Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1931-02-12
CHAPTER TX

Some Light and More Darkness
CHE had expected that statement
- 10 startle him. but she'd no
where near guessed what the force
OF the explosion would be. The ut
ter di~sintegraion OF panic that his
whole appearance betrayed would
have been ludIcrous if II had not
been revolving. His face had gone
a sickly shiny yellow. A door had
opened and the man In the blue
serge suit was I'm the room. EYES.
sirT' he said fnterrogatively.
Il didn't ring. Conley," Forster
told him. without looking around
Understand now. I shan't want ycu
until I ring
II was precisely the same phrase,
Rhoda noted. that he'd used In dis
missing the man the other time. II
was no doubt n code order to
station himself mo some listening
post where he could hear everything
they said.
What was II you were saying7"
Forster asked. That some trunk
OF yours had been stolenr'
Yes she said. ~my hat trunk.
while 7 was out nc lunch. At least
] think that's when II was. When
] went back TO the studio after
lunch. about two o'clock. I found
II gone"
went home after lunch. aid
your" he asked, after q sharp look
at her. "What kind Of hours do
you keep on your jobr'
II had this afternoon or she
told him. II didn't 80 back TO the
paper at all"
well. then, he demanded. how
did you get my message that you
were TO come up here and zee mer'
She hadn't ~foreseen the question.
and her instinctively truthful an.
swer was ~ didn't"
We'll" he persisted. how did
you know who I was or where I
lived7 What did you come here
for7'
She smiled at him as she said,
Its rather complicated. I came
here without having planned 10, and
I was surprised when I found you
were expecting me. \ didn't know
anything about you until last night
Even then I hadn't decided to an
swer the advertisement. I didn't
connect you with my father, you
see. nor know that you'd been his
friend Well, last night I rot a let
ter from a woman I'd never heard
OF before. asking me TO lunch with
her today. She said she'd known
my father well and had something
very important to talk to me about.
] went TO lunch with her TO find
out what II was What she seemed
interested in was my fathers pa
pers. whether he'd left any and
whether I had destroyed them
told her I hadn't: I'd kept them all
together in a trunk. She said she'd
given him a letter to keep for her
and now she wanted II back. She
suggested that I take her home with
me-to my room. you know-and
let her help me ind Il. I told her
that that wasn't necessary. but that
Id find 1t for her II ! could When
4 said that. she excused herself
from the lunch table to 70 out and
telephone When she came back she
kept talking and ordering more
food 80 that I couldn't ret away.
When I finally rot away and went
home. found that the trunk with
my fathers papers I'm II was gone"
His little gimlet eyes had been
boring right into her all the while
she talked. Now, at her first pause.
be barked out, who was this
woman
".She told me-" Rhoda answered.
"that her name was Claire Ceve
land"
A sudden suffusion OF blood "a
his face turned 1t purple. He beat
feebly but furiously upon his desk
with a loosely clenched hand. $50
you've joined I'D with that black.
mailing woman. have your" he
said.
Il haven't Joined up with her
nt all" Rhoda retorted. "rve lust
been telling you / think she stole
my trunk. She talked to me about
you quite "a lot nc lunch-after
she'd come black from the tele.
phone. that Is. She said she'd seen
your advertisement for me In the
newspaper"
GRO Bn CONTINUITY