The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-04-21

pushed her too far, that she would
not confess. But at last she cried
"Oh, what does it matter? II
will hurt Seymour less to know the
truth than to go on being tortured
with doubts Of Phyllis love for
him"
81 am sure of that, Mrs. Lambert, p
Dundee encouraged her.
"DLEAsE try to understand
Il not to judge me too harshly, u
she began, in a weary, fiat voice
"All my life until my husband died
had more money than I needed
and all the pleasant things that
go with money and high social po-
sition.
when my husbands estate was
settled. found that nearly every
thing was gone. You see, a woman
had been blackmailing him heavily
for years. Disillusioned, sick at
heart, for I had loved my husband,
I faced the world almost penniless.
4 VI W -AOhA JCOAo Ol4
The thought Of marrying some
middle-aged or old widower for his
money was abhorrent to me and
was not trained for any sort Of
work.
The only position I could pos
Sibly fill was that of social secretary
and the idea was unthinkable-then.
L was too proud. -.
But to go back a little A few
weeks before my husband died-he
was killed in a polo ACCIDENT met
and took a great fancy to Phyllis
Benham.
1T amused and delighted me to
force her upon society. My nephew
Tommy Cavendish, liked her i'm
menSely and 1 rather hoped he
would fall in love with her. But
Phyllis fell in love with Seymour
Crosby.
Seymour did not have much
money; he hesitated to ask the child
to marry him, for fear her father
would regard him as a fortune
hunter.
"One Monday morning Mr.. Ben
ham telephOned me that his daugh-
ter was i'll and hysterical. l went.
Phyllis told me a wild, almost in
credible story.
She had friend who had Joined
the chorus of a musical comedy,
opening in Atlantic City ne pre-
vious Friday. AS a lark, Phyllis &C
companied her friend, staying back
stage. When the show was over two
young men, thinking both Of hem
were chorus girls, invited them to go
to a roadhouSe.
Phyllis thought it would be fun
to accept. There was some drinking
not much, she insisted to me but
several hours later Phyllis awoke, to
find herself in a hotel bedroom With
her escort of evening.
She began to scream. Guests
reported the disturbance. The hotel
detective came and was about to
take them both to the police sta
ton. The man in the case squared
it with the detective, however, AMI
left as soon as he could dress.
Phyllis had not given him her
right name the night before and I
tried to soothe her hysterical fears
told her she would hear no uore
about 1t, that it was not her fault,
and that she must try to forget it.
Then she showed me letter she
had received that morning from
Seymour Crosby. 1t was a proposal
of marriage. She protested that she
could not accept, although she loved
him with all her heart.
THE fear of blackmail, she said,
would hang over her head for tie
rest of her life May I-have
some water, please?" she gaSped.
n n
go it was Phyllis herself who
- suggested blackmail to you"
Dundee said thoughtfully, as he held
the glass to her lips.
Yes. But at the time told her
that it might be best for her or
for me to tell Seymour the whole
ugly story, trusting to his love for
her. But that idea frightened her
more than the other.
1.-THE next day my husband was
killed. saw almost no one for weeks
and had almost forgotten poor Phyl-
lis dilemma until I saw her picture
and Seymour's on the society page
of a New York paper. announcing
their engagement and early mar
riage.
Phyllis called on me just before
the wedding and confessed that she
was in terror lest her companion Of
that dreadful night had seen her
picture and had recognized it: that
he would blackmail her, knowing
that her father was a very rich man.
Again I advised her to tell Sey-
mour, but she said she could not;
that she was going to beg him to
take her to England to live for a
year at least.
LAS you know, that is what hap
pened. I visited in their home in
London, then went to Monte Carlo,
where lost almost my last penny
in a frantic effort to win enough
to live on for few months, at
least
1T was then-in January-that I
conceived the idea of-blackmail.
Phyllis had told me the mans
name, or at least the lame he had
given her. I typed a letter to her
signing the mans first name and
asking her to serd thousand
pounds ir banknotes to w. L.
Parker care of the American Ex-
press Company, in Paris.
THE money came. I asked for
mail for Mr.. and Mrs. w. L. Parker,
ind Houses