Evening star., 1937-10-16

Splle OF IIle IdCt lIldp SIle mao Deen
| talking to his wife that very same
day.
1t didn't make sense.
She was probably going crazy
A good man to rob bank with.
There he stood-smiling and hold
ing out stemmed glass full of some
thing yellowish. She was so angry
at herself that she wanted to do her
self harm. She was overwhelmed by
perverse desire to make this un-
wonted departure from her own way
OF life as drastic and destructive as
possible. If Irene loves him, she
thought, the very best thing I could
do would be to steal him from her.
Then Irene would go back to Waldo
and l could turn him down fiat in the
end-Which would be a lesson to him!
1t was, she instantly perceived, the
most magnificent notion of her life.
She could teach Irene a lesson-and
Charlie as we'll
She looked up. He was still holding
the glass toward her. No doubt it
was alcoholic. No doubt he would
tell her it was fruit juice. Very well!
Shed make a good beginning. Shed
carry on.
"Punch?" she asked with an as
sumption of innocence.
Rum" he replied. Warm you up"
He had way of telling the truth
when one least expected it-a way
which was extraordinarily upsetting.
Nevertheless, she took the cocktail.
When she had finished it, she was
positive that, at long last, she had
reached a final solution of the dis
turbing problem Of Charlie Jones. He
had been running her about as if she
were on string. Making her do silly
things like this. All right. Two could
play at that game. She would make
him think she was mad about him.
That, she reflected, would be most
amusing. Shed have to pretend, of
course, that she liked it! But that
wouldn't be too difficult either. There
was something Of the actress in her,
she thought. At the end, there would
be her sense Of triumph. Nonsense,
Charlie" she would say. $50 your
heart is broken?" Then-a laugh.
What about Irene's? What about
Evelyn's? What about the hearts of
a hundred other women? The tables
are turned-thats all. You thought
you were leading me on. Well. How
composed and gallant can you be
now?"
Oh-it was hot stuff
She didn't even need the cocktail
to set her off on that tangent. After
all-it was rescue work. Rescue for
her sister and for Waldo-and, for
herself, revenge
She leaned back on her elbows.
"You know" she said slowly and
charmingly. "In spite Of everything
I can't help liking you"
He was dumbfounded. He stared at
her. "Say that over"
She smiled "You don't think I'm
human-do you?"
Charlie was pretty hard to startle
At the moment, he could not think
off-hand of a time in his life when
he had been more astonished. He
said, Maybe was wrong"
"You were"
He felt positively frightened. 1T
must be-getting late"
Cant be after f."
"Irenell be worrying about you"
"Do her good" She stretched. You
did these things. She remembered
the technique from novels. You
stretched in a catlike manner. You
| spoke in low, throbbing tone. You
needed tawny eyes. Or tawny skin.
Something tawny. You let the wind
blow your hair. You languished. She
did it all.
Charlie sat beside her with his
empty glass and he was not sure that
he liked 1t. Out Of character, he
thought should be fighting with
this girl-not fighting her Oh.
why don't We have supper here at