Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1929-11-30
Sixth Instalment
Synopsis
What Happened Before

Synopsis
What Hsppsnsd Before
AT party in Palm Beach given BY Mr.. Cooper
.-lary, Lesson, attorney, meets Lucy Harknen'
known as Deyil-May-Care because OF her sdvsn-
Iurous, eventful life. In game in which partnsrs
.Or the evening are chosen, Lucy 10 won ~ lam
Stevens, who has = great reputation a. suceeniui
heart.b,elker. Lseion 10 a Bit jealous. Tim
Stevens tell, Lucy they going aboard bis boat,
he Miasrvs and she aceedes in order not % Be
"a eui,,er." Asked If ihe ia iorry thar he won
her company, Lucy says ,hs is not and that
evidently Fate has arranged IL. Tim thsrsuP'n
te her to stop looking resre,fuily after Lse,sn.
Aboard Stevens boat, the Minerva, Ste
ers tells Lucy of BIS love. When she re-
plies with contempt for him, he grows VIC
lentiy argry and she becomes afraid OF hlm.
he saws he will never let her go from che
Minerva until she accepts him. 10 escape
him, she leaps iito the water from her ea5in
window, swimming short distance unae'
Iucv reaches land and meets DR.. Fergus
rauace on an island. He takes care OF Der
aud taxes her home. Everyone IS worried
about her, ard when she meets Stevens ne
is frantic, regretfll and still ardent IN pro-
tcs,atjons of love. -,
Lesson informs Lucy that Stevens must
.a;sc quarter of million dollars or 60
TO jail-'at Eve o'clock" Lucy goes &c
her bank and raises tie sum,
Lucy goes to Stevens to help him, but
he refuses to take money from woman
&c whom he is not married. so Lucy
ma.ri-s this man that she hates, and
pro,upty runs away from him, going to
her -; uuch friend DR.. Fergus Faunce &c
tel what she has done.
NOW co ON WITH THE STORY
Tir Stevens left the villa OF his
VIE in a state of mind that bordered1
on insanity. Bewilderment outraged
pride. denied love-all these conspiired
to render him something less than
sane. But the breezes from the Gthf
Stream blew upon him; the exercise
Of walking, by its very monotony'
s0u.hed his nerves, and by the time
h. reached his own home he was able
L ,h:nll coherently.
She had run away. No doubt OF
that. Why she had run away, why
,he had married him only to desert
him for all the world like a heroine OF
cheap novelette,, he could not ina
..ine. Only, it was no cheap and yul-
kar motive that actuated her. He
knew that. Lucy might be bizarre,
but never common.
Il suddenly occurred to him that she
might be mad. Certainly this would
seem a reasonable explanation OF all
that she had done. Only, he remem-
bercl the cool gray eyes, the broad
forehead, to know that no insanity
lurkcd within that no~Fectv shaped
nead
She was the most jn.s asise creature
on earth. He knew this. And yet,
though she might have acted upon i'm
pulse, in marrying and leaving hi.,
would be impulse only because /;
been done so suddenly. She haG
>lha.ever she had done with DELI Il
tor, even though she had not waste
much time in planning.
Nevertheless, his eyes ligha IS bel
Stepped inside his patio, only 90 grow
sonber instantly as she was re-
ve1led to his eager glance, e
or, rather, its pale specter-YalShed
completely.
He sat down, rang for a servant,
ordered a high-ball, and drank it
slowly, slipping it carefully, as though
he sought by taste to analyze its IN
gradients. A sudden odd thought came
t. him: the liquor had no SAVIOR, and
nothing else in life would have SAVIOR
a.ain unless it were accompanied, or
s,,ced, by the presence Of Lucy.
This was lovs. This was an ache
TIT distracted, that maddened, that
drove one to frenzy. No mere baked
desire this, but an overwhelming long
ing, frantic longing that, he suddenly
realized, was not only Of the flesh but
OF the soul.
He could understand why man,
frustrated In love, might sink to any
level Of dissipation, to win a moment
OF forgetfulness. An overwhelming
urge seized upon him, to drink and
drink until he won Inconsistencies.
Then his mouth hardened, and his
eyes, that had not been focused, but
had been wide and staring. resumed
their customary GOODNESS. Lucy Hark- |
ness had made a public fool Of him.
at least, publicity could not be long
avoided,-.but he would add to the |
foolishness nothing Of his own. He
wouldn't drink, and he wouldn't hll
himself, and he'd do nothing save
find her.
He rang again, and ordered a
servant to fetch Modane, the skipper
OF the Minerva. Ths swart Levantine
arrived shortly.
II was married to-day Modane,"
said Stevens.
Modane nodded.
81 congratulate you, sir"
"And Mrs. Stevens and sail on
the Minerva in half an hour, on our
honeymoon, Modane," Stevens con-
tinued.
Again the skipper nodded.
Our destination, sir"
"You are to proceed south, beyond
Miami. Every second day you'll send
man to Miami in a motorboat, and
at the post-ofice he'll inquire for let
tiers for yourself. For, Modans, Mrs.
Stevens and I shall not be aboard the
Nmerru." |.
mo, sir" said Modane. |;
But the crew are not to know this, {
and no one else is to know it. Once
you've started, the crew will discover
1t, but it will be too late for them to
gossip, Send tight-mouthed man S
ashore fer letters, one that isn't in I
elined &c gossip"
"Yes, sir" said Aodana you {