Jackson advocate. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1939-current, 1942-05-09

closet ana listened.
g. You mean the car stayed out
all night in the driveway"
Yes, he said she told him to
leave it there"
Il don't understand this at ALL"
'Oh, she's all right. / don't think
you need worry"
But she didn't even leave a
note, Peggy. That's not like Mary.
Even when she ran away to New
York that time she at least left
note
Maybe she hasn't gone Maybe
something came up and she stay
ed out all night, Mrs. Dalton"
But why would she leave the
car out?"
II don't know"
"And he said a man was with
her?"
1T was that Jan, I think, Mrs.
Dalton"
"Jan?"
eyes, the one who was with her
| in Florida"
"She just won't leave those aw-
full people alone"
"He called here this morning,
asking for her"
Called here?"
Yes"
"And what did he say?'
HE seemed sort of peeved when
told him she was gone"
What can that poor child be UP
to? She told me she was not see
ing him any more"
| Maybe she had him to call, Mrs.
| Dalton. -
What do you mean?"
well, nam, I was kind of think
ing that maybe she's with him
again, like that time in Florida.
And maybe she had him to call to
see if we knew she was gone. :"
"Oh, Peggy!"
ooh, I'm sorry, mann Maybe she
| stayed with some friends Of hers"
| But she was in her room at two
o'clock this morning, Peggy. Whose
house would she go to at that
| hour?"
Mrs. Dalton, I noticed some
thing when / went to her room this
morning"
| "What?"
well, Nam, it looks like her bed
| wasn't slept in at all. The cover
wasn't even pulled back. Looks like
somebody had just stretched out
awhile and then got up"
| "Oh!" +a
Bigger listened mtently, but
there was silence. They knew that
something was wrong now. He
heard Mrs. Dalton's voice again,
quavering with doubt and fear.
"Then she didn't sleep here last
night?"
Looks like she didn't
did that boy say Jan was in the
carp"
Eyes. / thought something was
strange about the car being left
out in the snow all night, and SO
1 asked him. He said she told him
to leave the car there and he said
She went out and sat, waiting.
Listen, Peggy. :"
Eyes, Mrs. Dalton"
MARY was drunk last night. I
hope nothing's happened to her"
"Oh, what a pity!"
81 went to her room just after
she came in. She was too drunk
to talk. She was drunk, tell you
I never thought she'd come home
in that condition"
"She1l be all right, Mrs. Dali
ton. I know she will"
There was another long silence.
Bigger wondered if Mrs. Dalton
was on her way to his room. He
went back to the bed and lay down,
listening. There were no sounds
He lay long time, hearing moth
ing; then he heard footsteps in the
kitchen again. He hurried into the
closet.
"Peggy!'
Eyes, Mrs. Dalton"
Listen, I just felt around in
Mary's room. Something's wrong
She didn't finish packing her
trunk. At least half of her things
are still there. She said she was
planning to go to some dances in
Detroit and she didn't take the
new things she bought"
Maybe she didn't go to Detroit
"But where is She?"
| Bigger stopped listening, feeling
fear for the first time. He had not
thought that the trunk was not
| fully packed. Tow could he explain
that she had told him to take q
half-packed trunk to the station?
Oh, shucks! The girl was. drunk
That was it. Mary was so drunk
that she didn't know what she was
doing. He would say that she had
told him to take it and he had
just taken it; that's all. If some
one asked him why he had taken
a half packed trunk to the station
he would tell them that that was
no different from all the other
foolish things that Mary had tolc
him to do that night Had not peo-
pie seen him eating with her an6
Jan in Ernie'S Kitchen Shack? HI
would say that both of them were
drunk and that he had done wha1
they told him because it was hi.
job. He listened again to the voices
Z. and after while send thai
boy to me. want to talk to him.
eyes, Mrs. Dalton"
TO Be Coptinuedl