The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1914-1938, 1933-09-21

must forgive me. I have not been
very delicate, have I? But I was so
worried. Today has been too much
for you. Now, now, we won't men
ton it again. l know that young
girls are sensitive about such sub
jects."
Suddenly the meaning of the often
repeated phrase, ''at such a time"
was clear. She looked with startled
eyes at Mrs. Du Val OF course. She
might have known that was 1t. All
those little worries about her exer-
else, her diet, taking care Of her.
self, all those sly little looks; she
was supposed to be an expectant
mother! And of course she was
not going to be mother. OF that
she was certain. Now the meaning
of Rocky's words unraveled: mo
need to worry about Doris" Did
Rocky, too, think she was going to
have child?
She opened her mouth. "I'm not"
but the French wOman's little
ringed hand was already over her
lips. The small kindly eyes looked
at her warningly.
"You must not say another word.
You are too excited"
Doris eyes, big and full Of anxi-
! ETY., looked at Mrs. Du Val. What
was the use of trying to tell any
thing now? She would only be
thought overweight. Sooner or
later she must straighten the thing
out. Tonight there were other things
she wanted to find out.
"But about the murder"
mo, no. No more talk"
In silence Doris allowed Mrs. Du
Val to tuck the covers about her
chin. She was thankful when the
light was turned out and she was
left alone.
She tried to think why it was that
she had never before thought of this
explanation of Mrs. Du Val's so
licitude. But how could she have
supposed such a thing about her
self?
If this were so, then she was not
Rocky's wife. Rocky's wife was some
other forlorn waif. In her frenzy she
pictured this other woman as
sort Of Biltmore ghost walking, walk
ing through the big lobby looking
for Mrs. Du Val that never came.
The shapes and shadows ir the room
were assuming grotesque outlines,
pointing accusing fingers. "You are
not Mrs. Rockwell Du Val. You are
not Rocky's wife at all You belong
to the man in the cab"
She tossed all night, not quite
knowing whether she slept or
dreamed waking nightmares. At
dawn she rose with painfully
contracted heart and knelt down be-
fore the picture of Rocky.
In his pictured eyes she tried to
read the truth about her relation
ship to him. He had grown so ia
miliar to her that she could not be-
lieve that she had never seen the
real man. Even though her mind
conjured up no recollection Of him
that went. beyond that silver frame,
she still knew that image SO well
that she believed him to be her hus-
band. -..-
"You must be. You must be-" she
whispered. Fate could not be so
cruel as to give you to me only in
make-believe." .~. .@.s7 .-.~..
She crawled back under the COW
ers and fell asleep.
She awoke to find Mrs. Du Val
standing beside her bed. Mrs. Du
Val looked anxious, and she knew
she had something wrong with her.
Her head felt hot and unnatural.
at Is nothing" said Mrs. Du Val
cheerfully, "you have little touch
of grippe. You must stay in bed. You
will be all right" ...ss
For the next few days Doris
lacked the energy to bring up the
subject of her supposedly approach
ing motherhood. Mrs. Du Val, like
many fussy and worrying women,
was at her best when there was &C.
tual illness to combat. She was a
miracle now of optimism, as she
nursed Doris.
Doris lay for hours listlessly
watching the shadow of the leaves
make changing patterns in the sun
shine that came in through the long
windows.
Once she took daisy from the
bunch of flowers that had been put
near her bed, and pulling the leaves
went through the familiar ritual OF,
"he loves me, he loves me not" The
message Of the flower was. ''he
loves me not" She did not like
it. Superstitiously she felt that it
proved that Rocky was not her hus-
band.
Il suppose really am slightly
crazy" she told herself Respondent:
ly. She fingered the ring which
curled around her finger with ten
der reinsurance. She had never
taken it off since the day in the Bilt-
II E<,