The Wyandotte herald. (Wyandotte, Mich.) 1879-1943, 1942-10-02
All Hope Turns
Ashes
g
By L. A. CUNNINGHAM
by STANDING on tiptoe ane
Mcclure syndicate-wNU service)

tidy room where Brian Girard wrote
his novels. 1t was deepening DUSK
but the afterglow of the sunset
through the windows showed CaleD
the typewriter, the papers ana
books scattered on the table ana
floor, the great pile of manuscript
In the wire basket that represented
Girard's work for the last year OF
more. Dust of the Temple was
the name of it.
Pleasant fellow, Brian Girard. II
he had been patronizing Caieo
would have liked it better he
hated Girard, hated his success, MS
competence. Caleb had said, i We
written a book myself. Spent i've
years at it."
Have you, now" Girard had
finished the page he was tipping and
turned to stare at Caleb. mo luck
about having it publisher
None, said Caleb. Tried 1t ev-
erywhere His face was sullen, his
eyes hard TOO much work and
study and sense in it, l guess. Deals
with great shipbuilding and lum-
boring family, sort of a dynasty, IN
the early days of New England.
Sounds good. Let's have look
at it sometime" Girard had said
with interest.
But Caleb knew he wouldn't even
read the battered script when he
got it. The novel had been the
rounds so often that the single car
bon copy was better than the orlgl-
nal. Think of the months, the years
of hard, driving work he had put
into his book-and this eaSy-going,
laughing fellow could knock off a
novel in few months, sell it to a
magazine, book publisher, the
movieS-make a fortune on it.
The dusk deepened. Objects in
the room grew shapeless. Girard
hadn't been much interested in his
neighbors, the Cartons, who lived
in the little cabin a mile up the
beach. Not until he'd seen Lennie.
Caleb hadn't realized just what
good friends Girard and Lennie
were until day before yesterday
when, from behind a sandhill he
had watched them talking so inti-
mately, so eagerly. And then Len
ME had thrown her arms about
Brian Girard's neck and kissed him.
That was why Caleb's eyes were
darkly narrow now, why he stared
into that room with something
starkly hateful in his pinched face.
Caleb hadn't said anything to Len
ME. I'm going fishing for a day
or So" he had told her, and walked
off. She didn't mind She never
did complain. Even though the in
come Caleb derived from book re-
viewing hardly gave them enough
to live on. She was fed up, no
doubt Maybe she was planning to
get clear Of him, to marry Girard.
Caleb smelled smoke He locke
down. The discarded stub of his
cigarette had set fire to the dry
grass around the heach cabin.
Already there was merry little
blaze. Caleb stared at it, grinning
like deaths head. He could hear
Girard saying, Il think Dust of
the Temple will go like wildfre."
Sure it will, thought Caleb, turn,
ing away. Nothing in the world to
stop it. Caleb laughed. He had
seen Girard driving up the road
towards Leafield, a fat man with
him in the big open car.
Caleb, strolling away, looked back
every once in a while, watching
the flames shoot higher and higher,
until there was a pillar of fire and
smoke reaching up to the early
stars. The high dunes, all but hid
it before he reached his own cabin.
It wasn't at all likely that Lennie
would have noticed it. He saw her,
sitting under the green shaded lamp
when he walked up on the veranda.
She was reading letter.
She looked up when he entered,
then ran to him and flung her arms
about him and kissed his lips. "Oh,
I'm so glad you've come, Cal. I've
news for you-grand neWs!"
"Get to it," he said, freeing him.
self from her arms.
81 asked Mr.. Girard to read your
novel. He did, and promised to get
his publisher to read it. His pub
Usher was visiting him"
Caleb stared at her now. IL
was so glad, kissed him, Cal"
go ont" Caleb's voice was
harsh. you gave him a copy OF
the novel;"
Both copies. 1 gave him both.
One was so badly worn, you
know
Caleb's mouth hung open. Their.
were only two copies of his boob
in the whole world. And she
"This note just came an hour az,
from Mr.. Girard." she continued
eagerly. Listen, Caleb: Mr.. Hut
ter is wild about Caleb's novel, AL
Hope Turns Ashes He'll publish
it and pay a substantial advance.
He wants a few changes. We're
taking my story, Dust of the Tenn
Pile up to the city tonight. I've lef,
Calebs novel in the wire basket or
my desk with a memorandum about
the alterations :"
She looked up from the letter anc
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