New Britain herald., 1928-06-28
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! craps than to UO Ills duty, l rear. | Virginia could not bear to have | him think her snob, She leaned forward and placed hand on his. Please don't misunderstood me, :" she said softly. "l must get back to i the ship because I am the hostess engaged by the line 10 turn the Agena into a floating home where the passengers are all guests" i Leigh was amazed. Why in the world are you doing that" he eN- claimed.
 Virginia swallowed hard. and told 1 him beautiful lie. Don't you know that most of the girls in my set are going in for seli-eApresSion? she asked. II thought 1t would be orth while to do something useful. and besides. coming down here af- | forded me an opportunity to meet you. Father used to talk about you a great deal. I know that you saved his life" she added simply.
 He placed a hand over hers, pressed it tenderely. Virginia felt his i eyes searching through hers, weigh ing her, but she felt safe because there were some things she did not l know about Oddly"
 ! One of these was his ability to read through the eyes. It might have been a natural gift but if so it had been developed to a higher degree during the years he had spent as a big game hunter in the Jungles. 1 He had learned to know what a beast meant to do in the same frac- ton of time required 10 send the crder for action from the mind of the animal to its muscles. He need ed only glance at it's eyes. He knew also that when woman lied, for good or evil, wild asses could not drag the truth from her it she did not really wish to tell II. So he asked no questions of Nir- ginia.
 She sat and talked little longer, cn her promise 10 let Rastus serve her and Miss Webster-she spoke of her now-with tea. She called the servant and his master ordered him to prepare ice tea and cakes and to refresh their driver and pony.
 Then Virginia said goodby to Oddly" Leigh.
 Somehow she staggered down the dim stairs without mishap and out into the dazzling glare of the sun light. Miss Webster called to her from the cleared patch under some thickly grown trees.
 Have you seen a ghost the s,ewardess exclaimed when Virgin ia reached her. She got up and gave the girl he chair. Well. l don't doubt it. Everything is dead around here. have never seen such a terri ble mess I've been poking around. There isn't house boy on the place except the woolly headed darkey from the States. And l don't be- leve there's anyone at work in the fields, at all.'
 Virginia covered her eyes with her hands 'I know she said. "Please don't talk about it. It is very sad. If you will fetch another chair we will stay a moment. Rastus IS getting us some iced tea"
 Iced teal" Miss Webster snorted. If there is any ioe on this place I'm an Eskimo" She went for the chair and returned grumbling about the dust that covered it.
 Virginia paid no heed to her. She vas sunk in dejection. Her sacrifice Of time had been in vain. Futile. She was no nearer her goal than when she started. And there was the remainder of the cruise to be en- dured, while back in New York Na- thaniel -.
 NO, she dared not let her mind dwell on what might be transpirlng there She'd go mad if she let her self think of Nathaniel turning to Chiri for comfort.
 Presently Rastus came with cane table and then returned to the house for the tea It looked very refreshing in tall glasses with slices O flime and orange. But it was not cold. It was. in fact. tepid.
 ."rhe ice machine done broke it. self this mawnin'." he apologized.
 Miss Webster rattled on with her "I told you sos" while Virginia slipped from her glass in silence.
 Just before they were leaving she asked Rastus abouh his master. How long has he been ill?'
 T dunno, Missy. He ain been out c bed for mos sev'l weeks. Tse 'fraid he ain goin' to get well; he's broke man.
 Cant you persuade him to call d doctor?"
 "Ain't no doctor goln' bring him back what he~los'.
 Virginia reflected over that re- mark on the way back to the city. The servant was right. Oddly Leigh was d broken man. His plan iatlon was neglected, his house fall- ing to ruin and he himself laid low with no one to attend hIm save one lone old darkey.
 Ii had been impossible to burden him with other's troubles. Even had she done so the indications were that 1t would have been Of no avail. A prosperous man did not live as she had found Oddly Leigh. Virginia guessed that he had im- roverished himself in an attempt to buy his Wife's departure from the West Indies. Certainly his planta-