The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1931-02-06
CHAPTER I-Continued

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Later, but not until an hour or two
later, going over the evening on foot,
as it were, he was able to surmise
that his complacency over the appar-
ent success of this maneuver, getting
rid of both Lewis and Babe with a
single well-placed introduction, might
have had something to do with his dis
cOmfiture in the scene which followed
with Rhoda. She, Of course, couldn't
have known how much deeper he'd
plunged into her affairs while she'd
been finishing out the dance with the
negligible Higgins. And 1t wasn't sur
prising II she'd felt when he came up
and took her arm, detaching her from
her most recent partner with barely
word, that his manner was assum-
ing a good deal too much, as If their
friendship had been matter Of months
rather than of minutes. He'd been
entirely unconscious of this manner
at the time. All he'd been thinking
Of was the Importance Of what he had
to tell her and Of what she in return
would have to tell him.
He was aware that she looked at
him little oddly as he started to
lead her away, and he explained his
action, adequately he felt by saying,
"We've got to find some place where
we can talk. Sha'n't we get out Of
this? I'll take you home if you like"
At that she got rid of his hand
rather bruskly and turned to stare at
him, still half perplexed but in rap
idly mounting evaporation.
II don't want to get out of this"
she said. II came here to dance"
Before he could speak, she added,
more amiably, eve can talk now,
though, can't we? And look, there's
place we can SIT" The sofa she darted
off to take possession of occupied per-
haps the most public place in that en-
tirely public dance hall, opposite the
head Of one of the flights of the grand
staircase. "That is all right, isn't q"
she asked.
II suppose So" he agreed discon-
tentedly "At least it's got its back
to the wall and no one can hear what
we say without standing right in front
of us and listening"
'But what have we got to say" she
demanded, shat anybody shouldn't
hear?"
"Plenty," he told her. "Of course
don't know how serious 1t is. You'll
know better than /. 1t sounded to me
like something you ought to be told
about"
"'Sounded?' Do you mean you
heard people talking about me?"
II think they were talking about
you. I'm practically sure they WERE"
His chain Of differences had been
straight enough once, but it was tam
gled now. "Ill start with something
else" he said, after a moments silence.
'Do you remember asking me why
looked funny when you told me your
name was Rhoda, and my saying had
an association with the name that
couldn't spot? Well. I have spotted 1t
now. For the last week there's been
an advertisement in the personal col
umn Of the News for the address of
Rhoda Mcfarland. The reason I'd
noticed it was that it was always
blind ad; the advertiser, mean, never
giving his own name"
He had instinctively avoided look
ing at her while he was speaking, but
the quality of the silence after he'd
finished drew his eyes around to her
face. He saw 1t deeply flushed.
SWELL" she asked as she encoun-
tered his gaze. a sharpness that
sounded like panic audible in her voice,
"what has that got to do with me?
He wanted to say, you are Rhoda
Mcfarland, aren't your" but his nerve
failed him. He didn't try to answer
her question.
"Was 1t Rhoda Mcfarland you heard
them talking about?" she asked at the
end of another silence, her voice now
In better control, "and did you think
there couldn't be more than one per-
son named Rhoda?"
At last his mind was on the rails
again. Il didn't hear any name men,
toned at all. I'll tell you what 1 did
hear. The man said, She's the girl.
all right The woman asked him how
he knew. He said the girl was
cagey little brat-meaning, suppose.
that she hadn't told him as much
about herself as he'd tried to find out
but that he had got her first name.
That name, apparently, cinched it,
since the woman had already half
recognized your face-the girls face,
mean"
She noted the slip and pounced upon
1t angrily. "Why do you keep talking
about me? What makes you think it