The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-11-25

X&AN 6HAUGHNE8BEXs Agseh writer and lecturer.
 linda, realizing her cousin had f1e10 tO tell her he was murder ee, nnsl1ee uD the stairs to the bzsCUzny. Someone steps behind EeE. 1Eics Co strangIe her and Alse fails fin . faint.
 11se reEafns consciousness seseFal hours later. It has been a4suuDeG Cousin AmlOe' death was accidental and Linda has no rsaIIy happened.
 NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY
 CHAPTER XIV
 ft was almost haif-past 10 by her little clock when Linda's heten- fnk ears heard the welcome spin of gravel under the wheels of q re-. Burning car and she opened her eyes to see her nother-in-iaw tip- t0eine out of the room.
 "Thaf's Tomw they both ex- claimed. and the older woman 1aegl1ed . little.
 .xou needn't worry, Lindy!" she Mzld. Hell be up here as soon as he can fly, and I'll 70 downstairs to zee if your guests need any help ff1 their final preparations"
 when Tom appeared. as prompt 1y as his mother foretold, his wife was sitting up, bright-eyed and looking astonighingiy untouched bt the recent disaster.
 'sNow. Hnda--whats on your
 Her eager desire for speech did not prevent flash of gratitude for hfk direct approach to the subject. No pretensc that he'd forgotten it. no arguempt as to whether she were able to talk.
 ssgit down, Tom" she Said, and knew q. he heard her own voice that the interval, franticaily ns she had resented 1t, had strengthened and steadied her. Yet Tom, as he obeyed with more worried perplex- 1fy than he permitted himself 10 show. thought he had never seen Linda look so serious and as he took the hand she extended he ex- Derienced n quick inward shock. Jt was icy cold and, for all her out ward control, decidedly tremulous. Then she began to talk, quietly, Without any sign of weakness or 1iyfHnria, and he listened. incredu- louN but believing. Such things couldn't happen but, if BinkS sad to, they had! She told of the door f7lat was ajar; of the voices. so in- distinct that she had thought one 1f them his; of her quiet approach and withdraw, unheard; of her surerisc when, downstairs, she saw Him in the water; of her pause on the terrace: the scuffle overhead; the sudden hurtIing down of Cousin Amos body and tho scant i've words which he had strength to gasp. Words which had sent her Aying up the steps to identify his aasailant---
 Avsrill breke in with an cxclam- ati0n of horror.
 "Lfnda~-al0nei Why you might ---you might have been killed4-!"
 T nearly was.
 Whats that?"
 T nearly was killed. You---you did9t know 1t, Tom, but when you thought I waved--wcIi, your being on the raft there. facing the house. saved my life. guess"
 He heard her out grimly. Heard of the silent approach of the man behind her the man whom she had trapped there and who, Gearing detection. tried to silence her forever. Heard why she had in- voluntarily ciutched at the air--a gesture 50 easily translated into IIEht-heartcd wave! And as she fin- 1shed with her vague memory that the choking pressure gave, just hs she tOppled into unconsciousness. t1 L~aA a1tfh fha concentrated anguish of futile rage.
 sso--what do you think of thatY she concluded, trying to relieve his evident tension by speaking lightly. Face set grimly, eyes burning into hers, hc sat there moment immo- bile. His look made her realize suddenly. as m outsider would realize, what she had been through. what she had so narrowly missed.
 s.I think it's murder and at- tempted murdcr" He answered slowly. Good God - what might have happened - and wasn't therei" Suddenly he engulfed her with tense, protective, angry ten- derness.
 "ouch---tny neck!" she exclain- ed. she wrigEied tentatively, then more violently. But its only lit- f1e stiff now. Let me get my breath. Therei Why --- where arc you go- tng7"
 "Oh, Tom -. walti That's exactly what thought you'd Say and ex- aotly what you mustn't do, just now, anyhow. You don't know any thing whom would you accuse" ] Ills eyes rested on her specula- lively.
 "go anxious to save him2"
 "You don't sound as though you wanted to catch your cousins nur- Aerer as much now as you did when you ran upstairs" His voice was distant, cold.
 T want to catch him more than Aver," she said yehcmentIy. "But know that we must decide toGeth- er, f5rst. what to say"
 "Ti1at is simple enough. We can ay found Mr Pratt bending over ehs caught her breath at the sug- eeeaon.
 ssTom--Tom--how can you"
 How can I what?"
 "Think Marvin---w
 How can help it7" His hands eienched. "LindA--do you want to ATfve me craxy7 I'm trying to ~---------.-----------