The Coolidge examiner., 1934-01-19

tlOu WIFI perfectly sleduy looh'
"Is there a key in that bedroom
doOr?"
Yes" he said, why do you ask"
Il like a door with a key. ..
Are you a relation Of the Major
Harewood who commanded a bat
terry near Villars Cotteret and was
cut off during the great retreat in
March? He picked up my young
brother who was badly wounded
and brought him safely in"
"Then the b saw on your lug
gage stands for Banbury," he said.
What l heard about you from
your brother made me like you very
much. How-do-youdo once more?"
She laughed and held out her
Eand. II was a frank and trustful
gesture which pleased him very
much.
Il thought / liked you in the
light OF the lantern. And now /
know that l do. Small place the
world"
And the odd part of it is that
seem to know Lamberhurst, too"
Il thought 1 did," she answered.
But | don't as ii turns out"
Which added another block to the
picture puzzle that he was trying
hard to build. He felt bound to
let her hand go. 1t belonged to an
other man.
"All In order" said Lamber-
hurst. 'Toddle up to bed" He
watched her wave her hand as she
mounted the creaking stairs. But
it was with an expression of great
anger that he heard the key turn
In the lock Of the spare room door.
He had been locked out, he
knew. And as he bent forward over
the embers Of the fire his profile
was outlined against the flicker Of
the logs.
Dugoutl A pail with holes in It
in which wet sticks were burning
in the rain. That frightful night in
March. No wonder the men,
ory Of an offensive incident had
stirred In Harewood's mind.
You never delivered that chit"
he said. -Four OF my officers and
half my men might still have been
alive. II you attempt to go up
stairs" he added, 'T'll let this act
be known. Diana's a friend of mine.
She is under my protection. 1 don't
know why but It's quite obvious that
I'm to protect her from you"
Lamberhurst said nothing. There
was nothing that he could say. He
had played the coward that night
and had saved his own skin.
He picked up his cap and his
suitcase, went out and disappeared.
No nearer to a solution of this
puzzle. Hardwood gave 1t up. He
took the thought that Diana was
even more charming than he had
imagined her to be in his dreams
He found her as fresh as paint In
the morning in the sitting room.
She received him with a wave of
the hand and a rather mlschievous
smile. II heard him CO." she said,
land there Is not the slightest
chance Of his ever coming back"
"And l hope that it won't be until
Monday-Pd love you to stay for the
week-end-that you'll join your hus-
band" he said.
He IS not my husband" she an
swered.
I've been saving that little sur
prise. You gasp, and l knew you
would. You see, I'm a full-blown
modernist look upon marriage as
a stuffed Victorian canary under
dusty enclosure Of glass. All the
l fall in love. l imagined that / was
in love with George-it was my first
great breakaway-but ie passed me
Off as his wife to you and so ruined
the thing at the start l detest
liar. And so this Is where 1t ends.
Hardwood was appalled, and
angry, but he knew that ridicule
was better than indignation with
children Of that age.
He said, There's a dangerous
streak of lunacy about the modern
girl. You and the rest of you don't
know it-what do you know?-but |
what you call your modernism Is
hopelesSly out of date. You and
your gang. my dear Diana, haven't
been watching the water which has
gone under the bridges of late. The
modern modernist, as a matter of
fact, of whom I happen to be one,
has discovered that the little gold
ring has become the fashion with
what. you'll be amazed to hear, is
love-"
WhereupOn he left her sitting bolt
upright and hoped that she felt
fool. He hoped that during the
whole of that day and the next
one she would think the episode
over and emerge with a grain Of