The Wilmington morning star., 1940-02-27
CHAPTER EOETY-THREE

OIIlS Clul5 ~ ma
ter go in and see if it's all rlght
first" she said, trying to peer
through the falling snow at the
bleak house.
Fabienne had the same thought
along with a good many qualnls'
now that they had arrived at Bill
Mace in the country. Fablenne hdu
more than the usual share OF coui-
age, but the thought OF what lie
dark house might hold was lsquie'
ing.
GAN right" Fabienne agreed
petting a ~flashlight out of the car
showing none of her own feluc-
+ance To enter the house alone.
She focused the light on me door
lock after flashing it briefly over
the windows. At least none OF them
was broken. The door opened creah-
ilv under her touch and she made
q circle of light in the room. Moth
ing came out of the shadows, but
there was the sound-loud in the
silence-of small feet scurrylng IN
the walls and the room beyond the
living room into which she stepped.
"Only mice, Fabienne," she told
herself reassurin2ly.
There were candels ranged along
the mantle over the hearth. she III
them and went out to the car.
"1t's all right" she said, taking
the child from it's mothers arms.
"We'l starve here" Chris SAID
plaintively, following her through
Snow that was already four or five
inches deep.
There's food here, and Blankets"
Fabienne said, hastily closing the
door with her foot to keep out the
icy draft.
and it's terribly cold" Chris said,
shivering.
Keep YOUR things on until I get
a fire gong"
Sonny was awake and beginning
70 whimper. Chris said, I'll take
care of him. I'll put him to bed on
one of the cots. You can have the
other. I'll sit up
Fabienne didn't hear her; she'd
gone into the kitchen with one OF
the candles to take a quick inven-
tory. She would need little; they
would be there only for the night,
until she could get to Bill.
She piled logs and kindllng into
a wood basket, placed a car of soup
and a can of condensed milk in a
pan and put them on top of the
logs and carried it into the living
room.
I'll give you a hot drink and put
YOU to bed, Chris" she said, kneel-
ing before the hearth in which the
remainder of the fire Bill had built
still lay.
"All I want is a drink Of water.
I'm so thirsty"
WATER. There wasn't any wa
ter in the house. They'd brought 1t
with them when they came UP for
the winter party.
"Tll get you some when the fire
gets going" Fabienne said.
1t took a long time for the fire
to blaze, and when it did the room
was filled with smoke and smudges
Of black were rubbed on Fabienne's
weary face. She looked at her wrist
watch as she got up, but it seemed
years since she had returned to her
apartment and found Chris gone.
She went out to the kitchen and
got a large stew pan and went
outdoors with it. She filled it with
clean snow and brought it back,
placing it over the burning logs to
melt. II wish I'd been a girl scout
when I was a child" she said
grimly.
When the snow melted, she
poured a quantity of the water
into one small sauce pan, the re-
mainder into another. I'll get
more for drinking water" she said.
Chris had found a a opener and
sat with it in her hand, a blank,
happy expression on her flushed
face.
Fabienne took it away from her
gently and opened the soup and the
milk which she soon had steaming.
you both need something hot
she said, feeding the milk to Sonny
from a cup and telling Chris to get
a soup bowl for herself.
The hot soup, and the sleeping
drug that was still in her system,
made Chris sleepy at once. She fell
back on the cot with no protests
and allowed Fabienne to cover her
with the warm blankets. Sonny
was long since in a rosy sleep.
Taking only n blanket, Fa-
bienne wrapped herself in it and
curled up, as nearly as one could
curl up, in a hard wooden rocker.
She aWoke at daybreak, believing
herself in a dream. only to realize
too soon that it was not a dream
She put fresh logs on the dying fire
and sank back into uncomfortable
slumber.
When she woke again it was
broad daylight, nearly nine o'clock
but there was only a grayish ligh1
in the o With foreboding. sh
shook off her blanket, stretched
her aching muscles in a long ca
stretch, and went to the window
AS she had feared, the snow ha,
not let up. Great flakes as thick a.
cotton fell from low clouds as if tn,
world were to be buried in snov
forever after. 1t was impossible II
see more than four or five feet away
or to pierce that enveloping whit.
with the eye.
Fabienne went out to the kitchen
for another load of wood, saw tina
there was plenty TO last throuel