Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1944-09-29
CHAPTER III

her in his arms and make love to
her a little. But Paul was too pre-
occupied. There was a sheaf of yell
low paper rolled up in his hand.
81 can only stop a moment" he
said vigorously. "What night! I've
spent my time trying to wheedle
that old pest into taking a plane
west. But he's got another of his
obsessions. He's on his way back
to the Islands, and some publisher
whose motives or mental processes
are certainly worth looking into has
sold him on the idea that his life
would make a wonderful book!
Paurs expression was so dour that
Zorie laughed. wouldn't it?" she
asked. "From what you've told me
about it, his life has been aWfully
colorful."
"You don't understand, Paul
said. Hes picked on me to help
him write it,"
"You!" Zorie gasped. She had
worked on enough of Paul's compo-
sitions. to know his literary short
comings.
"Yes!" said Paul savagely. "Me!
I loathe the story of his life! I was
weaned on it! cut my teeth on it!
l grew up on it! I'm a problem
child because of it,
Paul was pacing up and down the
small room, weaving his way adroit-
ly among tables and chairs and
brandishing the yellow scroll as if it
were a sword.
He whirled on her. "Did I ever
tell you the story of how he helped
George Dewey win the Battle of Ma
Mia Bay-how he ran in under the
very guns of Cavite and let the tor
pedoes go?"
"You never mentioned that" Zorie
murmured.
Paul stopped again, facing her,
with his mouth twisted into a wry
grimace, his hands, spread-fingered,
shrugged up in gesture of conf
cal hopelessness.
81 tell you, darling, I'm des-
perate man."
Zorie's smile was made up largely
of compassion. do you want me
to take him off your hands while
you work on your dissertation? He
can sit here and play with Toby
while l copy term paper"
mo, Zorie. There's something
else. He has another brain wave
on. He thinks I'm wasting my life.
He calls what I'm doing childish
nonsense. He wants me to give it
up, 60 back to the Islands with him,
and go to work as cut-cane luna
on the old plantation and work up"
"Seriously?" Zorie asked.
"I'll say seriously! And l have to
be awfully careful with him. He's
been dropping vague references all
evening to drawing a new will when
he hits Honolulu. If don't watch
my step, he might even cut me off
Do you see now why I'm des-
perate?"
81 see," Zorie murmured. She
wanted to say that, in her humble
opinion, his taking a job and work.
ing up on a sugar plantation in Ha-
waii sounded infinitely more attrac-
tive to. her than his going on and
becoming a professor of psychology,
but she wisely refrained. Where is
he now"
"At McGonigle's. He has way"
Paul went on, of bullying and cajol-
ing you into doing what he wants,
and he uses some kind of mesmer-
ism, too. 1t almost always works,
L,,t ,,,hon II 1oaep'f hoe f,,r;o,e II
isn't working on me tonight and
he's fit to be tied.
1.-THE dissertation is fnished-or
as finished as it can be with all this
in the air. Will you copy it tonight,
darling, and will you take special
pains with it-spelling and grammar
and reasoning and what not--and
catch anything I've gone wrong on?
You know how my mind works bet
ter than l do"
He held out the scroll to her, and
she automatically took it,
Its in your hands now. Zorie, +"
he said.
but, Paul." she protested, "T've
already promised to copy term
paper tonight"
The glow went out of Paul's eyes
and the drama out of his posture.
"Whose is it,"
Jimmy Hoffbrower's.
but Hoffbrower's going to funk !!
It's in the bag!"
II want to help him all l can,"
Zorie said gently.
"But you can't put that tripe of
his ahead of mine!" Paul cried an
grily. For heavens sake, Zorie,
McGonigle's promised to read it as
soon as you can get it done. To-
night That's how important it is
to us! He'll be up all night reaching
term papers. It may be the-the
fork in the roadl You've got to do
1t right away, Zoriel"