The Dolores star., 1924-04-04

| glanced idly at their typewriter con-
| tents. She had no sense of prying.
| She had assumed all along that the
! papers related to some matter of busi-
ness, and business was something in
\ which she took the most tepid interest.
I But her attention was caught by the
first line her eye fell upon.
Party WIS met at corner Of Broad
/ way and =" why, that was the
drug store corner where she used 20
meet George "by young lady driving
| 1918 model Archer roadster. license
number"
1t was the report of detective
agency upon her and George, from the
| twentieth Of October. the week of her
| fathers return from the Northwest.
TO the fifteenth of November, when
she'd gone North with him again. II
was pretty thorough job of spying.
she noted; not many OF their NEE, ,ngs
had been missed.
The thing was loathsome-this was
what she felt first, before any thought
| of the consequences of its revelations
had time to form in her mind: loath-
some in the chop-lIcking, leering nasti-
ness Of its attitude, its implications
even its very English. though here an
attempt had been made to give 1t a
businessllke. impersonal cast.
That detectives report had put her
| out of conceit with love-made it
seem dirty to her. 1t was hard to
realize that it was only this afternoon
| .ha h,J nt NfrC
sons rooms, pretending to be Georges
wife. But he was her friend, anyhow.
He and Jennie Macarthur were the
| two squarest people she knew. SO
she couldn't kill herself. She couldn't
even run away without seeing him
| first.
| At half-paSt eight or thereabout she
| heard her father ring, and on impulse
| she forestalled Anson and answered
| it herself. She carried the detectives
report along with her. rolled up tight
in one hand. She had forgotten Doc
| tor Benefits orders as well aS a reso-
| luton of her own not to see her father
again nor speak to him until he was
well. nor until her own mind was
made up as to what she was going
|
| to do.
"Good!" he said. crlsply. at sight OF
her in the doorway. at was you l
wanted TO see"
You look better since your nap"
| she remarked.
81 feel like the devil" he told her:
but my minds cleared up all right.
| That's why | want to talk to you.
without waiting any longer Sit
down"
She Oheyed him without a word He
waited a moment longer before he
spoke again. Then, I've got the goods
on you Trix. / know what you've
been up to with this man Burns"
"Yes, and l know what you've been
| up TO- too" she countered. 1--WE been
reading this" She tossed the docu-
ment contemptuously upon the bed
His good hand groped for it. but
couldn't quite reach it, ITS the re-
port of your detectives" she added.
where in HI did you get hold Of
| that?" he asked.
"A man brought it to the door while
| was at dinner" she told him. "He
wanted reward for it, and Anson
paid him. The envelop was torn open
and all muddy. 1t fell out of your
pocket. l suppose when you were hit
by that car The man had read IT, Of
course-and goodness knows how
many other people. Not that that
matters much-to anybody. I spent
an hour reading it myself It's pretty
good. Gave YOU what you wanted
anyhow. And it'll save lot of sob
stuff between you and me, mean"
She was elated by the knowledge
that she was hurting him savagely.
He writhed and then, at the pain this
movement cost him, groaned out. "Oh,
Cod"
You'd better lie STILL" she went on.
quietly. I'm going to tell you what
I meant about the soh-stuff. We had
quite lot of it the other time. when
George brought me home drunk. All
about how you loved me and were go
ing to trust me just the same. Jennie
was going to stay here to take care
of me and be my friend while Won
were away. But the past was going
to be forgotten. 1t was clean slate,
you said. l suppose you thought she'd
spy on me. anyway. Maybe you told
her to. But she didn't Jennie was
square-with me and 18th you. too.
But when you came back she hadn't
anything bad to tell you about me.
So, before you'd been home week
you hired detectives-to get the goods
on me like you said"
He contradicted her here 81 didn't
l didn't put detectives on .ou put
, 'em on that dog Of chauffeur I'd
=. fired for getting too familiar with you
}hAnd God knows was right to do it,
: "Oh. yes, you were right" she ad
mitted. You thought you'd get me
thar way. and you did. But if you'd
trusted me like you pretended to, OF
loved me one little bIt-you wouldn',
have thought so. That's why | say
we can cut out the sob-stuff."
| "You stop talking minute ant