Omaha daily bee., 1921-07-10

outraged feelings and persuadins her to marry hin
Tney etArt ON their honeymoon
ROSA HALSEY who mas been thu briaerroor,
companion In crina
SECOND NSTALI4MENT.
The Great War had broken out in 1914
Just as Mrs. Guernsey had completed plan
Tor tour Of Europe with Allayne In tn
seven years that had elapsed Allayne ha,
thought hundreds Of times Of the day whel
ene would visit Europe. Halsey's CLOWN,
plans. 50 carelessly uttered, awakened a re
sponse In her. To see Europe In compan,
With this charming. distinguished English
man sought after by all Of New York tina
counted Having decided to accep
dalsey, he became colored with that CLAM
orous romance with which lovers are In
vested.
If deep down in her heart she was regret
ful OF young Spenser Bourke, the iron prid,
that she had inherited from her mothe,
made her refuse to recognize regret. II her
quick acceptance Of Halsey was due in par,
70 her sudden severing Of her engagement
TO Bourke, II she even subconsciously wanted
to show Bourke how little she cared, she
was not aware Of it. She agreed to marry
Halsey as he wished.
Gelsteln had become the least bit restiye
He wanted action. But when Halsey showed
-SSA~s~Ss
ceremony was to occur, the Gelstein suspi.
cdons evaporated- He even insisted on shar.
ing pint Of champagne. procured from
some Illicit source, with Halsey shortly be-
FORE the ceremony. Thus started, Gelstein
found II difficult to stop. The share of the
pint was followed by a quart. His heart was
mellow and his tongue was loose when he ran
across about the time that Allayne Guernsey
was becoming Mrs. Bennett Halsey, Rosa.
Gelstein had not seen the woman for five
years, but no one who had ever seen her
hthe ngure, slim, catlike. surmounted by the
sullenly beautiful face could ever forget her
1t was on Broadway, near Times Square, and
she was hurrying, apparently for Subway
entrance Gelstein interposed his formidable
bulk squarely in her path
II 1t amt Rosa" he exclaimed cordially.
The woman started. For a moment It
seemed as though she meditated flight Gel.
stein read her mind. He waved his hand.
It's all right, Rosa" he said, "me and
Benny hxed up that money matter"
The color came back into her cheeks. She
had been cognizant Of the affair between
Halsey and Gelstein. She could not be in.
volved IN 1t, nevertheless It was unpleasant
facing Gelstein II he happened to be in a
bad humor.
I'm glad Of that" she said cordially. 1t
was true; she much preferred peace to war,
honesty to dishonesty. Benny never told
mo about It."
Gelstein waved q chubby hand: his hurs
diamond ring glinted in the sunlight.
"Oh. it's been since you quit Benny that
~ fixed It up" he said.
"oh." said Rosa. Her Jaw dropped slight.
u. 90 slightly that Gelstein did not notice
the expression.
Come in-havs cup Of tea" invited
Gelstein.
+. Rosa followed him into tho corner hotel.
She permitted her host to order tea for
her. the while her sharp mind pondered on
the meaning Of what he had said.
"When'd you leave PARISH" asked Gelstein,
- the waiter went of to fulfill the order.
"Oh-a while back" said Rosa vaguely.
You and Benny, he tells me- didn't hit it
hn very well" said Gelstein.
Rosa shrugged. Also, her glance was coy.
Beneath It Gelstein felt his pulses beat
6ife faster.
Kind Of fun showing you the town. Rosa"
he suggested.
"I've heard wurse propositions" she ad-
mttted. How Is old Benny?" she asked. II
Benny Halsey was telling old acquaintances
that he was through with her. she wanted
70 know sohy.
Gelstain chuckled. Hes the same old
Hve one" he said "Can you imagine him
bein' married."
~What?"- Only by an effort did she re-
frain from screaming the question.
Now. even liquor could not ordinarily make
Gelstein incauuous. But Rosa was, he
thought, a very beautiful woman. Also she
was unattached. But in the past she had
been devoted to Benny Halsey. Might not
there still lurk within her breast some spark
Of attachment to Halsey? II so, 1t would
interfere with his own sudden desire for her.
So he forgot to be cautious.
"sure Today" he asserted.
You're crazy" she sneered.
"All right, then I'm crazy" said Gestein
Only, I left him half an hour, and he was
on his way to the minister's then, with 3
ring and a license and everything, and tickets
on the Montreal Express-you can get q
drink up there without risking Jail, you
know. Oh, he's married, all right
"Who's the woman?" demanded Rosa
Gelstein looked up. Something that he
saw in her eyes frightened him He pushed
back his chair
Say. look here. Rosa, what's eating you?
What difference does 1t make to you whether
Benny Halsey gets hitched or not?"
Answer me-" she said.
Gelstein was afraid of no man who walked
Women were different. Sometimes they cried
and ran away. and sometimes they cried and
ran right over you. Rosa's hand was resting
on the teapot. She might, as he phrased it to
himself, Grown" him with it.
gal named Guernsey" he said sullenly.
"Got load Of jack. What difference does it
make to you, anyway"
But Rosa didn't hear his question. Before
Gelstein could interpose his fat bulk she had
passed by his chair and was on the way from
the restaurant.
So! Benny Halsey was double crossing her,
going OF with another woman This was why
he was going away on q business trip.
Her brain seethed as she crossed the sidewalk
and stepped into taxi But when wrath
assailed her most strongly her brain was
most clear. She did not know from which
station the Montreal Express departed. She
knew little Of New York. But she did know
that there, was a ticket Office. the Conson.
dated. on Forty street Rather than
waste time going from one station to the
other. or by Drawing the telephone service,
she drove to the ticket office. There she
learned that the Montreal Express left the
Grand Central in ten minutes.
trafic block at Fifth avenue delayed her.