The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-11-26
GOLDEN FEATHER
by Robert Bruce
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
XXTHEN the big blue sedan
w whirled away from the En-
giles farm Jean huddled in a corner
Of the back seat and stared straight
ahead Of her, unseeing, her mind in
a turmoil
Beside her, Eva Brady sat at ease,
smoking a cigaret; in the other
corner Red leaned back against the
cushions, cigar gripped in his
teeth, and kept his own counsel.
The two men in the front seat
were silent, also; and the car sped
along over the road without a
sound except for the hum of the
motor and the Whistling of the
wind about the body of the car.
Tney did not go through Mid
lothian. Instead, they turred to
the left and headed north; not, as
far as Jean could remember, in the
direction either of Plainfeld, the
railroad junction point. or of
Dover.
The red-head ed man had practi-
cally forced her to get into the car.
He had said nothing except, We're
going for a ride; of Sandy's
whereabouts she knew nothing, eX-
cept that he had gone on ahead"
with Mr.. Lewis.
Jean felt herself a prisoner; the
red-headed man seemed mon
strous and enigmatiC embodiment
of menace, with his expressionless
eyes Of pale blue conveying an I'M
spoken but irresistible threat.
They rode for perhaps five miles
before she managed to regain
enough calm to speak Then, her
fists clenched in her lap, she turned
to her companions and asked, Just
where are we going?"
Eve Brady cast a sidelong glance
at her and smiled family. The red
headed man looked at her in mild
surprise, and finally said. Just
who wants to knoW?"
Il do"
He gave her another stare, sub
tly derisive. You'll find out when
we get there" he said at last.
Il want to know now. Are we
going to Dover? I've got to get
back, This-thls isn't a joke, to
me-"
He gave a mild little sniff.
It's not a joke to anybody" he
said, But femme tell you this,
baby-and try to remember it," He
leaned across Eve Brady and
tapped Jean on the knee with a
massive fist Where we 90, you
go. It's too late to back out now.
You're in with us, and you stay in.
See?'
Jeans heart felt like a lump of
ice in her breast. She turned away
and stared out Of the window. 1t
was also so incomprehensible! She
Z. hear Eve say: "Oh, lay off of her,
Red. She's all right. AS soon as
she sees Sandy again"
"Sandy?" said Red. ooh. You
mean Oklahoma" He chuckled.
and there was something in the
Chuckle that Jean liked even less
than she liked this forced auto trip
"Oh. Well. Let her pipe down for
while. then"
THEY rode on and on, skimming
a over the concrete road with
effortless, unslackening speed; five
silent persons, one beWildered and
frightened and lost, the other four
grlmly purpoSeful; and Jean hud-
died in her corner looking out at
the fields and woods and farmhouses
and little towns that shot by them,
seeing nothing, unable to speak,
hardly conscious of the passing of
time.
Noon came; hot, bliStering noon,
with the sun beating down from a
cloudless sky, and no wind to cool
the air. They reached the great
National Highway and turned to the
East, and for moment jeans heart
leaped up-Dover lay to the East,
and this road, she knew, led to it.
But her JOY was short lived; for
after half an hours travel the car
slowed down and swung to the
North again over an unpaved road
that wound in and out through a
tangled stretch of woodland.
A mile from the main highway
the road bore to the right, and a
little lane continued on into the
woods. The lane was nothing more
than parallel ruts in the soil, with
the branches of the trees meeting
overhead and brushing against the
side of the car, but they followed it,
the car jolting heavily on the I'M
even surface.
They went down into a little val
ley, followed a brook for hun
dred yards, then went up over a
hill, descended on the other side
and, unexpectedly, came into a 10
acre clearing that faced a little
lake.
A large, rambling house in the
architectural style of the 1870s stood
near the water, surrounded by an
unkempt, but spacious lawn. The
car pulled up beside what had evil
IDENTITY been carriage house, years
, ago. and stopped The car doors
opened. and Jean automatically fol-
lowed the others out.
Eve took her arm as she got out,
and gave it little squeeze.
This isn't going to be so bad"
she said gently Besides, Sandy's
here, waiting for us"
They took their baggage and fol-