Evening star., 1932-11-03

YORK 10 tne Dawn nome III
Newark the mood of syniciSm
- which Give had cultivated
softened He had Worshiped
! had been no sacrifice he would not
! have made for her And now TO hint
! to her parents that he had ever har-
bored such tenderness would produce a
scandal
He was aware of the pain he was
| courting long before he alighted. What
, had brought him? Curiosity and an
. instinct more magnanlmous; he had to
learn that all was we'll with her.
The same pleasant room in which
he had made his breach with Santa
| Till you've finished sampling count
me outO. Eric Dawn, his guardian. TO
whom he'd been almost a son. killing
/ the fatted calf for him. Mrs. Dawn
I r~cp.t.atory - Geterminedly gracious.
Cocktails shaken.
/ He could restrain himself no longer
How is Santa"
! Mrs. Dawn replied. turning her back
| to straighten a lamp shade which re-
| quired no Strengthening
She arrived home today on her first
visit since her wedding. She'll be down
in a moment
Give braced himself.
1
preoccupied. Utterly pulseless. A lovely
! ghost-that was how she impressed
him. Her eyes downcast. Cool as
marble
| His hostility crumbled. The Thou
shalt nots" Of the Decalogue became
senile mumblings.
With unruffled casualness she chose
cigarette.
Who has match? Hello. Clive!"
| For the first time she seemed to notice
him. DO you still carry lighter?"
His hand trembled.
Hold it steady" she requested.
She glanced up with lurking mis-
chief
Dinner was announced. He found
himself seated opposite her. Converse
ton took the form Of questions regard
| ing how he had spent his absence.
1T was mean of you to pop off like
that" Santa took a hand.
| Like WHAT" He jerked upright.
| Never advising Mummy or Daddy
and only telephoning me at the last
moment"
mo doubt Give had his reasons.
Her father strove to avoid controversy.
But when l saw him off" she
persisted unabashed. 1T was agreed
that he would write"
I
| Probably he realized that bachelors
don't correspond with other men S
| fiancees."
But, must a girl lose all her
friends" She gazed whimsically
into Gives eyes. Mummy actually
thought you wouldn't want to meet
me-"
MY dear Santa" Give felt that he
was grinning like a horsecollar, "in
reply to your devastating frankness. I'd
be glad to meet you at the North Pole,
if that was the rendezvous you ap-
| pointed"
The tempest in a teacup had blown
over. Amiable chatting was resumed
But the conundrum was why she had
pretended that she was the one who
had a cause for grievance. Her poiSe
was disconcerting. In continually re-
turning to the sore topic OF her mar
riage, she must have some object. Be-
meath her gay mockery Give detected
the strain Of nerves.
Il read a description of the great
event" he replied with gravity.
Where? Do tell u.s."
The suave table, with its shining
candles, faded. He saw himself arriv-
lovely women, dreaming only of one
woman. He relieved the dead agony
Days dragging by. Excuses for hel
silence, all Of them to her credit. God
he'd been loyal! Since bridegroom
job was to earn salary and he'd
wanted to buy her heaps of pretty
things when she joined him, he'd
pulled himself together.
Pulling himself together had entailed
trips to Warsaw, Belgrade, Brussels
with constant anxiety that during his
absence she might have o SD him
1t hadn't been pleasant to think Of hel
sitting on dock as friendless as ar
unclaimed trunk. And this airy jest
ing was his reward for that tender
ness!
"Wheye!" He hesxd himself saying