The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-09-16
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the house
Ruth. needing shelter and falling in love
with the young man next door. John NC
NELL, decides 70 stay on while pretend
Ing 70 be Elaine. Elaine. meantime. al
meeting IT'i 10 2ln tss iove Of John MoNeii
her childhood hero. and plans to 90 70
Worthwhile
A man known as John Smith escapes
from an sylum. buys car and starts for
Worthwhile.
Penny seems happy TO have Ruth in the
house until one night when she Is sum-
moned to the front door by knock. After
a half hours absence she returns 10 the
room a changed person, furtive in her
actions and conceaiing some mysterious
news. Ruth goes to bed. frightened
Next day things seem normal and John
Mcneil Who has fallen IN love with Ruin.
Ruth spends her last dime buying gift
for Penney.
NOW GO on WITH THE STORY
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
A S she walked through the late
n afternoon shopping crowds to
meet John, Ruth was struck with
an idea so arresting that it stag
gered her. The idea was simply
this: That she should not meet him
at all; that she should lose herself
in Cleveland, tie city which had
been her objective, and thus solve
the Gordian knot of her entangle-
ments by cutting it with one quick
stroke.
For a moment or two it seemed
the only thing to do. It was prac-
teal plan. Here she was in a large,
busy city where jobs were probably
available, and she was spared that
dreadful ordeal of hitch hiking
from Worthwhile. She no longer
considered the pain Of separation
from John Mcneil. That lay ahead
of her anyway. Perhaps the sooner
over, the better Yes, better get it
over with quickly and save herself
the misery of dreading it day by
day. as she was already beginning
to do.
Then, just as she had decided on
her course, there came the realiza-
ton that it would not work atsalli
She was Elaine Chalmers to John
Mcneil and Bertha Gibbs, and If
she should stage a disappearance
this evening the entire detective
force of Cleveland would be work
ing on the case before midnight.
And kilograms would be sent to
Elaine's mother" she thought in
CONSERVATION. soaring her out of
her wits" There'd be scandal and
headlines, of course. First they'd
say, "Heiress Disappears While on
Visit to Mothers Old Home" Then,
in a later edition, "HeireSs Found
Safe at College. Unknown Girl I'M
persOnating Her Sought"
Il must have been crazy to think
of such a thing" Ruth marveled
aloud. Suddenly she was happy
again because her noble conduct
was out of the question, and be-
cause she was going to meet John
presently and drive back to Worth
vile with him. Il must have been
absolutely cuckoo!"
She said the words clearly and
blithely, and an impudent youth
with freckles and a turned-up nose,
joStling beside her in the crowd,
said. Talking to yourself, sister, or
me?"
TO myself" Ruth replied, and
laughed. ITO the world" And
then she saw John at the hotel
entrance, waiting for her, scanning
the crowds a bit anxiously. Moth
ing else mattered.
He said, We'll have dinner here
and drive home afterward. There's
a good orchestra"
THE following day John Mcneil
Il went to Pittsburgh on business,
to be gone for an infinite two days.
You'll be here when 1 get back?"
he asked Ruth definitely, standing
in the Hunter hallway while his car
motor ran outside.
III be here" Ruth answered. 1t
was a pledge.
He drove away, but she did not
feel unhappy or restless because of
it. He was coming back. and she
would be there.
She said to Bertha Gibbs after
lunch, I'm going to clean he Ii
brary, Penny. I'm going to wipe
down the shelves and dust every
book"
Leave the library be, Miss
Elaine" replied Penny. Dust don't
matter. Dust is good for books"
Ruth disagreed. It's anything
but good for books. 1t ruins them.
Therere some leather bound vol
umeS in there that are simply 60
ing to pieces from neglect. Let me-
have a bucket of warm water and
some cloths and soap. I could use
a stepladder. too, if you have one"
Penny provided the equipment,
grumbling and muttering to her
self.
Ruth put on an apron. rolled up
her sleeves and started. She worked
all afternoon without losing en-
thusiaSm; she loved books and had
never had the privilege of losing
herself in a private library before.
She busted all the volumes and
replaced them on the clean walnut
shelves. On the whole, she did not
alter the arrangement of the books.
i