Red Lodge daily news combined with Carbon County news., 1932-04-28
Chapter 5
YES OR MOI

TIME footman greeted George def
Il erentially ana went to pay the
driver. while she took the steps of the
main staircase W at a time. She did
not slow down until she gained a bed
room at the back of the upper hail
and was thowing her cloak on to the
bed.
On the back of the door hung an
overall of dark linen and this George
whisked over the cleaning apricot
of her dress. The overall was made
long but a CLEAN of velvet still show
ed round her ankles-that was, how
ever, unavoidable. She schanged her
brocade shoes for dark leather and
at the d~ressing-table wiped all make
up off her face and passed a comb
thru her hair. Then she swung out
of the room and entered the one
next to it.
This, as richly carpeted and cur-
tanned as the bedroom, was one of
her many working rooms. There was
a desk of telephones, typewriter, and
next to the typewriter a dictaphone
transcribing machine. On the desk
just under the curved, g~reen-shaded
lamp, a cylinder of black and shiny
wax awaited her. She slipped it on
to the transcriher, pulled a pair of
ear-phones over her head, poised her
hands on the keyboard of the type
~ civ ~ ~ ff'S ~ ENAtS -
great speed while the cylinder, slowly
turning on its roller, transmitted the
faint voice of Grafton Matching into
her ears.
Entirely concentrated. she typed,
laused, listened, typed again. From
the maddening indistinctness of the
record she knew that the document
she was tipping was a highly confid-
entail one. The Old Man almost grunt-
ed into his dictaphone when the mat
ter was secret. He knew that. in the
end, she would be able to make it
out. Even if she could only hear an
occasional snatch of words. her ex-
perienee of him and his affairs, her
quick-wittedness and that brilliant,
half-telepathic intuition that rarely
failed her, would manage the rest.
The task, tho immensely exacting.
was not lengthy. In less than half
an-hour, she took off the ear-phones
II re-read what she had typed. Fix
ed into the surface of her desk was
a bell, which she rang three short
whirrs. Then she got UP and walked
over to the hearth.
The door opened and a young brown
giant Of a man came in.
"Eddiet" she cried.
"Hullo, grill"
He stood there, smiling al her, very
light on his feet for all his huge
bulk. His deep-set, slightly blood
shot eyes held that hunger for her
that she adored because it so pro-
founGly disturbed her. His leather
helmet made his head smaller but his
leather coat, flung open, added width
to his already massive shoulders. The
room vibrated family as he bore down
upon her
NO. Ed-not in office hours, dear
boy" She put the desk between them
but her eyes hung upon him, glory F,
ing in his height that, tall as she was,
o~Vertopped her by some inches. II
wondered if you'd be here tonight.
suppose you're flying with that" She
touched the finished typescript.
'Daresay. My crdets We're just a
packet. Old Mans in a devils mood
tonight-dries me up when he yaps
at me like that! Can't think how you
stick him"
Il don't let him get on my mind"
She smiled her brilliant, confident
smile and Eddie Townsend smiled
back at her. They understood each
other well. Each felt in the other a
reckless courage. an almost animal
joy in effort and success.
You don't let anything get on your
We'll, do youa."
only you-and you're on it a darn
sight too much. Spelling my nerve,
YOU are, and it's got to stop. / mean
il, girl. Look here, | reckoned
on getting a word with you tonight.
something | want to say"
She glanced at the house telephone.
I'm have to go the instant he rings
for me-
LII risk that George. the Old
Mans transferring me to the Mex
lean depot for at least a year. And
to 20 at the end Of the month"
Ed
you see what that means, girl?
We shan't see each other for the
year, at least. It's not an eternity,
I'm not pretending that. All the same, (
too long for me to go on wonder {
ing whether at the end OF 1t you'll
be any more willing han you are now
to chuck your job and marry me. To t
come straight out with twill you
marry me in a day or two so as to |
have a bit Of fun together before a
Or shall | forget you?" I
The golden tone Of her skin paled
little, her wide mouth was trembl- i
ing.