New Britain herald., 1929-07-17

 could not join her for lunch. By the strained note of apology and hurry in his voice Nan had been told, as plainly as if he had spoken the words, that he was going to spend the noon recess hour at the hospital with his former wife. Naa had felt no resentment toward nim; only dull despair. Of course he had to see Irls. both for the sake of his peace of mind and to ar range some sort of financial settle ment with her. Iris tragic wall I'll, broken. cast off, penniless-" must have tormented him all day like a dagger n his heart Even if he no longer loved or desire her, Iris had made herself his re- sponsibi!ity again.
 That started the mad whirligig Of thought again. Could it be possible that it was only last night that she asked him. But John what if you saw Iris again." and he had answered scorning to lie: II don't know. l can only say. Nan. I love you with all my heart and soul and mind. I hope I shall never see Iris again."
 Now that he had seen her again, had all his old passion for her bust into flame again? Could just one night of deep but sane happi- ness with his new wife avail now to protect him against the terrific appeal of his passion for the woman who had been his wife for eight years?
 If she had only kept on reviling him and me, so that he could have seen her as she really is-an ut tcrly selfish and cruel woman!' Mans heart cried despairingly. But she chose the one sure method to shake him to the very roots of his being. She has made him be- liere that she loves him at last, that she came back to him ready to give him her whole heart"
 For the first time that day Nan tried to picture the events in Iris immediate past which had driven her back to her deserted and d. spiscd husband as the only pos sible refuge. 1t was obvious that Iris had suffered. It was even pos sible - yes, highly probabie-that she had tried to commit suicide, as she had so plaintively assured her stricken husband. Bert Craw- ford was the answer, of course Nan had felt sure that Bert Craw- ford would tire Of her, would be unfaithful. The two had undoubt- edly lived riotously, flinging Craw- ford's stolen money away in hand fuls. But they could scarcely have spent a quarter of million dol lars in II months. Crawford was too shrewd a man to pauperize him. self, Nan knew.
 Then how had it happened tha, Iris had had to creep home, penn- less? There could be only one an swer: Crawford had abandoned her as heartlessly as she had aban- doned her husband. Perhaps they had lived on the $20,00O which the cmbczzler Tad given to Morgan as an unsolicited fee for having wor him his freedom, and which Nor. gan had presented to his wife Crawford - as willy and selfish as Iris herself-could have given Iris dozen plausible excuses of us- ing her money instead of his owr or rather instead of the none, he had embedded.
 If John knew that Iris and Crawford had been lovers, that they'd been living together, that Crawford was really guilty of the charge of embezzlement-" Mar could keep that thought down nc 1 longer. It had been lurking, like colled snak" ready to spring, anc now it had struck. She shuddereI recoiled, 1nvoluntarily she wen, | to her filing cabinet, took from #. secure hiding place the betrayins letter from Crawford to Iris whicl | she had kept all these months held it gingelly, as if it were un. clean, while her tormcnted eyes scanned it's familiar contents. Yes | it was inControvertible proof O. Crawfords villainy and of his anc l Iris relationship.
 T ought to show it to John!' Nan told herself fiercely. "Tha would kill his pity and his passior for her, if anything could, But can't fight that way. l can't"
 Iris has no scruples. Shel fight you with every weapon sh, can lay her hand on," temptatios reminded her.
 But I'm not like Iris" Nan! heart retorted, with forlorn prid , And she was rewarded by anothe, flash of memory. Last night, whe1 she had used the same words tc
 her husband, he had answered fer
 vently: "No-thank God."
 It was 1 o'clock when Nan fin
 ished signing the long-neglected let
 tefs and cleared her desk to 2,
 nome. If Curtis had ever needed
 her. he would need her this after
 noon The memory of his wistful
 bewlld"red eyes, as they cast a lin
 Gering backward glance toward tn
 dining room door beyond whicl
 his mother, strangely returne,
 after strange absence, was en
 gagged in a strange scene with hi
 tather, stabbed the girls tendo
 heart But what could she tel
 him? Nan squared her shoulders
 lifted her head gallantly. That Wa