Evening star., 1933-10-29
BARGAIN IN L0VE&s5 4
by Jane DIXON KSTX
INSTALLMENT XII.

INSTALLMENT XII.
~ NE more day. The Toulon would
dock tomorrow at noon. A few
IL hours for Sue Santry, free AND
~ 81. Then-a part to play. Sue
| Santry. playing the part Of a
haRpy ee,ae relatvas An ner unWsleome
a hated 1nterloper. Trying to smile
down their criticism, their suspicion, to
ward of their barbs Of hatred.
ing her marEiags vows in a dingy City
Hall office. Pledging herself to stran-
ger. HOcuS.pocW willy nllly-and she
is Sue Randall. Still 81, but not free.
and and tawdry- % sho1ld % she go ons There
( was time, even now, to withdraw from
the cast There would be no play, of
course, If she Withdrew. But no play
at all might be better for her. for JEFF
than this dang erous farce. She would
find jeff and tell him she could not,
she fail jeff? He'd been SO kind, so
gentle, kinder than any one-except her
father. She must not fail Jeff-and
she must take care of Tommy. Dear
| Tommy. De-well, anyway, good, kind
jeff. The play must go on.
We're rounding the curve for the
I home stretch" Jeffrey said, throwing
himself into Mathilda's deck chair. His
smile had not lost its quizzical uptilt.
If Sue had not known he was inter-
ested in her as a means to a very ma
terial and entirely mercenary end she
would have sworn his eyes, searching
her face, were possassive.
! In the words of the classics" she
said, lit won't be long now"
L for one shall not let loose loud
cheers" Jeffrey contemplated. IF it
were not for our bare ain, Sue, the fact
I'm going to have you close by for a
time at least, I'd try to bribe the cap
tain to miss port altogether and go on
sailing to some unchs rted destination
on the other side of the earth"
Sue, thinking: He's trying to be gall
liant, He doesn't want me to feel too
much like a catch-pennv panderer. I'll
| relieve him. I'll convince him I'm too
| hard-boiled TO be sensitive
All very well for you" she said.
But you forget the poor husband
snatcher I wouldn't WANT to be bot
| wife"
Sues heart contracted painfully.
| The light was gone from T,ffreys eyes.
He was like small boy who came to
his mother for a caress, and had his
ears boxed instead
Has that woman been hacking you
| again?" Jefrey's brows lowered.
"Oh, no. Your whoof, wlloofs dis
concerted her, for the moment. She's
scarcely one to stay disconnected
though, with those ingrowing lips and
gtmlet eyes,
I'm counting on it. What's her
husband like? Adonis in Wall Street,
Romeo adrift in Broadway? She
| seems to think he's quite a gem. hi--
ing detectives and accusing innocent
bystanders."
Sues heart warmed. Why tly to
bait any one as regular as Jeffrey?
Henry Hume?" Sue visualizing her
employer. Hes the customary husi-
ness type-medium height. inclined to
bulge in spots, slightly bald, age in
definite, anywhere between 40 and 60,
talks staccato and believes in himself
absolutely; An exacting man, but, a
fair one"
He sounds reasonable enough. Prob
ably knows nothing about this rackee
his wife expects to put over"
"I doubt that he does"
Then we will inform him He may
be able to handle her without our
help"
Lets wait. 1t may be Mrs. Hume
has decided to transfer her trouble
making elsewhere after what you told
her. Here comes Mrs. Cragston. She's
looking straight at you, JEFF. I'm sure
she has designs"
"Oh-h-heck! This ship has all the
privacy Of plate-glass window at the
corner Of Forty-second street and
Broadway"
I've been searching for you every
where" Mrs. Cragston greeted JEFF ac-
cusingly She acknowledged Sues pres
ence with ghost Of nod and sniff.
Always look for me here first" JEFF
advised.
I'm having little dinner party to-
night in the grill for Delphine. Just a
few-our last night out, you know.
There's such delightful young foreign
I'm sure you'd enjoy meeting him.
There's so much you must have in
common"
Il doubt it." Jeffrey blew smoke
rings.
"Oh, but you must have. Polo, and
places you've been. The counts trav-
eled all over the world. He has such
fascinating stories. And manners! Old
world. you know. May I include you,
Mr. Randall?"
Thanks" Jeffrey smiled. the quiz
zical smile that always made Sue want
to echo it. I'm afraid l must decline.
You see I've planned to spend the even
ing quietly, with my wife"
Mrs. Cragston's eyes were round as
saucers and they bulged like saucers
turned upside down.
Your wife!" she gasped. "But, Mr..
Randall, I understood you were
bachelor-I've not had the pleasure OF
meeting Mrs. Randall.
81 beg your pardon. But I'm sure
you've met. Sue, you've met Mrs.
Cragston, Mrs. S. Van Pelt Cragston,
haven't you?"
"Yes, we've met" Sue pretended in
difference to cover the laugh that bub-
bled in her throat. This play was going
to be Jolly in parts. How ridiculous
Mrs Cragston looked with her lower
jaw dropped as though it were on
broken hinges.
This girl-your wife! But she told
me she was Sue somebody, a typist."
Indignation was crowding astonishment.
IT don't understand-shes travelling
with another woman-they were at my
table"
The other woman is Miss Fether-
stone. Mrs. Randall's campanion," JET
frey lowered his voice to imply mystery.
Were going to let you in on our
secret, Mrs Cragston. Please treat