The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-06-24

i
For three months she had striven
with every ingenuity known to a
woman in love TO WIN his love.
and she had failed. She had made
his home a haven of comfort and
peace and beauty. She had moth
cred his boy until the boys own
mother would scarcely have known
him. so splendidly healthy and hap
| DIV and normal he had become.
She had brought father and son
into such close companionship and
/ congenialty that an editorial writer
| for a woman's magazine would have
gurbled with joy as he described
| the two. She had worked on his
cases with brilIiance and zeal
which not even the old Nan of pre-
| marriage days had dreamed pos
sible. And for reward she had
exactly nothing.
oh, of ceurse-Nan reminded
~ herself bitterly-he appreciat-
/ ed her work as housekeeper, mother
and law partner. He was not chary
of praise. And of course there was
some nourishment for her starving
heart in seeing him slowly lose the
/ tragic shadows from his deep-set
black eyes, in seeing his lean body
/ become less lean. Oh, yes, she had
given him peace of sort, content
ment of a sort, and he was obvious
Nv grateful. But what had he given
her? Well, a chance to serve him!
once that would have been
enough for Nan, but now it was not
enough. She had earned more
everything. And since his love for
Iris could not die, he had no coin
with which to pay his debt to her.
To his credit be it said-Nan re-
minded herself with a bitter smile
he had not tried to pay in counter
felt.
Shaving away, dear?" Morgan
interrupted from the doorway. See
any loopholes in the case? Want to
be in court in the morning when
the case opens?"
Nan bowed her head lower over
the papers, so that he might not see
/ the traces of her tears. be
Heve not, John" She could not eX-
plain that the jovial, teasing atti-
tude of her husbands legal COL
leagues toward the great criminal
LAWYERS partner-wife was unbear-
able to her. If she had been his
wife in fact. as well as in name,
she would have gloated over their
pleasantries. 1.-THE case looks
watertight to me. I see you have
the last of the dispositions from
Riverside, Cal. Bassett doesn't sus-
pect thing. does hep"
mo, and neither does Nina
Blackhull, so far as I know Nor
gan answered, his deep voice
throbbing with triumph. eff Moth
ing slips up, Nan, we'll get a dis
missal of the indictment against
young David Blackhull and new in
dictments against Nina Blackhull
and Bassett before another week
has passed into history. A fine
Christmas present for young David
! huh? Let's see; about this time
last year I was maneuvering an
acquittal as Christmas present for
Bert Crawford. Time seems to drag
endlessly, and then all of a sudden
you wake up to realize that it hasn't
been dragging at all, but flying"
His voice trailed to a constrained
| pause. Nan knew that he was
thinking not only of the anniver-
sary of the opening of the Crawford
case, but also of another anniver-
sary that was hurting inevitably
/ toward him-the anniversary of
his adored first wife's desertion.
Was there any wonder that he had
no thought at all for the signifl-
canoe of the date, so far as he and
she were concerned? He had mt
indicated by word or glance that
the twelfth of the month meant
anything. Perhaps it didn't
to him, since the marriage was not
really a marriage, and there was
room in his heart for celebration
of only one wedding anniversary.
1--WE often wondered about Craw-
ford" Morgan went on, his voice
almost normal again. "You know,
it's rather hurt me that he has
never written. After all, I did get
him out of a nasty situation. By
the way, I got into conversation
the other day with a new vice-pres-
ident of the First National Bank.
He brought up Crawfords name;
said he'd heard about my defending
him on an embezzlement charge,
and thought I might be interested
to know that Crawford had been
living in Paris. He saw him there
about six months ago, playing
about with woman so beautiful
that she was the talk of the town.
Up to his old tricks, suppose" he
added, with wry grin.
MANS heart stood still. It was
~ CHASTITY to hear him gossip with
such appalling innocence Of the
man who had tricked him into de-
Tending a crook and who had stolen
his wife. A hundred times Nan
had wondered if Morgan had had
no suspicion at all Of the shame
full alliance of the two who had
wronged him so deeply. She was
answered now. He had not the
faintest suspicion that the woman
80 beautiful that she was the talk
of the town" was Iris Morgan.
Morgan took his seat on the OPP
posite side of the flat-topped desk,
and reached for the thick sheaf of
papers which Nan had been pre-
tending to study His hand touched
hers, inadvertently, then closed
over it.
"Why, Nan dear, your hands like