Evening star., 1934-11-27
EIj';;; ';;;;;) ;;:: Marian Gordon :::?!!.
by JEANNE ROWyI4N
by JEANNE ROWylAN

aIeCI you. ,
me or mine," Marian conceded
softly
Mine" said Silver with a sneer,
"still calling Lon yours. He isn't. Do
you want to hear this proposition, or
not?"
1T doesn't matter"
"Oh. doesn't it? Well, you lend an
ear anyway. Now here's what want
you to do"
Il can listen much better If I'm
sitting down" suggested Marian
amiably. You'll find cigarettes in that
copper box to the left of the dlyan. :
Silver looked at her moment, then
laughed Ian" she said, i didn't
/ think you had it in you. All right,
she went to the diyan, slipped out
Of her wrap, chose cigarette. Aghted
/ it with deliberation, then leaned to-
ward Marian.
Queer isn't it, the way our lives
J have run along together. Remember
the first day you came to school? You
we're ugly. skinny, freckled, lanky--
| She inhaled and in the silence OF
/ that moment Marian heard Hero snlf-
/ fing along the lower crack Of the door.
And you were beautiful con-
| ceded Marian generously. i was just
thinking when you came in that you
had worn a black velvet dress tnat
day." She noticed Silver had placed
the revolver beside her on the divan
and it was slowly sliding to the edge
OF the cushion. =,
You're not hard to look at now.
Silver continued, but this isn't get
ting down to business.
That night you came up to Ne
vada On a news story, you stepped
in and made my affairs your own. l
was ready to bank on your honor.
l showed you the letter Cliff had writ
ten me in order to convince you that
/ had a right TO feel bitter toward
him. l vas sure you wouldn't use II
in your newspaper, but I didn't expect
you to steal it.
Il didn't steal it, interpoSed Ma
rian. and because she didn't wish to
implicate Hamlin she gave another
explanation. 1T was put into my
pocket by some one who evidently
thought it the same wad of notes
/ had used on the Brown bribery case
/ Lon brought them up with him be-
i cause l had left them in his car when
/ I left the court house early that eve
ming
That makes a good story" agreed
/ Silver, but if you were SO honorable,
! how did it chance that you took the
i trouble to go over the letter second
time and discover, that page?"
/ Il chanced to reach into my pocket
/ for change TO tip a porter. found the
notes. or what I thought were notes.
| decided to check them and dispose OF
the paper. In the bright light Of the
desk lamp I caught the name Mad
dern Construction Co. at the top OF
/ the pad / had spent the previous
eight days covering the Brown trial
and the name was too fresh in my
memory to let me pass it by with
/ out closer inspection. When I found
| the title, j. C. McSWain. general man
ager. just beneath 1 wanted to know
more And then l found the page
YOU had overlooked. had every in
tention of returning the letter to you
but You ran out on me after you
arrived in town. if you'll remember.
/ tried to find your address the next
day and didn't succeed. SO I placed
the letter in the safe deposit box"
And then used it to threaten my
father" offered Silver. That's where
you slipped up"
Il admit it." returned Marian rue
fully and wondered if the D. A. would
ever arrive What was going on at
the city jail that would take him all
of this time? She glanced at the
clock. 1t was nearly midnight.
"As I said before, you forced your
self into my affairs, I've put up with
it too long, now I intend to force you
out
Ian, Lon is down in the city Jail,
held on a charge of robbery. That
means long term in San Quentin.
for We have the proof. He was caught
in the act of rif1ing the safe We have
good circumstantial evidence that he
had reasons for doing this. He raised
a pay check and Dad kept that check
to make him behave.
Now if you'll listen to reason,
can telephone Dad and have Lon
back here, free"
"HoW?"
dad can say he sent Lon down
there after important papers, and
forgot to give him the combination,
or had given him the combination !.
that part doesn't matter. It's up to
him to swear to the charge"
Hasn't he already done SOP" Ma
ian asked with sudden interest.
mo, they are waiting for him down
there and he's waiting for me to
telephone him your decision
My decision on What?"
This. The future of the HondonS
and the McSWains depends upon you
Without the information Cliff holds
you can't prosecute father. Cliff won't
give that information unless you go
to him and tell the truth of what
happened that night in Nevada and
at the hospital.
Il want you to sit down and write
a letter to Cliff. I want you to tell
him that you have been doing some
thing you regret because you were
jealous of me. want you to tell him
that your husband fell in love with
me and in an effort to discredit me,
you began spreading story which
rejected Suitor of mine, Max Ham.
lin. had put you up to: that it was
you and not me. who had sent that
message, to the hospital
II want you to tell him to believe
no one who approaches him with this
story, that you are sorry you did it.
That I sent your husband back to
you and you're trying to repay me
for my kindness by retracting the
story :. the lie you told"
But supposing," Marian contin-
ued, I'VE have talked to the author
tiles and they intend starting an in
vestigation of the East Brazos
school,"
"You haven't" said Silver with as
surance, I'VE have had you both
watched since the moment you let
father know you had that letter. I
can give you a detailed account of
every move you've made"
Tomorrow, Hero comes to the rescue.