Evening star., 1932-03-10

stared in astonishment.
A lady stood beside the road, hail
Ang him, The late afternoon sunlight
Showed dried mud on her clothes, mud
on her shoes She looked very white
and tired and even Tony's unobservant
ewes could see the trace of recent tears
on her face.
But Tony was not curious by nature.
1t was sufficient for him to learn that
the lady had missed the bus up to the
city and wanted to ride in on his truck.
Tony was embarrassed but willing.
A strange ride, sitting perched up
here beside this Italian truck farmer,
chugging along through the late sun
light. At peace with this fearful day
the black nightmare of that dangerous
trip through the tunnel-the strange
dream of the empty house filled with
dead sunlight and the hollow roar of
the sea.
Judy had lost track of time, when she
lay there on the bed In the upper bed
room. 1t might have been minutes, 1t
might have been hours. From the looks
of the sun when she finally reused her
self, she judged 1t had been well over
an hour.
An hour-and no one had come.
Wilson had not come and he was not
coming. Georgia had been mistaken
OF lying. 6cLlldpS IL Ndo oCOl SO -
spiteful attempt to get Eunice and Stan
In trouble with her. Yes, that must
have been it, Judy thought was
GeorgiaS way of starting a scandal
Stan and Eunice. Sitting there sunk
In her own bitter reflections as the
truck joggled over the road, Judy felt
O cold contempt rising in her heart to-
ward the two of them. Stan and
Eunice and their tawdry love affair.
Jealousy was dead within her. She
could only whip up disdain.
Stan and Eunice-here was her
weapon If she cared to use it. Here
was the way to whip Stan in line. A
divorce-and Nick. She could be free
and 60 TO Nick.
But even that failed to stir the old
warm longing in her heart. Tired
she was so tired. Tired, body and soul.
Everything in life-even love-even
hope-was dust and ashes. Nothing
mattered. Life was matter OF sitting
perched up here moving nowhere in
the dying sunlight.
High up on the ridge road, the truck
was moving now. Down there was the
ocean and the white line of foam along
the shore Down there-hidden by a
curve of the hills was a tall house
standing deserted by the water. She
never wanted to see 1t again.
She thought of the first time de had
come over this road. The dizzy height
and the way Nick had-unseen-held
her hand to steady her. How little
she had thought then, of this day OF
terror!
She could see the old railway right
Of way-a cut in the hills which dis
appeared under the rocky spur. That
xx-ax tho funnel thr0l,On which she had
crawled-was it only couple of hours
ago?
The truck was numbering over the
summit now, its long pale shadow NOV
ing silently along with it in the slant
ing sunshine. Rocky folds of hills,
covered with a sparse growth Of sage
and mesquite, which gave it, at dis
tance, the gray and wrinkled appear
ance of an elephants hide.
The road was tortuous-twisting
around gullies and shooting, with
breathtaking suddeness. out upon the
lips of cliffs which plunged down hun
dreds of feet to narrow canyons below |
Had she been less tired Judy would
have been terror stricken with the
height and narrow road. Instead she
clutched the back of the seat. to keep |
from being jolted by the slow moving |
truck. Her eyes were closed. she |
slumped wearily in the corner of the |
seat.
Only when she heard the driver put
ting on the brakes did she rouse her
aeh
They had rounded sharp curve
o man was tagging them to stop. The
narrow road was blocked by tow car.
Hold 'er, fella! Well be out-a here
In few minutes"
"What-sa matter? Wreck? Tony
Scatina rather unnecessarily asked as
he eased his truck to the side of the
road
"Couple-a cars kissed back there.
must've been goin' like hell. Bounced
one clear down in the canyon Ones
hangin' just over the edge-theyre
pullin' 'er up now.
ANY one hurt?"
Sure. Kilt" The gruesome news
was told with evident relish Both
drivers-kilt right away. An a girl in
one car was bounced out an hurt
pretty bad They took 'em all away to
the hospital, but the guys was dead
Dead as doornails."
The informer spat, his eyes taking
In with curiosity the dust-covered,
white-faced girl perched up on the
truck
Say, the way som've these guys
drive they should get bounced off the
edge! You try pilotin' a truck over
ITS a \kflcE ~