The Coolidge examiner., 1933-10-27

N' LIZ A"iiN, SlI, Ue
lieve"
Returning to the polishing, he
went on:
"Such nice people. sir-both OF
them. And SO devoted, too. It's a
real pleasure to see a happy pair
like that"
A moment OF silence. then:
"Uh-yes; yes; that's right. stew
ard," said Kerry. Thank you" he
added. and moved abruptly off.
Back in his cabin, surprised and
more than a little disappointed.
Peter Kerry yet managed to view
the thing with a certain phiIosoph
ic calm. The woman, beautiful and
apparently unattached. had an.
pealed. But the laugh. 1t appeared.
was rather on him. Here, at least.
his notions of why ladies drink
alone on shipboard were most thor
oughly squelched; for this one
owned a husband. and a husband
OF whom she was obviously more
than fond!
The incident. then, must simply
be shrugged off.
1t was after three the next day
when Kerry came TO the pool
Again. tea and tango had drawn
most Of the passengers. A single
figure floated at the tanks far end
Kerry threw aside his robe and
plunged in.
The cool sea water was sharp,
invigorating. and he struck out
strongly against it. A dozen strokes
and he noticed the figure ahead
had become erect. In another mo-
ment, the features were discernible.
Peter Kerry stopped swimming and
stood up. twenty feet beyond. the
full lips and dark eyes of Patricia
Lott were smiling at him.
Hello. there !" she called. isn't
this grand? And to think l missed
it yesterday"
Sne nad come closer.
Kerry looked at her and beamed,
somewhat foollshly.
ut is" he said; 'but IL didn't
think you'd be here"
She laughed, and suddenly dove
ahead.
Come on" she cried, I'll race
you to the end :"
Turning, he plunged after her.
The swim and the talk that fol-
lowed, lolling in deck chairs by the
POOLS edge. was a torturing delight.
For whole minutes, he forgot the
blond, tall man with drowsy good
looks. and reveled in the Joy her
company gave him.
Then, seeing the ring. reality
would return. harshly dispelling the
moments stolen pleasure.
That evening. Peter Kerry had
dinner in his staterom. 1t was, he
felt, a very necessary measure.
Self-deceit had never been his hab-
ii. and this time the facts made
themselves painfully acute. He
was. to be exact, in love and he
knew II. There could be then, but
one course for him; seclusion. as
much as possible. till the trips end.
To this he pledged himself over
the solitary dinner. and the pledge
was kept. Only twice in the next
two days did he see her, and on
both occasions avoided a meeting.
Once. the last day out, he ran into
her husband. alone on the boat
deck. The man spoke greeting.
but glanced at him rather strange
ly. Kerry thought.
That night he went sleepless.
Through the interminable hours,
blank cold, misery crept upon him,
and what he had called sanity and
honor. came to seem contemplate
mess of idiocy. of cowardice.
When the ship docked at Cher
bourg, just past seven. Peter Kerry
was a wearily bitter man.
Packed. he waited in his cabin
twenty minutes after the landing
tumult had died away. Then. TAX
ing his own luggage. he went
ashore. The pier was nearly desert
ed. A lone taxi remained. Its
drivar ruShad forward vnltIhlv tn
gratiating. and seized the bags.
AS he reached the cab door, Ker-
ry suddenly felt hand on his arm.
He turned to find Gerald Lott stand
ing by him.
"IoOk here, old man." said Lott :;
"this may seem cheeky, when we
hardly know each other, and all
that: but | just wanted-to-that
is-look US up in Paris, won't you?
Wen he at the Saint Fauborg"
Kerry stared without comprehen-
sion into the handsome face, that
was smilingly embarrassed.
II know Paid be awfully glad II
you did," the man went on. You
see. she's come over for a divorce,
and well, want her to start
getting some real fun out Of life.
To me. Pats more than swell sis
ter-she's the grandest girl I've
ever known"