The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1938-03-28

be erased from life IT she should
NOW GO ON WITH THE STOF
"And that night only the hus-
band came back, stricken, wild
with grief, a little historical. His
wife's lover had fallen into a
glacier. And yet, knowing the
circumstances, I wondered &.
Aren't you curious to know what
I wondered, Marcella?"
Marcella did not answer. Her
heart was humping against her
side. She thought, Hes mad!
Only q mailman would talk like
this!" Aloud she. said, and her
voice was strained and unnatural,
you're trying to tell me that you
could murder Tommy and not be
caught up with. aren't you?"
Something like that" said
Hans, laughing a little.
"You wouldn't dare" she said.
you're just saying all this to tor
ture me, just to watch me writhe
under my fears" Her knuckleS
grew white on the back Of the
chair. "If you tried anything
like that, Hans, you wouldn't get
away with it,
81 wonder" Hans said, still
! laughing. after all, there's no
one to squeal isn't that what
you Americans call it?-but you.
And who would believe your Who
would believe an absurdly melo.
dramatic person girl who was
nervous and hysterical with the
oldest, most neurotic tendencies
subject to Authorizations and
memory lapses and fantastic i'm
aginings!"
"MARCELLA'S NERVOUS"
Suddenly something clicked in
Marcella's brain, a memory came
back, clear and blindingly white:
Hans saying to the DemareSts,
''Marcella's frightfully nervous. I
am frankly worried about her"
Hans saying to Patsy Keith:
j Don't talk about snakes before
Marcella. They make her hySterl.
cal. She's very nervous you know"
Hans saying here, there-every-
, where, "Marcella's nervouS-nerV'
ouS-nervouS-."
| She hadn't thought much about
| it at the time. She had passed
it off as part of his cruelty
those subtle crueltieS that had
nipped and tucked and hacked at
her very soul in the two months
/ she had been married to him.
| But it hadn't been that at all!
Her eyes widened, black and
terrified. She said in a Strangled
sort of way, "How long have you
! known about Tommy?"
Hans smiled. do you remem.
Der one night in August? You
were telephoning? And when !
came in you hung up-but not
quickly enough. I had heard. I
| followed you to the lake. I re-
member quite distinctly that you
said something about not liking
my eyes,"
A FATAL MESSAGE -
The telephone in the living room
rang. shrilly, Shattering the tense
air. Hans stiffened, his arms re-
taxing in that one brief second.
But it was long enough. Marcella
tore herself away from him, ran
across the room and picked up
the telephone.
Before Hans could reach her
she had said: "Hello!" trem-
blingly, grateful for this contact
with someone - anyone - thank
ing God the telephone had rung.
In a sort of daze she heard the
hotel operator say: Long dis.
lance, Baroness Won Dreyfuss."
And presently, listening to Henry's
voice, she began to cry. Silently.
Tears running down her face and
falling through her shaking
fingers.
She lifted one hand and pressed
it against her bruised mouth. she
said into the telephone: 1T
couldn't have happened, Henry
it couldn't have happened!"
But it had! Mr.. and Mrs. Drake,
flying home, had been killed in a
plane accident early that after
noon. Henry had had a telegram
from the Las Vegas coroner. Fl
nally, when Henry hung up, Mar
celia just stood there, stricken and
dazed.
Hans was smiling between mar
rowed lids. He said, taking the
yellow oblong from his pocket. II
knew all along. And it was very
amusing listening to you tell me
how your mother and father would
help you get rid Of me. Very
amusing, Marcella. Well, you're
a great heireSS now and I'm
an extraordinarily lucky man."
Without a word Marcella rushed
into the bedroom, turning the key
sharply in the lock. She leaned
j