The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-11-06
After a Nuns Heart
by JEAN RANDALL

| He scowled at her. Bluff, be fair!
People do all sorts of things when
they're emotionally upset. Look at
me when / was at the ranch. Half
| the time didn't know whether I
was conducting a brilliant CONVEX
satlon with you, or merely sitting
in gloomy silence. Iris, poor child,
was frantic; her one thought was
to get away. Later, she set herself
to save the money so George and
would not lose everything we
had. 1t seems to mel don't know
how another girl looks at these
things-but viewing it with strict
impartiality, it seems to me a
pretty fine thing for Iris to dol"
Buff pushed away her salad
plate. "Do you view it with strict
impartiality, Tim?"
what do you mean?" he de-.
manded angrily. eff you think I'm
still in love with Iris, Buff"
She put her elbows on the table,
her chin in her palms, and looked
at him. =
well, Tim, aren't you? Aren't
you all quivery inside? Surely it
isn't just the return of your money
that's making you so happy! Didn't
your heart turn fiipfops when you
saw Iris, didn't you have to swal-
low Jumps in your throat every
time you tried to speak to her?"
He nodded miserably. you've
described it perfectly. But still :.
Buff, / don't knotUi I wish I did!"-
he said a trif1e wildly. "She seems
to me just as sweet and lovely as
ever-with this buying back that
land added. Her voice-the way
she walks h.. Buff, it's all there!
All I've missed for five long
months"
"Then why are you hesitating?
What's all the Grafton about? Why
didn't you open this talk by an
nouncing that you and Iris are en-
gagged, and doing your explaining
afterwards"
will You Help Me?'
LIS eyes sought his plate. 1T
/, l. l. ought to be that way, of
course. feel like a heel because
II hesitate even. But when
you've once lost confidence in a
person-even unjustly-it's a bit
hard to-to-let yourself 60 again.
Buff, we're good friends, you and
/. Will you help me? I mean, I'd
like to bring Iris to see you. I'd
like you two girls-to-to be to-
gether good deal. And then I'd
like you to tell me what you really
think about-no, don't mean that,
of course. 1t implies a doubt of
her which doesn't-of course it
doesn'ti-exist at all in my mind.
But still I'd like you to know her
we'll"
Buff Carroll, six years younger
than this man who fidgeted in his
chair across the table from her,
smiled a little wryly. She knew
herself to be his senior in expert
ence by dozen years; she doubted
if the big, simple man who had
very nearly succumbed to the
shock of finding the girl he loved
an apparent adventures, would
ever attain her own cool ability to
appraise others.
The longing. to protect him,
above all from Iris, grew stronger
with each moment that she
watched him, writing under the
knowledge his mind was insisting
upon, but chivalrously prepared
to defend Iris even from himself.
Buff smiled and laid small
hand on his big one.
Bring her out to tea tomorrow
afternoon" she said. "And, Tim
l don't mean to thrust advice on
you when you haven't asked for
it, but mightn't it be better to
well, to withhold judgment on
the whole affair for a little while?
Water has a way of settling, you
know, and becoming clear so one
can see what is there and what
isn't. I mean-it's still all pretty
confused, isn't it, and no harm will
be done by waiting a few days
a week or so?"
He caught the little hand and
held it closely. A great wave of
relief had swept the debris of
troubled thought from his mind.
You're one swell girl, Buff" he
assured her. "And you're right, of
course. lists only fair to Iris
to wait until-well, as you say,
until everything is cleared up"
At the door he turned for a last
question, "You don't doubt my be-
She shook her head. IT don't
doubt anything, Tim. In fact, I'm
surer of my facts than ever be-
fore"
'Now exploded George Weekes.
''Not a word of it! If you choose
to swallow this bedtime story, it's
your own affair: but not for mew
He tossed soiled shirt onto the
closet floor and rummaged in the
bureau drawer for clean one.
Tim said patiently, But she did
buy the land, Georgel What earth
ly motive would she have in doing
that unless She"
How should ] knowl" Weekes
snapped. 'There may be silver
around there, after all. and she and
Latshaw want to regain possession
of the territory"
"You know good and well there's
not"
This silenced Weekes for the
moment. He remembered that Tim
had spent all his leisure time and
some that he should have en-
ployed in the laboratory, testing
out the possibilities of ore in that
worthless property. Whatever mo-
tive inspired Iris to return-and
George was stubbornly sure it was
not worthy one!-he had to dis
card the idea of material gain from
the mines.
Continued tomorrow-