Evening star., 1932-01-21

She stretched out her hand In the
dark and gently touched his sleeping
figure. Stan, spoiled and wilful, but
precious as precious as life itself
She wasn't modern, Judy thought,
a little ruefully. She couldn't take
the matter -of-fact attitude to marriage
that most other girls seemed to take.
She couldn't manage the cheerful cam
| araderie which existed between Mary
Lockerbee and her husband, who were
| the happiest' couple she had met In
Lockwood.
She was too intense. Love to her
was the gate to romance The en-
trance to land where everything was
| touched with glamour Where every
| thing-all rapture-all devotion center
ed in one person. She had read mod
ern books-she had scoffed at such de-
votion as mid Victorian" She had
even staged very mild petting parties
with Ken Baker-she had supposed In
some vague way that she would marry
Ken some day . and then she had
met Stan.
What a stormy married life they
were having What a comedy it would
make the new wife forced into
almost daily contact with the old sweet
heart . She must have lost her
sense Of humor; she couldn't see the
| joke Oh, well, the first year was
the hardest. Wasn't that what every
one said? Shed look back on this
scme day and laugh :.
The next day-swept again into the
hysterical gayety of "the crowd" Judy
very gay-determined to be one OF
them. Drinking as many gin-fizzes be-
| fore breakfast as Eunice did. Laugh
ing merrily at Dart Towers clever-it
slightly -color-stories. Eagerly in
for every plan that Stan proposed
Anything, to fit in, To show Stan that
she belonged to his world
They went surf bathing that after
noon off the small crescent of beach
below the house. A deserted beach
most of the year, but blossomed now
into profusion Of gay parasols, steam
er chairs, bright cushions There was
even bridge table set under an avn
ing where Patty Warren and her hus-
band started game with Amy and
| Dart Towers, all In bathing suits.
| AS highly colored, as glamorous as
the bright advertisements in the backs
Of the magazines, thought Judy. The
sort Of house party she had read about
back there in the quiet Summerfleld
library. How strange, thought Judy, tc
realize that she would still be back
there in the library. sitting behind the
ugly yellow desk with Miss Briggs ii
1t hadn't been for the freak of fortune
which brought Stan to visit in Summer
field.
1t was just such slim chances which
turned destinies Only a chance
that she was out here on this beach
with these people people whom
she really didn't know, after all, anc
| who, were, nevertheless, making IN he,
life.
1t gave one an unpleasant feeling
that last thought 1t was true
whether she liked 1t or not, these peo.
pie were making her life each day
Amy, her sister-in-law Amy, whe
disliked her, and whom she disliked
Judy lying on the sand, her chin prop.
ped In her hands, looked gravely owe
at Amy, who played with a fierce con.
centration on the cards, her lips a thir
red line, her eyes narrowed. PATTY
OF spitefully laughing behind her back
These made up her life-becaus,
Stan wished it so. And Eunicel
There was q glorious pagan beaut,
about Eunice just now Slim, graceful
body, enhanced by yellow silk bath
ing suit, calling out the mellow tone
OF her skin, the rich lights Of her shin
ing hair; this all turned Eunice into
golden girl.
Beneath her lasf1es, Judy watched he
with Stan. What a striking pair the,
were! Stan, as dark as Eunice wa
fair, the perfect masculine match t,
her feminine beauty. STAINS broad
bare shoulders burned to the rich ma
hogany OF a Hawaiian Teeth-bon,
white in his dark face; eyes resting OF
the golden girl with that half somber
half caressing look, as intimate as 6
caress. They looked, Judy thought with
a pang, like two pagan lovers of the
golden age of Greece. Or like an idea
man and woman cast up on the islanc
Of eternal Summer
Nothing to tell Judy that there wa.
a nymph-like charm about her owr
slender body. That her profile-ths
brown hair swept back from her rounc
forehead like this, held the pure anc
wistful line OF childs profile THAI
her eyes-grey-b and deep set under
the straight, narrow brows-were the
color Of mountain-lilacs and poignantly
sweet -.
So thought Nick Carter, as he sprawl.
ed his big brown body on the sane
and pretended to be engrossed in talk.
ing to Georgia A sweet kid-thi'
young wife of Stan. Couldn't thai
handsome, conceited idiot see he was
turning knife in her heart?
A strange sense of unreality, lyine
here like this in the sunshine, watchinf
great waves roll in to spend themselve.
4 on the strand. To Judy, this great
tumbling waste Of water was secretly
terrifying. They filled her with panic
these mighty combers. She hid tht
thought even as she had hidden hel
fright of the mountain road. Mustn'
let these people suspect she was fright
ened. Stan would think she was a we
blanket. She would look stupid the
others would laugh, Stan would be i'm
patient. Stan liked brilliant, daring
people. Audacious people, like .Eunict
Wilson.
Judy felt that she could have stooc
Eunice's matchless beauty if she hac
been timid Of the water. But Eunice
was a strong and beautiful swimmer
She dived through breakers and swan
a strong over-arm stroke in the deer
water. She followed wherever Star
led. The two of them raced out to ar
old raft and climbed up on 1t, laugh
ing, two graceful figures poised against
the blue sky, as absorbed in each other
as though they were alone.
Lying on the beach, one arm flung
over her eyes as though she slept, Judy
watched them, and there was bitter
hatred in her heart and whimperine
self-contempt.
Eunice was showing of-to make
her, Judy appear the more stupid
That was the way to appeal to Stan
show. He loved the dashing and the
flash. People would think-"He's mag
nifcent too bad he's married t.
such a commonplace person. He should
have married that glorious creature
Eunice Wilson :"
Well,-something cruel and spitefu
speaking in Judy's heart-was she going
to take beating lying down?
Where was her spirit? Go in after
them-swim out to the raft. Come up
laughing, f1inging wet hair out of hel
eyes-let Stan pull her up beside him
.. STAINS dark, warm glance of pride
Show Eunice Wilson :.
Judy found that she was on her feet
as though her pulsing thoughts had
| hn l. n