Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-06-25
CHAPTER XXXVII.
STD ANnE STORY

= GtGAAsN142 ~
Wy peeled of his white over.
alls and vanished.
Y Alison, sitting on low
~ chair, laughed again. All the
way down in the under
ground she had wondered what their
meeting would be like. But wherever
her thoughts had wandered they had
pictured nothing like this
She had heard the sound of a car
starting, and In a minute he was
back.
There. Finished? Come on"
The shabby. dark blue Rover was
outside. AS they came out into the
main road, he looked down at her
and asked, you believed my letter,
them"
81 didn't even get 1t. You see, my
stepmother burned it. And I've run
away from home"
His reply was the last thing that
she expected.
Thank God for that!" he said.
eff you hadn't come this morning, I
was going to the police!"
ITO the police!"
eyes" He answered her amazed
look with a nod. But never mind
that now. Tell me what's happened"
Alison told him briefly of her in
terview in the theater and what fol-
lowed. His face grew white and set
as he heard. and he muttered. Good
Lord" and, almost admiringly,
"Y'know, she's clever! A clever devil. "
Isn't she?" agreed Alison. so
you see, I didn't get your letter. Only
felt that If she could go to those
lengths, tearing up my letters, and
lying about me, she must be lying
about you, too," she wound up breath
1essly. 'And-and 1 thought I'd come
and ask you myself. I just want to
know the truth"
He said contritely, Its all my
fault! I've been complete fool not
TO trust you from the beginning"
"You mean, telling me-"
THAT story. Yes. I realized last
night, when you-wouldn't listen to
me, what an abject, utter ass I'd
been. If you knew how I've worried
all night! I tell you, I was on the
point of going to the police"
But Why?
TITS rather long tale. Let's find
somewhere where we can talk"
They found little basement cafe
with bright, copper covered tables.
It was 1915. The place was Just
beginning to fill UP. but they chose
a table out of range of listening ears.
Even after the waitress had taken
their order, they sat for a moment
just looking at each other. Oddly
satisfying, just to sit and look at him
and smile!
I'll have to 60 right back to the
beginning, to just over a year ago."
he warned Alison "or you won't I'M
derstand why didn't tell the truth.
1t was silly of. me-idiotic. I ought
to have known that you couldn't have
anything to do with it, but I'd been
having a devil of a time and-well,
I'd got into a sort of state where
suspected every one"
Poor darling!" Alison breathed
that, and the hand under the table
gave an answering squeeze.
you see, I'd just started in prac-
tice out in Nice. I'd sunk all my
capital in it and things were going
rather well. My patients were mostly
rich old ladies who had nothing to
think about except their health, and
they liked me to call and see them,
even If they'd only a cold.
1T wasn't the work I'd have chosen
for myself, but I'd had pneumonia
badly and I'd been told the best
thing could do was to live out in a
warm climate for bit, so I did my
best to cheer them up and cure them
and keep their minds of themselves.
Anyway. things were going quite
well when one of the villas in my beat
was taken by an old man and his
wife. He was English, a retired lam
merchant, and pretty well OF, to
judge by what he spent; she was a
lot younger and, well, I won't say
what ! think of her to you'll She tried
to make love to me, among other
things, which isn't habit I'm fond
OF in my patients wives!"
She said 1npulsively, "Oh, my dear.