Evening star., 1934-06-19
CHAPTER XIV.

a casual voice on a variety Of
l. casual topics. For 10 of those
minutes Rose had sat tensely
in her seat, whipping her whirling
senses into line. striving to still the
tumult within her She grew rigid
with the effort to appear natural;
fighting an impulse she had not felt
since her rather self-conscious girl
hood-a strange fiuttering within her,
a breathlessness which threatened to
become noticeable.
Idiot! stop it :" she adjured
herself fiercely why must this
man always be the one who happens
along when I'm most at disad-
vantage?"
The Sir Galahad role, she told her
self derisively, would be the one most
adapted to Jeffrey Therrold. Rescuer
of the hapleSs and She felt her
self flushing hotly. ashamed, even as
the thought took shape in her mind.
After all, she ought to be glad that
he had happened by. Not that she
had any delusions that it was for her
sake he was taking this trouble. 1t
was, without doubt, for the sake OF
the impeccable Therrold family. He
had shown her just what her personal
status was that other night. Her
face burned again at the memory of
that scene on the porch a few weeks
before
Through her abstraction Rose be-
came acutely conscious that he had
asked her a question.
II asked If you had any interest
at all in the silk industry. I thought
perhaps Harvey might have talked OF
it little?"
His voice mentioning Harvey. held
such note of longing that the girl
glanced at him for the first time
since entering the car.
His own eyes, meeting hers at the
moment, hastened the rhythm of her
pulse in a most disconcerting fashion
To escape it, she said hurriedly, with
bright. impersonal smile: "Oh, yes.
Wasn't it started by some Chinese
empress who watched silkworm
spin?"
Again that swift, probing glance
from beside her; then the mans eyes
again sought the road. But he had
missed no detail Of the figure by his
side-the small, pert hat, rain
drenched, but still CALAMITY tilted.
The outstanding collar of the belted
coat. The small, strong hands which
lay so passively now in her lap. She
no longer wore that smear Of orange
lipstick; the scornful banner she had
hoisted on the day of her arrival. And
the sullen line, he decided, had
entirely disappeared from about her
lovely mouth.
IT'S an interesting study" the voice
of Jeffrey Therrold went calmly on.
He was back again on the original
topic The history Of silk is about
as romantic as anything in the world
today. It's the story Of courts and
kings and treachery and bloodshed.
1t moves down the ages in galleons
and sailing ships" He broke of
smiling ruefully. I'm sorry-I sound
like one of our advertising posters"
he said almost boyishly. But this
happens to be the one subject in the
world in which / am most interested.
Hobbies can become rather bore"
"Oh. but it's not!" She spoke quick
", in a very small voice. I'm inter-
ested, really" And realized to her
own surprise that it was so that she
did not want him to stop.
Twilight now. with baby crescent
moon coming up over the hill. The
rain had stopped as abruptly as 1t had
descended, lights springing up in the
little houses along the road, shone
dimly in the Winter dusk. The pow
erful car, shut snugly against the
sweet, chill air, slid noiselessly on its
cushioned tires.
The man, talking on with deter
mined sort of lightness, seemed bent
on realieving a situation which might
easily have proven to be awkward to
them both. 1t was still some distance
into town they could not Rose
thought, simply sit there without
speaking. And in spite Of herself she
became sensible of a tide of some
thing tense and vital-something
apart from her customary reaction to-
ward the presence of jeffrey Their
rold. She would always resent him.
dislike him thoroughly, she told her
self vindictively firmly for the
past, for his high-handed. arrogant
code, for his treatment of Har,e ey and
herself. But one could dislike
some one. yet be interested In hearing
that person talk. :.
Il wonder-you won't mind If I
drive you round by the mill for a
moment. will you? If you're not in
a hurry. Id like to stop at the
Office for bit. You see. there's a
chap in from China tonight. One of