The Washington times., 1938-01-08

front OF her apartment. He parked
| his car and got out stiffly. When
he pushed the huzzer of her apart
ment, it seemed a long time be
fore the door clicked open. In the
elevator he leaned against the
wall and he felt dizzy and sick.
"God!" Now that he was here
a terror took possession of him
If it were true? But it was not. At
Lynn's door he knocked gently
She opened it a crack.
Its me, Wild, dear. l must
talk to you" Then IN a moment,
he faced her in the glare of
light.
CHAPTER XIV
Showdown
LYNN in her bathrobe stood
facing Wild, dazed with the bright
light, the sudden, sharp ring Of her
door bell. Wild came in, shut the
door carefully and stood facing her
without speaking. His grim eyes
searched her lovely face.
Lynn" His voice was harsh.
| NCI uICOOCh l1ll11CAldGSAJ VIC - =
getting married tonight. Now"
"Married?" Lynn'5 voice sounded
strange to him.
Nov, tonight, this morning!
.Get dressed, Lynn"
He did not come near her, and
ishe stared at him, thinking of that
other night, wondering if he we're
drunk. He read her thoughts:
I'm not drunk. Hurry. 1t will
take us at least three hours to get
into Maryland"
Lynn did not move. With one
hand she leaned heavily on the
table as though to steady herself.
AS she looked, his eyes told her
the whole story. He knew! She
did not stop to ask how. Her ter
rified eyes did not move from his
face.
"I said, get dressed, Lynn. We're
getting married in three hours"
He came toward her as though
to take her in his arms.
mo"
The monosyllable stopped him
short. He swayed slightly as he
stood there. His eyes were des-
perate. Lynn's teeth were chatter
ing in the cold of the room.
will you Gomez" His face was
CHASTITY now. Lynn's lips were dry,
and when she tried to speak his
name, no sound came from her
throat. Wild did not move. The
clock licked loud from the mantle.
He could see the emerald sparkling
on the hand which clutched Lynn'S
robe on her chest. II he would on
ly speak, tell her he hated her.
Wild" Lynn's voice held an un'
bearable agony.
He looked at her until it scanned
to her she could bear his eyes no
longer. He brushed his hand over
his face.
"It is true, isn't it," Even then,
there was an unbelieving note IN
his voice. But his words were a
statement, not question. Like
an old man, he picked up his hat
from the floor, where it had
dropped. Even in her own deS-
peration she felt a terribly pity for
him. He turned to the door. His
voice finally broke that stiffness
You are a dirty little cheatI"
Then he opened the door.
He did not look at her again. In
a moment she was kneeling there,
alone before the closed door, and
she could hear the elevator door
clank open.
Wild" She huddled there on
the cold floor, and she wished that
she could die. She kept whispering
his name, but she could not cry.
And always was that voice of her
conscience: IF you had told him
yourself! If you had had the cour-
age!"
But she had not. She moaned a
little. He must come back. He
could not leave her like this. She
whispered that over and over.
YEARLY she got up, turned off the
light and crawled under blanket
on the bed. She lay there shiver-
ing and moaning to herself.
I'm a dirty little cheat" She
said the words aloud, slowly. Her
own voice startled her, and for the
first time she wept a little. But
Lynn had not tears for this crisis.
Worst of all, she had only a bitter
regret to comfort her. She could
not blame Wild. It was her own
fault. But that only made the we'll
of suffering into which she had
sunk the more difficult to bear.
IF only :" She framed the
words with her stiff lips. She had
thrown away her happiness. She
felt nauseated and sick. She put
the tiny tea kettle on to heat and
made herself a strong cup of tea.
But when it was ready she could
get only a few drops down her
throat. They seemed to choke her.
If it would only hurry and get
light. It would not be so bad in
the daylight. She sat there at the
window taut with waiting. He must
come back! Every fiber of her
being cried out. Sometimes she
prayed that he realized what she
was suffering. How could he leave
her like this? Just walk out of her
life? In a panic she tried to see
ahead. How could she go on? She
wondered duly who had told him
about Rene and herself. But that
did not matter now. He knew.
AS Lynn sat quiet, bent over
with suffering there by the win
dow, Wild drove his car up the