The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1927-08-15

true lQcnblLY.n Wnllc Sne ana schuyler
are in the garden, Nan surprises them in
sentimental moment. A knock at her
door late that night startles Vera.
NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY
CHAPTER xxi
-7LTHOUGH she was awake
a early on Wednesday morn
= ing. Vee-Vee lay hstlessly
in bed, privacy insured by the
please do not disturb" sign which
she had hung on her doorknob the
night before, after her tempestuous
interview with Nan Fosdick.
Poor Nan! Vee-Vee wanted tc
trample upon the sympathy which
kept rising in her throat. Why
should she take it so to heart that
that big. homely rich girl had lost
the man she loved?
If Schuyler Smythe had beer
about to marry her for her money
wasn't she well rid of him? OF
course he had never loved Nam
The ioea was ridiculous.
Probably he, too, had felt that
same unwelcome, nagging SYM
pathy for her that made VeerVee
so uncomfortable now.
Poor Nan! Poor Schuylerl BY
an accident-a foolish accident for
which Jerry Macklyn was re-
sponsible-she, Vera Victoria Cam
eron, was turning two lives topsy-
turvy.
Wouldn't it be the only decent
thing for her to do to go away? But
she had let Nan Fosdick do that
She had let Nan be more generous
that she was. But Nan had known
that she was defeated. Suddenly a
sharp thought prodded her into a
flush of fear.
Schuyler had been afraid that a
departing guest might take the news
back to New York that the strange
ly missing Vivian Crandall was at
Lake Minetonka. Now two guests
both of whom thought they had
cause to hate herman for having
taken Schuyler from her, Mrs
Bannister for Vee-Vee's increasing
GOODNESS to her--were on their way
to New York.
They would reach the city by
noon. At any moment after moor
telegram might come, exposing
Vera Victoria Cameron as a fraud
A fraud The flush of fear faded
suddenly, leaving the girl shiverine
with cold. A fraud, an imposter.
Why hadn't she possessed the
courage to force her true identity
upon them all-Schuyler, at least
since he was the only one she cared
about? The reason reared its head
in her tortoured mind, but she beat
it back.
But 1t persisted, until at last she
burst into tears and let it dominate
her mind. She ha not told Schuy-
Ter, or, rather, hao Sot made any
real effort to convinCe him OF the
truth, because she was afraid that
at least part of his worship of
Vivian Crandall had been centered
upon her forty millions, upon her
breath takingly high social position
Would he have loved, for five
hopeless years, a Miss Nobody whom
he had met but once? If Vivian
Crandall herself were suddenly
stripped of social position and
wealth, would he still love her quite
so ardently, be willing to give up
Nan Fosdick and her nearly a mil
lion dollars" for a pair of green eyes
and an adorable mouth?
She had tainted Nan with loving
a man whom she believed to be a
fortune-hunter. And yet she, was
doing the same thing herself. Oh
but she didn't believe, she told her
self frantically, beating her hot pill
low with clenched fist.
Nan Fosdick had simply been try
ing to hold Schuyler Smythe by
fair means or foul. She had known
that the surest way to disgust a
great ,leiress with him was to accuse
him of fortune hunting, an evil
which is forever stalking rich girls
turning them sour upon love and
life.
"If lie here thinking much lon
ger I'll go crazy" Vee-Vee told her.
self vehemently. I'LL find out to-
day whether it is I that he loves
or forty million dollars.
I'll tell him the truth, force this
thing to showdown. But-maybe
I won't have to tell him. A tele-
gram may come from New York be-
fore have a chance"
She rose on her elbow, seized the
phone and in crisp, arrogant
voice-the voice which she uncon-
sciously assumed whenever she was