The daily monitor leader. [volume] (Mount Clemens, Mich.) 1942-19??, 1942-11-17

day. Nobody would come mere,
and she could peer out a barred
window at the door leading TO
Nancy Hale's apartment up
stairs.
She hadn't eaten any lunch
and she didn't want any Too
much trouble whirled cyclone
fashion in her mind. More than
anything else, she yearned for
somebody to confide in. Time
seemed to have telescoped itself
when she finally looked at her
watch.
"Lordy!" she murmured. ITS
after O."
She was not crying any more.
She forced herself to sit down
at the table and plan a course of
action, any course however des-
perate. Striving for calmness,
she reviewed the whole thing in
her mind.
The two gamblers are to
come at So she was uncon-
sciously whispering it, dramati-
cally. Exactly at 5, that man
told Nancy. She already has the
pills; the drug She is to hide the
men in her clothes closet so they
can peek out and be sure she
gives Duane and Norman the
drug If Duane and Norman act
listless in half an hour, they'll
know. Then they are to pay her
$1,000"
II was all clear, that much.
But her own part wasn't. She
was getting more and more jit-
terry about it all. She heard
somebody calling her but she
didn't answer. She heard the
constant overtones of laughter
and talk and hustle around the
building, the background that
was a rart of any football prepa-
ration. Ordinarily she would
have been a happy part of it. 1t
was something she loved. But
today
She tried to 60 on with her
thinking. She must be clear.
Must!
There's no point in kidding
myself" she whispered. II did
love Duane still do-and l
loved him before Nancy Hale
ever saw him or he saw her. But
facts are facts. l was just the
hometown girl. A 'friend'-darn
it! The coach's daughter. l did
everything in the books except
throw myself at him, and /
won't throw myself at any man
alive! If he-if Nancy appealed
to him" She stared off at
nothing for a long while, just
biting her lip. There's no mis-
take about it," she resumed, at
length.
There was no mistake. She felt
sure that Duane Hogan had seen
in beautiful Nancy Hale all that
he ever wanted in any girl. She
had come into his life in a dra-
matte accident. All the finer
emotions had been called into
play.
Quick danger. Romantic res
cue. Sympathy. Even patriotism,
because Nancy was a war cas-
ualty, in way. She, Blythe, had
been nothing but a steady some
body always at hand; color
less, unspectacular part of life's
routine. So, what was her cue
now?
She had a moment of agony
envisioning things that probably
would happen upstairs this eve
ming.
She saw Nancy Hale a traitor.
Saw her Turing Norman and
Duane up to a quiet little dinner
party in order to drug them,
then dosing them with too much
of the drug so that Duane died!
(Her feverish mind didn't 60 on
to envision Norman's death.)
This is crazy!" she declared
suddenly, standing up. and I
don't intend to be that kind of
fool. Tiff ! only had some
body to talk tot"
She heard a friendly laugh
outside and recognized 1t as
coming from Elmer Summers,
Journal sports editor. Next i'm
pulse was to 60 to him with her
troubles, but something warned
her against that.
She thought Of Pop, and knew
he was not to be considered
now. Nom wasn't the type to
help her at all, good old Nom.
She thought Of Norman Dana.
For quite q while she considered
him. Norman was deeper than
most people realized. Conceit
was just an outward crust,
Blythe knew. He really was
loyal, even though cocky in
speech and action.
But in the end she rejected