New Britain herald., 1927-12-03

 10 her the memory of another rainy day, only a few weeks before, that she found herself thinking again of Pat France.
 All through the month of April she had been so busy with Staley that it had been easy to stick 10 her resolution to forget Pat and his blue eyes and his piston ring. The days had been so filled with motor rides in Staley's big roadster, with theater trips with him, with tele- phone calls from him. that she had had little. time to think of anyone but him.
 And when she wasn't with him, he was always sending her things that reminded her of him-flowers candy. books magazines, perfuSes. Russian ciEarcts, booklets on Euro pcan travel. It almost seemed as if he were putting up silent battle to keep her from thinking of anyone but him. and of anything but ItI noItSIIlOoil "llH lllll anu JltI life afterward.
 But now. in the still twilight of this May night. she forget him al- most. The thought of him seemed to be lifted, like a heavy weight, from her all at once.
 Her eyes went to the far corner of the room. where her dressing table, draped with lace and covered with silver toilet bottles and brush es, stood. Under the sachet-filled padding of the left hand drawer was something that she wanted.
 She sat up in bed, one hand held to- her aching. bandaged head. She swung her feet over the side and stepped out upon the rug. Dizzily she went across the room. opened the draw ar and groped for the thing she wanted-a taxi drivers identifi- cation card.
 When she got back to bed she was as tired as if she had taken a ten-mile walk She fell across it, breathing hard.
 Beside the bed was little green shaded lamp with the gayest of but terflies painted upon it.
 Ii was an effort for Lily 10 reach ever and turn it on. Then she held the card under the light and Pat Frances face looked up at her. She let out weak little whimper as she saw it. . . Pat. himself. look ing at her. Pat
 The sound of his voice came back 10 her, and his smile And her feel ing for hin-thc very thing she had tried to forget-came rushing back ten times stronger than it had ever been before.
 i've got 10 see him." she told herself. her bright head down in ;he pillows of her bed, and the card crushed together in her clcnched' hand. I've got to have him."
 She knew 1t. She was sure of it as she never had been bcfore-and at the same time. she knew that in less than a month she was going to marry Staiev Drummond. She must think of no one but Staley.
 She thought of the things he could give her The trip to Paris, where the most wonderful clothes ill the world were waiting for her and Ter check-book. The town house and the country house tha. were to be hers. The diamonds that she would have. The autom oblCs. The good times
 And suddenly she know that they didn't matter a bit--cOmDared 10 an ordinary, humble man named Pat rick France. A man who could give her nothing but poverty and hard life-and who apparently had no desire to give her even that A man who had humiliated her and shown no desire for her or her company.
 Although he did tear my picture out of the papcr.' she thought, mis- crably curled up under the orchid silk quilt on the bed, he took that only because he thought l was rretty--' No, the whole thing was hopeless.
 A half hour later Miss Sykes found her sound asleep. with tears drying on her face. and a soicd and crumplcd piece of cardboard dou- hled mp in her hand.
 Miss Sykes snoothed it out and looked at the photograph on it curi- ously. Then she looked down at l fly, with Staloy's engagement dia- mond sparkling upon her left hand like q star.
 'Ho. hum.' said Miss Sykes to herself. This doesn't look like the beginning of q very happy married life for Mir. Stalcy Drummond. does it" Her face was grave and thoughtful.
 She know a thing or two about lifG--and about love, too. A trained nurse finds out more about both of these things than most people do.
 Being q kind hearted soul, she slipped the card under the embroid- cred cover of the bedside table where Iily's mother would not find it when she came upstairs to see that her daughter was settled for the night. And in the morning she