Evening star., 1932-01-10
CHAPTER XIV.


wardly she was shaken by surprise
A hurt-a new and fierce jealousy.
She was bewildered, by the sud
denness of the attack. Her emotions
were in a turmoil Georgia's words
seeping through her hlood-poisoninG
her heart-paralyzing reason
Stan and his old love" Sweet
hearts since childhood" That
was why Stand was so broken up-why
he lit out of his home town.
That queer sinking feeling Of disaster
within her and this new feeling
of outrage But paramount tc
everything the need of keeping heI
poise. Saving her face" was what the
somewhere and now, rather oddly
found herself recalling it. Save her
face under the sly black eyes OF
Georgia Save her face before
all these cruel watchful new people.
Keep that stiff little smile on her
lips E. never let them suspect
Oh, If she could only get away and
think Away in some quiet corner
where she could drop the mask and let
her eyes fill and her lips tremble. A
chance to think, clearly After
all-SuppoSe Stan had been interested
in Eunice Wilson before her marriage.
OF course, he'd known other
girls, Just as she had been friendly with
other men Look, how Ken Baker
had taken her to dances and parties
since high school days.
1t seemed to Judy that she had been
in a da2e since Georgias words. That
she had been walking in her sleep.
Now she awoke to startled conscious
ness. They were standing in the square
front hall waiting for the cars to be
driven to the entrance. Georgia had
walked away from her-shc was stand
ing talking with false animation to Billy
Sumner.
Judy's eyes went to Stan He was
lighting a cigarette-the light played
on his face and the girl felt her heart
swell with a strange emotion, half
pain, half pride. Stan her hu5-
band Oh, she was fool to let
a woman's catty words hurt her like
this! She was being jealous fool :.
Would Stan have married her If he'd
loved some one else? 1t was gossip
idle gossip. Why should Georgia de
Haas want to hurt her though? Judy
asked of herself in astonishment. Just
to stir up trouble, perhaps some
women were like that.
Stan was coming toward her-the
sight of him drawing her heart like
magnet. She felt that all the world
held only herself and Stan they
were in q planet apart, wrapped In
the glorious sense of belonging to each
other. Put appreciated by their
love. far away from these shallow, in
consequential people.
"How's everything going, Judy?" The
question was trivial enough, but there
was nothing trivial about the starry
gaze she gave him. Stals dark eyes,
thrilling her, drawing her hart through
her eyes. Georg.a as poisoned words IoSt
their sting.
''Lovely0lovely, darling" She pre-
tended to brush fleck of lint from
his sleeve because of the pleasure the
little poSsessiVe gesture gave her.
Across the hallway a pair of eyes ike
blue sapphires saw the motion. Saw
the long look which passed between
husband and wife.
Eunice Wilson was suddenly dominat-
ing the scene with gay insistence.
Everybody, attention. ask you, isn't
It a shameful condition of affairs when
we wives have to be escorted by our
own husbands This is a modern party!
No wives with their own husbands! We
need change. Patty, you give Cliff to
Georgia and go with Billy. And here
I'll make a fair exchange" She
snatched Judy by the arm and drew
he- toward Wilson, who was watching
with a heavy unsmiling face. "A brlde
for a bride! What could be fairer?
You shall have my husband, Mrs.
Carter-Im still bride myself. And
III take yourS-be it ever so painful.
Come on, Stan-our car Is the nrSt.
Good-by, every one. See you at the
club"
Elnice was running down the steps,
a slim white figure with floating silver
draperiss flying under the ermine cloak,
one arm locked in the arm OF the
laughing Stan.
A babble Of voices ana laughter-tireSs
crunching on the gravel drive ana
headlights flashing on shrubs ana tree
trunks. Car doors slamming. High
voices and masculine laughter. And Tor
one piercing moment, Georgia de Haas
black eyes plunging triumphantly INTO
,Judy's wide unguarded stare before the
machine door shut them away.
"Our car, Mrs. Carter" 1t was
wilson's heavy voice which stirred her.
His car-the last to leave-had drawn
up before the steps.
They were both silent as he helped
her into the tonneau.
To save her life Judy could not have
spoken. If she had tried she would
have burst into angry tears. Ihere
was a raw, smarting wound in her heart
not at Eunice's act, but because Stan
had not insisted on going with her-
with Judy.
people whom she had never seen be-
fore people she did not even
Iikel He could have refused refused
laughing-have said: mo, Judy is
stranger I must look out for
her tonight" But he had not. He
had been glad to go! He had let that
ether girl snatch him away-oomlnate
him.
All in a moment Judy's feelings crys-
taIized toward Eunice Wilson. She un-
derstood her motives as well as though
she had known the other girl for years.
Eunice - STAINS old sweetheart = was
haunting her domination of Stan before
all these people who had known OF th2
old attachment. .,..
Jealousy and wounded pride raging
liLe mad things in her heart. Judy sat
+1,ietiro her hands hard within each
other in the dark In that moment She
hated stan She could have pounded
his face with her clenched hStS-
that handsome dark face she loved SO
like a sort of cold torture her thoughts
went back-checking up memory agaIlst
Georpia's words. Stan and Eunice
sweethearts all their lives until EgLi.oe e
had married Wilson. Eunice hao nung
over her handsome young lover 10
snatch the older, weslthier man. stan
Iilo fnaa LIT town Eunice had been
mar married only a little more than two two
months, Judy knew from conversation
she had overheard that nlgnt: @ 1Wo
moths and Stan had left town
Stand had come East. AimleSsly
wandering about-was trying to forget?
He had come to Summerhe!d-Vlsltihg
Phil Davis. He had met Judy
Their impetuous marriage.
Judy felt as though there were tears
yelling in her heart, hot bitter tears,
scalding her.
Sometimes men married on the re-
bound. Married in a mad attempt TO