Henderson daily dispatch. (Henderson, N.C.) 1914-1995, 1944-02-17
CHAPTER ONf,

Syria Verne was white with ragc
Where did that iussy photowruphcr
yet the idea he could tell her Off in
front of other people? And threaten
hcri She'd SHOW him.
The doorman of the Ma;son Pcs-
taurant raised his eyebrows as She
,wishrd out and hailed "A rassir,,
cab. lie blew his whistle bclnl.Jlv
hut She paid no attention. Her ,rm.
pies ihrObbcd. She never yhnuII
have made the engagement in the
first place. She gave the driver tho
address of her apartment.
over my dead body--nr yours -
Pierre had a nerve grabbing her
arm and saying thinrs Liz" thai,
The last month ought To have shown
him it WAS all over. Just because
she WAS kind enough to give hin, =
date. he didn't rnvc to pull tina,
pus>cSsivc stuff
Sure he'd taken some swell pfc-
lures Of her. Sure he'd got her face
rlastcrcd on the back of every mara-
zine through that cigarette contrnr,
But that WAS last year. Did he ,h!rk
she had to 20 on being grateful for
ever?
Tn" cab pulled up to her aral,
mcut hu.lding. She paid the driver
and walked in.
The elevator boy said; "Gool eye
ming, Miss Verne. Nice ai-ht ont.
isn't IT," She was too prrorcuri,e
Ia answer. why did people huy,. T..
utter such banalitivs, she wondered
iIrrtingly. Sh" made an effort ;n
forget the evenings incident.
She had enough to worry ah.u,
without being threatened By . u,.g.
photographer. y girl had career
To- ,hIml, about. VIVA. did riur..
have To do with %c'.in- the ,ula
house? Nothing! Would H. Hav.
been thoughtful enough To- send l.,.
10 Europe? Never. Had H.. ,.,r
given her turS or diamonds? |uu!t
he ever nave given her Il present of
check for live thousand iu.lArs"
Could Il" have gotten her cpn.r..r.
III the movies? 1t WAS r.diculuu-'
Where did Pirrr" got or acting u=
though he owned her just hrvaue
he took her out to dinner? Oh. d,
WAS still in love with mcr. no Doubt
-bU; that was old stuff.
The elevator seemed /, crawl up
ward. y Kaleidoscope rush e.:
thoughts raced through her mind.
What a coincidence - run into
Argus Steele this evening. Good
old ARGUS! Mavb" h" could helm hoy
umianalc tn" filthy mrs'. Nnv G!G
he keep harping on Nartmr!ii.
though? She bit her lip and sighed.
There was Il pretty kettle of FISH.
MartImolli and CarstairS and Elar.s
and Stur%iS. Pierre S'urg.s could
20 jump III the lake. after tonight.
The elevator door OPENED. She
could hear the phone riu-in, inside.
Good NIGHT. Miss Nv.mr," said
the elevator boy.
Good NIGHT" she said, hurrictlv
searching her bag for the key.
"Errr hrrr Lrr-" rang the
phone. Where the Gcucc Was that
key? She i;shcd around amongst
cumpacts, ligsiick>, Eairpius. hand
L"rrhlcis and loose change.
"Hrrr -hrrr-brrr-"
Suddenly she remembered the
Leave Word Service. Why haIm',
they an. w"rcd the rho..2 What
VAS .hc paying them for? Then ne
".amccG hastily at her wrist watch
a"d understood. /: w"s just after
midnight.
"Rrrr-hrrr-hrrr--"
81" finally found IN. key. inserted
i. III the lock. opened the door and
switched on the light.
"lirrr 90 hlrr -- brrr -" tn.
would Ice Carstairs. -hr tho.uh..
He'd promised to call her at twciy
Sh" half ran across III, LIVING gr"r
and reached for The tc.crh-4g. Il il