Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1931-02-13

49, - 8~4@ AA& law AEUA
It from her II he'd been telling
everybody else in sight. And n
you want to know who I think you
really are. I don't mind telling YOU
that either. I believe you're the
one person alive today who really
knows whether Walter Mcfarland
was telling the truth or not"
Until he'd finished she hadn't
seen what he was driving at. And
when she did she could do nothing
but stare at him. COMPOUNDED Nv
the mere monstrousness OF his mis-.
take. To complete her discontinue
she found she was beginning Ia
cry.
You can CRY. can your Well,
II worked with him but IL won't
with me so you may as well W
He broke orr there and what
had interrupted him both made
her blink away her tears and
checked their coming. A sort OF
little trap-door In the front OF Ma.
poleon had silently fallen forward
and revealed. ms he reached toward
II, a telephone instrument inside.
Forster seemed rather startled
BY the message he ives getting.
whats that?" he barked. "Who
does he say he isf All right" after
listening for a minute, "I1l see him.
but not In here. Have him shown
up 70 the library. Ill see him
there. And find DeGraw and tell
him 7 want him"
He put the telephone back and
clicked the little trap-door shut
upon II. Then he pressed an cleo
trio button on his desk.
I'm going TO leave you here for
n WHILE" tie said to Rhoda, ITO
think things over. and you'd bet
ter think straight. * you car. I'm
going 10 ret this Cleveland woman.
I've got her now. as far IS that
goes. But I've got nothing per
sonal against you. And IL you can
make up your mind. by the time ]
come back. to come through clean
and tell me the whole conspiracy.
Ill let you CO."
His ring had been answered
while he was speaking, not by
Conley, but by a sort OF overgrown
page In livery. BE helped the old
man 70 his feet and conducted
him 70 the door Rhoda had come
I'm BY.
Rhoda sank back IN her chair.
What possessed her mind was the
story Forster had been telling her
about the girl he'd preposterously
taken her to be. Did he really be-
lieve thatf Was there a scrap OF
genuine doubt I'm his mind that she
was Walter McFarland's daughterG
Wasn't vhe whole thing a blur TO
put her on the defensive and fright
en- her into doing, eventually,
whatever II was that he wanted
her TO dor II would have been o
rather satisfactory explanation II
she could intellectually have
adopted IL. III for no other reason
than that II brought him cut IN .
clearer, less ambiguous light.
But she found she couldn't adopt
It. He wasn't a much better actor
than she was. His manner while
he had been trying to convince
her that he had been led by moth
ing but dIsInterested benavolence
In trying 10 find her had been sleek
and sly. utterly unconvincing. But
some Of the things he'd told her
she knew TO be true. Her father
had been paid every week regular
~. through the whole four years
they'd lived at the hotel. In cash.
Forster wouldn't have known that
unless he'd paid him himself. or II
wasn't likely that he would. What
he'd said about her fathers feel
ing disgraced and having lived
practically in hiding was confirmed.
too. by innumerable memories OF
his having cautioned her not TO
talk TO people, nor answer their
questions. nor make friends with
them.
Claire Cleveland, somehow. had
found the secret out. She'd spoken
with perfect confidence OF the lab
oratory where her father had
worked. Had she really worked
for him there-eventnEs. as she
said she had7 10 was possible, but
1t didn't seem very likely. At any
rate, II was fatty unbelievable that
he would have confided 10 her al
those times, Of she said he had.
the stery or his California disaster.
And yet 1t was clear that she knew
about that Shed spoken or the
trial and sensation that Il created.
There'd been hardly anything else
IN the San Francisco papers.
(To BE coNTINUEp.1