The Daily Alaska empire., 1933-10-19
Chapter 27 / DIRE TRUTH

DIRE TRUTH
 MRS. RODGERS watched Caro- " line turn away and begin to go Town the hill. Then she took a step towards the stile. but almost in the lct of taking 1t she swung about ike a boat when the current catches t. She called.
 Miss Caroline! Miss Caroline!'
 And Caroline came back. She didn't want to come back. but she came.
 q mustn't miss my train," she said.
 "There's time," said Mrs. Rodgers and took her by the sleeve.
 Caroline turned cold with dread of what she was going to hear.
 Miss Caroline" said Mrs. Rod gers.
 Caroline's eyes besought her.
 My dear, you'd best know and ha done with it. That torn out page
 "Oh, mol" said Caroline. "No!"
 You'd best know it, my dear Mrs. Henry's no inter, and it's wha, she seen with her own eyes. She took pertickler notice, because there wasn't no name signed on tha page" tNs
 ''No name?"
 ''No name, my dear-nothing bu the finger-prints and two great biz initials getting on for couple O inches high. She took perticklel notice, and when the book wal found pushed down behind the book case like I told you, she took a lool at it, and that there identical pagt was gone. I s'pose didn't ought tt tell you what the initials was, bu what's the good of baking the breat if you don't take it out of the oven?'
 Caroline tried to pull her sleeve away. but she couldn't speak. Mrs Rodgers voice boomed in her ears
 Mrs. Henry won't talk unies! she's asked. and it's not for me tt say whether she'll be asked or no but if so be she is. she's bonnd tt tell the truth-not that she or any one else around these parts 'ud wan to get young gentleman that wal well liked, and his family respected into trouble. s
 'But there's a name that 'as beer mentioned, and Mrs. Henry's owl nephew - Willie Bowman, thats been his caddy at golf many ant many a time afore he went off tt foreign parts-Willie seen him fl the drive getting on for midnight and hasn't told no one, only his aun and me.
 "'And what were you doing. vii lie? she says, and of course h. hadn't got a word to say. she know ing same as everyone else that he'l carrying on with that fiighty piece Gladys Garrett, down at the Cricket CTS Arms"
 Caroline's head swan. Through jumbled whirl of irrelevant anecdot' something horrible advanced upoi her. She wanted to run away. bu she couldn't. la & 5--i Mrs. Rodgers dropped her voice t | penetrating whisper.
 Tt was Mr. Jim Randall as Wilii' seen%1and the initials on the tor out pags was J. R." ''' =
 Caroline's mouth made a sound less "Oh!" There was no sound, be cause she did not seem to have an. breath. She pulled away from Mrs Rodgers and ran down the hill, as 1 by running she could get away iron Jim's name.
 tt ftf
 THE clock of St. Mary Mazda T iene's church struck half-pas twelve as Caroline turned int Grove Road. The things that Mrs Rodgers had told her were al locked away in a dark secret cur board at the back of her mind. Sh wasn't going to let herself look a them or think about them until sh and Jim could look at them together
 What she had got to do now wa to be sensible and practical an bus.nesslike. She had to prove iron the entry in the register that 1 wasn't Jim who had married tha horrible Nesta woman on July 25th It stood to reason that 1t wasn't Jim but she had got to prove 1t. Well, one glance at the registe would do that. because she woul' know Jim's writing anywhere. an she was quite sure that the entr I l. "a