Evening star., 1928-05-27

delirious babbling. What had better
tell them, Lulu?"
well, I think you had better tell
them the truth. They evidently have
learned enough to know what has been
going on and you might just as well let
them have the, real story. can't see
any earthly sense in your posing as a
lghthngered character. any longer" /.
So Patricia washed her face and
slicked her hair for moral support and
hurried of. "All / do is interview
Lily A. in her sanctum, seems to me, "
she groaned.
Louise went on with her business of
shoe polishing, glancing occasionally at
the little clock on her desk as the min
utes slipped by into half an hour then
an hour, and still Patricia did not re-
turn. She wondered anxiouSly what the
minutes were accomplishing for her
friend. At length, when it was nearly
time for the dressing bell, Patricia re-
turned, looking triumphant.
What have you been doing all this
time?" Louise demanded. II couldn't
think what could possibly be keeping
you so long!"
81 feel just like a diplomat at the
Court of st. James," gasped Patricia.
'Ill begin at the beginning and tell you
the whole works
When went in there sat Lily A. at
her desk. with Miss Print on the couch
and strange man in the chair by the
fireplace. Lily A. introduced him as Mr..
Bleeck, Sophie's father. I gathered that
he had finally gotten around to arriv-
ing from Chicago to see what he could
do for his daughter, II anything. ]
looked him over because after Sophie's
story I have been consumed with curl
osity to know what her parents were
like"
''And what is he like?" asked Louise
well he looked a lot more human
than I expected. He has a jaw that
looks as if it tried to be more stern than
his eyes would let it. His eyes puzzled
me. They seemed sad, as If they we-e
looking for something that he had
missed. I decided that maybe his wife
treated him rather badly and perhaps
he had plenty of troubles of his own, sc
that he had shut himself into a shell
I thought he seemed shy, and perhaps
that is the reason that he has never
really understood Sophie.
He wore dark suit that looked as
If it had been made by good tailor
and Spats, and there was a ribbon
around his neck that I think had q
monocle on 1t, though couldn't swear
to 1t. BY that ] thought he must be
quite a man of the world and probably
hs; Travelled good bit. But all the
time I kept thinking that he was. un-
happy. can't say why he gave me
that impression, but he did. 1t mus
be his wife"
Whit makes you so sure of that?'
asked Louise with little laugh.
''I don't know. Just hunch. may
be all wrong, of course. Well, anyway
Lily A. opened the conversation by say
ing that Miss Print had something Sht
wanted to tell me. With that Printy
opsned up, clearing her throat ever!
five minutes and looking quite uncom
Portable and embarrassed. She told mt
Just what you did, that Sophie had beer
babbling disconnectedly for couple o
days about the things that had beer
disappearing and she kept saying SHIT
wanted to see me. Then late this after
noon her delirium passed and she wa!
perfectly normal. It was then that Sh'
came out with confession of the whole
thing and said lot Of other stuff
about my being her only friend ant
that I had helped her and she had tt
see me and so on. But Miss Print tolC
her that I was all right because sh'
didn't want me to go up and get he
started all over again. She was afrait
1t would excite her too much and |
might send her fever up again.
what was SophieS father doing al
this time?" Louise asked
"He Just sat there looking into tn
fire and his eyes we're Sadder than ever
Then Lily A. asked me what my motiv
was in protecting Sophie. didn't know
Just what to say, with Mr. Bleeck lis
tening. but she sat there quietly, tn
way she does you know, waiting for al
answer and~I blurted out the who'll
thing. Told her how just stumbled OF