The Waterbury Democrat., 1945-10-09
PLANS FOR TWO CHAPTER XVIII

DOB HALE suffered the tortures D of the damned as he raced back. down the old mine road. It was narrow, and winding, and SO required 10 minutes at the best possible. speed. He was sobbing in sort of restrained hysteria. Neither he nor the man with him could speak. Bob had black visions of his village completely buried or at least laid in death and ruin. Spe- cifically, he suffered In seeing Caro- lyn Tyler dead Q thousand ways.
 He swerved around the last curve then, and instantly identified Caro- lyn herself.
 He yelled ct her. "CAROLYNl =. CAROLYNt"
 It was a wild, frenzied cry which slipped into infinite gladness when he saw that she was actually run- ming.
 The village seemed intact, and other folk were stirring now but he recognized Carolyn from afar partly because he SO desper- ately wanted to and partly be- cause he couldn't mistake the bright red shirt she still wore, the same one she had worn during the ride.
 He stopped his car when he had to, jumped out and started run- ming.
 All at once he was holding her. Just clasping her tight, feeling her cry and trembling powerfully with her in sheer instensity of emotions.
 It was she who murmured first. "Bobl Bobl"
 Little grill" He kissed the top of her forehead, still squeezing her close. He shut his eyes tightly There was a strange, sad, and yet sweet ecstacy between them. THERE was no chance to relax ! for almost 24 hours. But late i}on that second day, amid the stir ring and the milling and the excite ment of peoples arriving and going through all the inevitable, if kindly hullabaloo, Bob said that the time had come to take Carolyn away lest she drop in her tracks. Her mother had already been sent to Blair along with most of the remaining personnel here in the mountain vil- lage.
 First thing Bob did was to make Carolyn eat. She had lived only on . sandwich and few cups of coffee forced on her since yester- day.
 "You must eat also." she re- minded him, there in the tiny Blair Inn. Gee, Bob, we do get into the awfullest things!'
 Mind if we don't go back to- night?" he asked wanly, after the twilight meal. Let's just ride out alone, where we can think"
 They didn't have to go far. Only a mile or so to escape the flood of newspaper men, photographers, officers, curious folk who had poured in. They left Bob's car and sat on Q flat red boulder near the road.
 Stars had begun their timeless winking. Later there would even be a moon, but already the world was beautiful with the soft, evanes- cent something that Is early night
 Presently they found them. selves talking. Quietly. intimately dispassionately going over the whole thing. They agreed never to speak of the truly tragic Leana again They recounted all the weeks since Carolyn had first come to work, re- living the horror of the explosion it. self but in new feeling of deep gratitude for escape.
 T waited for you. Bob, at the guard shack, when the guards told me you had not come by" she repeated for perhaps the tenth time. T just didl But when it happened, was afraid you had gone inl The granite cliff saved Gs even there, but I couldn't know about you."
 He held her very close. You waited. For mel It seems to me that I have waited for you since time began, Carolynl Waited and hungered for you. If 1t hadn't been for your Ken Palmer, should have Caroly, I warn you I don't intend to be Q gentleman ever againl You had told me in the be- ginning that Ken loved you. I felt it only fair to-" S'