Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1928-10-03
CHAPTER XXNH

The thing had certainly been a
shock, IN spite Of the commonplace
ending. and along with the sense OF
relief which she experienced came
a feeling Of disappointment quite
natural in the circumstances.
The thing puzzled her. disappoint-
ed her. Was he. then, too self/h 70
marry. too cautious TO reveal his
actual feelings toward her? Such
~@rfect self-contrOl. admirable as il
might be, was not her idea Of pas
sionate love. Jane would certainly
not have been glad. had he insisted
upon batterinE down the door in or
der to possess her. but IL would have
been more or n compliment to her
charms than his cool. almost broth
erly good night. The truth Of the
matter was that Jane had expected
fireworks Of some sort. and there
had not been so much as the tiniest
pinwheel. She burst out laughing.
The joke was certainly an her.
And yet. he might well have come
in. when she told him to come. have
sat on the side ~ her bed. talked
~ her-cvcn taken her IN His arms
and kissed her. asked her To marry
him. Frankly, il was what she had
hoped. longcd for.
Caring for Tony as she did, she
had wanted his arms about her. had
experienced. in n riot Of magma
ton. the sweet pressure Of his kiss
es, the warmth Of his presence, so
near to her. And there had been
nothing. Was il because he was IN
his thirties. instead Of his twentics.
like herself? Had z made him
cautious, Gulled his ardor? She had
often feared that gulf or years be-
tween them. Or had Ne been afraid
to open the door. not daring To trust
himself. once they were together?
As all these jumbled thoughts
crowded through her brain she was
conscious Of one certainty-Tony
had not asked her 10 the bungalow.
Offered her the lead in his new pic
ture, because Of any Interior mo-
tivei he might not care for her. as
she had hoped. but he had no de-
signs On her virtue-the events Of
the night had made that clear
enough. Far back in her brain rose
a primitive emotion; she found her
self %resenting that fact that he had
not.
Jane. like other women, desired to
be desired; pursuit By a man is al
ways n tribute, even thou~h il end
IN failure. Few women in the world
have outgrown the primal instinct
which causes them to thrill a. the
a~0roach OF the amorous male. 1t
affords them no pleasure to have
hin turn his back. no matter how
noble his reasons may be. Who,
after all. Yer heard Of a moral Pan ?
II was hours before Jane finally
drifted off TO sleep.
Brilliant sunlight. striking through
the curtained windows Of her room.
woke her early. She glanced az her
watch, found that it was only seven
o'clock. Rather sleepily she leaned
10 the window and drawing aside the
curtains. looked out. The waters
Of the bay were turquoise and pearl
in the early sunlight. Tony was al
ready up; she saw him. in his bath
ing suit. just diving off the pier
fer his morning swim.
She bathed and dressed quickly
and went into the living room. sup
posing that Tony would join her at
once, ne must, however, have
thought her still sleeping, for she
could see his dark head bobbing
through the waves a quarter OF n
mile from shore. As she turned
from the window a picture magazine.
lying among a mass Of papers on
the table. attracted her attention
and she took ii I'D to examine the
woman's head which decorated the
cover. Beneath il. TO her surprise,
lay a large photograph Of Irene
Shirley. II was not, however. the
picture itself which sur--ised her,
but the inscription across the bot
tom Of il. in a bold. irregular hand
writing: "Tc my dear. unreasonable
old hubby-Irene Hull"
Stupefied, Jane stared at the
words. Her world had in an instant
crashed in fragments in the ground.
Amazed. Mortified. she replaced the
picture on the table. covered il with
the magazine. Irene. Tony's wife,
II seemed unbelievable. vet the evil
derce lay before her. proof strong
as Holy Writ. From the very first,
she remembered, it had been clear