenly and met iJim's gaze. He stared at him with tthe same look of probing Jim was fixing on him. Then, as if the words {, were wrenched from him, Neal ex- claimed aggressively:
 'If you've hurt Babbsie again, Jim tiff your being here like this means any unhappiness for my sister-you sha'n't get away with it. l promise
 Jim actually grinned. He advanced , with quick stride, grabbed Nears astonished hand and began pumping it up and down.
 "Youre all right, youngster!" he tcried- Some brother-some sport! If you're worried about Anne, turn 1 and take a slant at her. Does she look as if I'd hurt her-as if she doubted me?'
 : NeaIhis hand still gripped by i Jim's-turned, almost incredulously:
 Tt doesn't feaze you-fndinS Jim ! here like this-with herr" he said jerkily, avoiding Evvy's name. I gathered myself to meet Jinn's [ every expectation as I replied: . Its Evvy who seems to have been ! feazed. She's said-and made it clear, too-that she doesn't want to r1f1 ha dY1Sf : seem to have much of her own to hsave.''
 We've all been dismissed-to- } gether," said Jim dryIy. Shall we | clear out, Anne? Will you drive us l back to town?"
 : Then, too boldly, I feared, he ] picked up the discarded ring and stood studying it.
 Neal, old chap, what Evvy Mason E,thinks of us is pretty clear from what she said to us when she got through : with us. And she's through, all right. But I'll bet we never do much talking Son that score. I'm darn glad Evvy : has marched herself out of our lives Shall we be starting aIong?"
 He held out the ring as he spoke. But Neal, his face matching his hair, stammereG: Would you just give it to Babbs to keep for me?"
 I took the ring and slipped it into the inner compartment of my bag. : That made two diamond rings I had received from Neal in one afternoon. those rings was only mine in trust.
 Say, Anne, do you want to drive US over to the old Harrison place be- fore we go home?" Jim asked as we made ready to leave after giving, by tacit consent, a decent margin of time for Evvy to come back and establish whatever relations she wished with us. |
 I noticed glint in Nears eyes xxyhn Tfr1a S-aT6 hot roamed over the tangled but lovely | old grounds together a few minutes | later Neal drew Jim aside and mur- l mured a few sentences to him. They seemed to re-eStabHsh from NeaPs | angle the same cordial relations | which Jim had shown every evidence l of feeling from the moment Neal had | cried out his anxiety for my happi- | ness.
 We spent so much time on the | Harrison place that 7 o'clock caught | us unawares and hungry and we had l to stop at an inn for dinner. Mascu- | line poise and calmness stood us in l such good stead that we ate in good | natured, commonplace fellowship, as | if nothing unusual had happened i And we motored Neal home and bade | him goodnight on the same unstress- ed note-
 ''See you for dinner tomorrow" ! announced Jim at parting, and Nal agreed.
 Jim's first words when we were once alone in our own apartment were pitched in a far different key ! however.
 Anne" he cried, seizfng my shoulders in firm hands and holding | me off at arms length. Have you | stopped caring for me?'
 Have I stopped caring?'' began | already to protest, and then the | quizzical gleam that had come again 1 to Jin's eyes arrested my attention | x,t-, tone 'Of course, Sir James, it would | tatter your masculine vanity for me | to swoop down on you with a query l as to what you were doing alone with | that woman. But l remain calm. Is | it q disappointing calm, Sir James % |
 'Tis-and 'taint!" laughed Jim | But, of course, if you haven't the | least curiosity I won't bore you with | my story" |
 "Oh. Jim!'' burst from me in a tone l of complete betrayal.
 And then Jim told ne-part of it | -as much as a man who isn't a cad | could tell. I filled in the rest.
 I've been making money-fist- | fuls, Lilac Lady And I thought the | old Harrison place ought to come | back to us. I've had Neal on the | trail of the present owners and their l price, Thought it would be easy for | him to get his finger on the Sturges | Construction Company. But it isn't | listed with them, and he cant pussy foot a bit of Knowledge for me We'll | today I went out there by train to | take a look. And as I was hoof1ng it | from the station, where the one hack | and half a taxi were working for | other folks when I wanted them, l | met Evvy.'
 And went to Mason Towers with | her in pursuit of the policy you've | been following for weeks I hazard | ed in a breathless rush. You've been | trying to make her realize that she | couldn't go through with it and marry | Neal-Just in spite Phoebe and you | and me and to be revenged on you | for jilting her-by making your little | sister suffer- After all my failures | you've saved Neal from his own stub | born ideas of honor. And Phoebe | needn't be miserable. And all be- cause you found the one way to make l Evvy let Neal go-by forcing her to see that she couldn't marry Neal when she still cares for you!" con-