The Wyandotte herald. (Wyandotte, Mich.) 1879-1943, 1942-07-31
Breaks
By MILDRED r. WHITE
Mcclure syndieste-wNU servieeJ

the, receptacle on the gIass-toPpeu
desk.
"Sure is" the man opposite him
nodded in sympathy. Know tne
family pretty well, don't your" Sud
den, dim recollections that Dora
Holden had refused Watkins i've
years ago to become Mrs. Kent Stew
art brought a slight flush to the
speakers face. =.
But Jim was not embarrassed.
1--WE known them both long time,
he replied briefly.
WELL" the other shrugged his
shoulders, Kent should be cheer
full about one thing, at least. There
can't much else happen to him.
He's had about all the bad luck there
is"
The man across the desk moved
not muscle. But how well he knew
that Kent Stewart was not finished
with his run of bad breaks!
At one time young Stewart had had
a fortune in bank stocks. Now he
was being assessed proportionately.
IF he hadn't been so damned eth
ical," the visitor commented. 1.-The
wise ones got out early. All very
well to be so scrupulous when you've
got a hundred thousand behind you
but it's being little too honest
at the expense of his wife, think"
Again Jim Watkins face remained
impassive. It had taken him exactly
three weeks and almost the limit OF
his supply of impersonal friendliness
to make Dora see that point, with
out arousing her suspicious as to
his apparently althuistic motive
Somebody said he'd dropped the
insurance on his car just couple
weeks before the accident, too"
Watkins nodded his head slowly.
Eyes. He didn't renew it this
year." He tried to make his voice
sound sympathetic Kent had natu-
rally thought that Jim would take
care of it and bill him As he always
had before He had begun the habit
in the first place, hoping for just
such break.
Jim to withdraw young fortune
from the bank few weeks before it
closed was not held by Kent. In
fact, about that same time Stewart
had transferred several balances
from small banks to this large one.
1t had certainly taken a series of
lessons to prove to Dora that she had
chosen wrong-but Jim had finally
succeeded.
And then this automobile accident.
He was glad Kent hadn't been killed.
Not that he gave a damn what hap
pened to him afterwards-but right
now, when his and Dora's plans were
about perfected, he didn't want even
Kent's funeral to hold them.
Dora had been the deuce to con-
vince. He had had to color the facts
quite a bit. Safe doing it, though,
because Stewart would never tell her
about conditions. Kept his business
affairs strictly to himself.
That Kent Stewart always had been
a failure, the town would recall
after Dora's Partisan divorce people
forgave wealth everything. And after
all, Jim Watkins had been practical
ly engaged to her in the first place.
But the insurance agent was still
rambling on.
Wouldn't have had the accident if
he hadn't swerved to avoid hitting a
dog. Wouldn't you know that the
pup would run along, uninjured,
and Kent's car be almost totally
wrecked"
Jim looked at his watch significant
ly. In just one hour he would be at
the Union depot. His bags were
checked there now. With hers!
He paced the wooden platform at
the depot nervously. And then she
was in front of him. Slender and
dark and fragile. She stopped him
imperiously as he was about to hur-
~ her on the train.
"Pm sorry, Jim. I've been-all
wrong" She hadn't been running
and yet her words came in gasps.
Kent never needed me as he does
now. I didn't realize" Her face was
aglow. She looked-different.
The sudden stab in his chest en-
veloped his whole body with pain as
he looked down at the vivid face,
and knew the starry eyes were not
for him.
Everything terrible has happened
to him except" she forced herself
to look directly at him-"the worst
OF all, the most despicable of. all.
His wife running away with his
friend. When I learned today of this
latest trouble-wel, it was the last
straw. / couldn't walk out on him
now"
She was in hurry, could scarcely
wait to get back to Kent. Jim Wat
son threw his bags into a cab,
snapped out an order to the driver.
His plans, hopes, visions-all gone.
1t was-hell. He flung himself into
the seat, In the blacklist mood of
his life, and muttered bitterly. !.
Some folks get all the breaks!"