The Daily Alaska empire., 1933-10-24
Chapter 32 IT IS LOVE

ITS LOVE
 T DON'T believe Mrs. Rodgers would have told me anything if she hadn't turned out to be Nanna's sister," Caroline continued. q didn't recognize her, because she used to be thin like Mamma, and now she's exactly like a feather-bed. But she knew me at once-she said hadn't changed bit"
 "No-you haven't" said Jim.
 And that was the last moment that he could have said it, because, in the very middle of saying it, Caroline stopped being the dearly familiar child, half playmate and half sister. whom he had teas d, petted and adored from the time she had first ,lutchcd at his hair with her baby fingers.
 Something happened, and she wss
 
 !, new Caroline-a Caroline whom le knew, and did not know. whose land on his arm sent a trcEcr all over him. It was horribly disconccr;- ng and embarrassing. Ec lest the thread of what she YVES saying. be- cause there was a pounding noise in 1is ears.
 He looked at her, and then looked quickly away. She was new, en- :hanted Caroline. who took his oreatil4with her warmth and beauty enchanted, and enchanting.
 Jim took hold of himself.
 "I didn't hear what you said"
 He looked no higher than the dust sheet which covered the bed, but hc saew that she was looking at him. He hadn't the faintest idea what she aad scid, or what sho w2s gong to say. It came like Q bomb shell.
 "They think you were in lcve with Mr1. Van Berg
 He looked up then with g,.arply interrogative jerk of the Ecad.
 with Susie?"
 "Yes." Her eyes were very br.Sat. Were you? Yon needn't say if yc2 font want to-
 "Well, l wasn't. What pit it into aayone's head thatl was?'
 That's what was telling you" said Caroline earnestly. "Ycu sec, Mrs. Yen Bers's 5 maid Is Go.ag abo-t saying that MT. Van Berg ygss shot because he found out something hc wasn't meant to-that's to say, she doesn't say it right out. she jue; drops hints. Mrs. Rodgers calls her an .'inting 'ussy.' And she says she says perhaps the emeralds weren't stolen at all. only hidden to make it look as if there had been 8 burglary"
 "What damned nonsense!"
 "Jim, you didn't think ] believed her. It was only-I thought-you might have = cared for her = and there might have been--a quarrel"
 "Well, didn't" j.
 He got up and began to walk about the room. It was more than he could do to sit within yard of Caroline and hear her ask him whether he was in love with another woman. CHE sat where she was. barehead' N ed, her old brown coat open over a cream shirt and shabby tweed skirt. Her eyes followed him.
 "There wasn't any quarrel?"
 "How do know?"
 It was damnable, but he didn't know.
 "Jim-you don't mind my telling you? The hussy says Mrs. Van Berg used to have photograph of you She says it was always out until that night. She says it has never been out since"
 He stood in the middle of the room frowning intently.
 q gave her photograph-they'd been awfully good to me. She may have had half dozen reasons foI putting it away" He said it without conviction. Why should she have put his photograph away like that You'd think woman whose husband had just been shot would have something better to do. You wouldn'' expect her to be Adding with photo graphs.
 He began to wonde CT whether Susie Van Berg knew that he hal been with Elmer that night.
 q was there" he said. Elmer ant had drinks together. I wonder i