Evening star., 1935-05-27

~ on the bed, and she did not
4 4 undress but took off her blouse
and skirt her shoes and stock
tngs and piled all four of the pillows
in their gray ticking under her head
The room, small and square. was
furnished in a strange, old-fashioned
way. with heavy pieces of satinwood
all to match, and an engraving OF
Queen Victoria's coronation occupying
the place of honor over the mantel-
piece.
Alison. used to the fresh. modern
rooms at school or to her own lux.
urious room in London, found it queer
as she. settled down under the coat
as queer as the thought that she
should be going to bed in a strange
house, with a strange dog by her side
and an unknown young man for hel
sole company.
Queer and, in spite of her anxiety
for her father, just little thrilling.
She had never had any adventure
before in her life; her days had had
an ordered smoothness, almost dull
ness, and even her travelling had been
done in comfort. either with her father
or some one to meet her and to see
her off. She wondered what her father
would say to it when he did come
And she thought of Guy Westurn with
growing approval.
He was nice: she liked the way he
spoke, the rather firm, deep voice
refreshing after year abroad and
the excitable tones Of foreigners!
ell 10,
her thick coat, thought, Il do like
him. Guy Westurn. Guys nice. He
looks like that somehow. Not like BOZ
or Charles-not even like Philip OF
John-Westurn. I wonder how he
spells it-e, r, n, or u, r, n"
She felt Cafes tail thump and put
down hand to pat him; the big dog
wriggled ingratiatingly up, smuggling
against her and sweeping large red
tongue across her hand. Blinking
down at him, Alison noticed his collar
and, in a spasm of curiousity, leaned
over to read the brass tab.
"Gaffe"-then two initials and q
telephone number.
Only the initials were G.. L.
The man who had left her went
slowly downstairs and through the
empty house, listening intently, look
ing into every corner as he went. But
there was no sound. He opened the
drawing room door, walked across ano
drew the curtains, then sitting at the
desk, tried the top drawer of three
1t was locked
He sighed. He took out a penknife
slid it in between the drawer and the
desk and began steadily and with an
increasing pressure to force open the
lock.
Alison woke with a start. For a
moment it seemed to her dazed mind
that sne was back in the train with
the steady beat of wheels under hel
ear. The next she met two imploring
dark eyes fixed on her and located the
beating noise as the threshing OF
Cafes thick tail on the bare boards
At the sleepy invitation of her ex-
tended hand, the dog jumped on the
bed, wriggling delightedly and asking
her in the clear language which all
nice dogs use to wake up and take
some notice.
Alison sat up. The rain had
stopped; pale wintry sunlight was
leaking through the wooden Stats OF
the green blind and she had the i'm
preston which sometimes comes i'm
mediately on waking, that she hao
oversight
She glanced at her watch, then re-
membered that the glass had got
broken on the journey and that it had
stopped. She slid out from under her
coat, feeling little stiff, drew up
the blind and flinging open the win
dow, looked out.
The blue haze of an Autumn morn
Ing was just lifting; seen by daylight
the Croft house had dropped its mys-
terry and had become just house set
In sloping garden, with four fine
old trees glowing red and gold on one
side, a dismantled tennis court below
and beyond low fence, high green
downs which rolled away toward a
valley.
Even the room. seen by daylight.
had no ghostly corners. but was merely
q rather shabby bed room which badly
needed redecorating.
She picked up her coat, put it on.
opened the locked door and peeped
ouu W oc UlcG ny all OVeTpOWerlnGly
delicious scent. Until that minute
she had not realized how hungry she
was or how good the smell of frying
bacon could be.
The passage was empty, she ran
along 1t, through the baize door, into
the bath room.
Small and white, with sunlight
playing on the chromium taps. it was
hard to believe that she had stood
there in terror only a few hours ago.
No great horror lurked now in the
glass as she splashed the clear, cold
water on her face.
The road outside looked ordinary.
macadamized and safe; the black dark
had given place to a green rise of
downs crowned by a sweep of sky
dotted with flocculent clouds. To her
sleep-rested nerves, the idea of ghosts
seemed palpably absurd.
Washed. dressed and powdered. she
followed the alluring scent of bacon
into the kitchen.
"Hullo?"
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