Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1931-02-06

In n sickly way that made Rhoda
think OF lead poisoning.
she must get inside Clafre'B door.
that was the first thing 20 do, 10
she replied. not to the question but
to the succeeding remark YES"
she replied. making her voice sound
as innocent and as amiable as she
could. st must seem rather sud
den."
At that Claire stepped back IN
willingly from the doorway, and
Rhoda followed her into the rather
large room thar seemed 10 he all
there was 10 the apartment, except
for the alcove that formed an III,
which she couldn't see into. That
was where Max was most likely.
Rhoda herself shut the door behind
her.
"WeIl7" Claire asked. Her man
lei "a openly hostile. They as
Rhoda. without speaking, took a de-
liberate look around the room. she
asked again. what do you want7
What's the matter with your
i've come" said Rhoda. ito get
my trunk"
"Your truKk7 Say. are you crazyf
What makes you think I've got your
trunkT' She, tried 10 laugh, but ID
only showed how frightened she
was.
Rhoda hesItaEed "A little over her
answer 10 the woman's question. If
Max vas In tie alcove she wished
he'd come oLf. II was hard 10 know
where to begin unless she knew
whether he was there or not.
Her hesitarlSn seemed to anger
Claire. or to reassure her. she
couldn't be sure which. Look
here" she went on truculently.
you can't get away with stuff Ike
this. 7 don't even know what you're
talking about. Are you trying 10
tell me you've lost a trunk and you
think I've rot it7-
Might before last. nc the Alham-
bra. when Max Lewis told you that
! was the girl all right. because nv
first name was Rhoda you told him
to find ont where 7 lived
u told you that myself this
noon" Claire broke IN. whats
that got to do with it,"
"And you told him. Rhoda went
on, mot to waste any time about
it. because I might see Mr.. Forster's
advertisement any day and answer
it. Rhoda could see that this bit
or Information startled her and she
went on n little more confidently.
He did find out where / lived BY
going home that night with Babe.
and he found out that the studio
was empty all day because she told
him we both worked and the other
girls were away. He tried to find
out whether my name wasn't
Rhoda Mcfarland. but she didn't
tell him. Yesterday afternoon the
studio was broken into. The bur
glar didn't find any papers. because
he didn't know where TO look. But
he did find three hundred dollars
OF mine, and he took that To
day." Rhoda went on, "after I'd told
You that my fathers papers we're
In the trunk and sealed I'D. And
after you'd gone out and tele-
phoned !"
You think Max went and got the
trunk. do you. and that he brought
II here?"
Yes" Rhoda said and l think
he's IN that alcove with Il now"
The woman gave a vicious laugh
"Al right" she said go and see
for yourself. II you can find Max
OF the trunk. you're welcome to both
OF them. Go and look. and then
get out I've been insulted about
long enough
This wasn't the way Rhoda had
expected the scene 20 work out
She was assailed by a sudden doubt
that the trunk might not be In the
alcove after all nor Max either.
Shed be In q hideously uncomfort-
able position II she went and hooked
and nothing was there. Yet she
couldn't 20 away without looking.
This might be nothing but a mag
ni1cent bluff by Claire.
Thank you" she said Il win
20 and look" But II took oil the
resolution she had TO set her legs
In motion down the room.
The alcove contained a bed. a
tawdry. oriental-ooking affair, too
low for the trunk 70 be- under. n
couple or chairs and N dressing tn
bic. but no trunk. no litter or pa
pers. and no Max.
Go as far as you like said
Claire who had followed her. Per
haps they're hidden in my closet or
In the bathroom"
fro III c~oeFrEEuKD1