Southern Oregon News Review, Thursday, Ju ly 18, 1946
cu i d b e f
m u ¿L o c q
P e g g v D í h
n ▲ /
r
THE
STOKV
T H IS
EAR
" A N c la I
Stevenson has been m u rd e re d !"
The
■ lory was a ll over P leasant G rove In
m inu tes.
L a te In the afternoon Tom
slopped bv to | e l m ilk , and they talked
about A lic ia 's death. M e i was upset, ;
and In v o lu n ta rily lo rn put his arm s
around her and called her " d a r lin g .”
Th at evening Meg and her la th e r sat
looking a t each other, e a rh re m e m b e r­
ing th at the other was out late the night
before.
" O ld you do It? " she Anally
asked. " N o — did you?" She was stunned
J im M a c T a v is h suggested they m ake a
b a rg a in : " Y o u forget th at I was nut of
the house— I'l l forget you were trysttng
w ith Tom F a llo n ."
A hot tide ol crlm -
son covered M eg.
C HAPTER XI
She caught her breath and could
not believe she had spoken, though
the words seemed to q u iv e r in le t­
ters o f Are between them . H er fa ­
th e r stiffened w ith a little je rk . His
face was w hite and hard and his
eyes were veiled, so that she could
not guess his thoughts.
F o r a m om ent th a t seemed a cen­
tu ry long his eyes m et hers, and
then he said v e ry s o ftly, "N o . m y
d e a r—did yo u ? "
" F a th e r ! " It was a shocked, in ­
credulous gasp that came scarcely
above her breath. "H o w —how can
you even—th in k —’ ’
"O h , no. D ad.” In th a t breathless
m om ent the endearing d im in u tiv e
came easily fro m her tongue. " I
d id n 't th in k you had—I c o u ld n 't ever
believe you had—”
" Y e t you put the question ve ry
e a s ily ," he rem inded her d ry ly .
" I t —i t was only th a t I heard you
come in last n ig h t—a little a fte r
one— "
" A few m inutes a fte r you came
in, i f I re m e m b e r," said her fa th e r
ca lm ly, his eyes never le aving her
w hite, ravaged face.
"Suppose we m ake a b argain, m y
dear M e g a n ."
H er fa th e r’s voice
came so ftly, low -pitched, scarcely
above a w hisper, in the tone o f one
co n sp ira to r to another.
“ A — a bargain. F a th e r? ” she
managed fa in tly .
He nodded. “ You fo rg e t th a t I was
out of the house—I ' l l forget that you
were— e r— try s tin g w ith Tom F allon
on the R idge.” he said in th a t gen­
tle, yet somehow te r rify in g d ra w l.
A hot tid e of crim so n poured over
her face and reached fro m the c o lla r
of her neat cotton p rin t fro ck to the
ve ry roots o f her h a ir.
" I w a sn 't— try s tin g w ith Tom F a l­
lo n !” H er m outh tw isted w ith dis­
taste at the thought, and the im p li­
cation.
" B u t you did meet him there—”
"P u re ly by a c c id e n t!” she flashed
H er fa th e r sm iled th in ly . “ I be­
lie ve you. m y dear—though I am a
little d oubtful as to w hether oth e r
people would, if it ever became nec­
essary fo r o ther people to know of
th a t—e r— accidental m ee tin g .”
She put her face in her hands fo r
a m om ent and her fa th e r watched
her w ith a curious tensity.
"B u t, o f course. I can see no re a ­
son why anyone save the tw o o f us
should know a n yth in g about i t , " he
went on sm oothly. “ S urely i f m y
daughter and I wish to go fo r a
w a lk in the fresh nig h t a ir, it is no­
body’ s business but our own. Un­
fo rtu n a te ly, in a m u rd e r investiga
tion a great m any seem ingly u nre­
lated facts come out. O f course,
there's no like lih o o d that we should
be in any way connected w ith this
te rrib le a ffa ir. N e ith e r of us had
any m o tiv e to want A lic ia out o f the
w ay—th a t is. I had none
I hoped
to m a rry h e r !"
She stared at him , caught by some
odd note in his voice. And a fte r a
m om ent he answered the look in her
eyes, " O f course i f it should become
known th a t you were v io le n tly op­
posed to m e m a rry in g her, that you
resented the thought of having her
here in the house, and had been un­
able to persuade me to give up my
plans to m a rry her—w e ll—" Once
again he lifte d his shoulders in that
gesture th a t was not q u ite a shrug,
but th a t was an effe ctive dism issal.
Megan d re w a long, hard breath.
"Y o u know I c o u ld n 't possibly
have— ” She set her breath against
the sob th a t clutched at h e r*th ro a t.
" O f course, m y d e a r - 1 know that
you are com pletely incapable of any
such deed of v io le n c e !" her fa th e r
assured her. and there was t
w a rm th that was very close to ten­
derness in his voice
'B u t it won’ t
be w hat I know that w ill count. Me­
gan—i t w ill be w hat we can prove
—or d is p ro v e !"
He let her sit hudr'ied in a heap
fo r a m om ent as though to th in k
th a t over. And then he said q u ie t­
ly, "T h a t's why I say there is no
reason why anyone should be told
th a t you and I were out o f the house
—though, u n fo rtu n a te ly, not togeth­
e r—fo r several hours last n ig h t!"
' Whom did you th in k I ’ d be lik e ly
to te ll? ” she asked him h u skily,
a fte r a m om ent in w hich she fought
to pull herself together so that
speech was at a ll possible.
"T h e re w ill be an inquest, of
co u rse ," he rem inded her.
"U n ­
doubtedly we, as her closest neigh­
bors—and I suppose her closest ac­
quaintances—w ill be called to te s ti­
fy
And if we s im p ly say that we
w ent to bed a little a fte r ten—”
“ 'Scuse m e, suh— hut could I talk
to yo'— fo' a few m inutes?"
He sat ve ry s till fo r a mom ent,
his eyes c lin g in g to hers, and she
thought he scarcely seemed to
breathe. And then he said casually.
“ I went fo r a w a lk .”
And as p roof that he had had his
say on the subject and no intention
of speaking again, he got up and
le ft the room.
She c o u ld n 't re lie v e that her fa
th e r had k ille d A lic ia Stevenson, it
was an in c re d ib le thought; but he
had been out of the house, and he
was v e ry anxious that no one should
know about that. And she thought
of herself and Tom F allon, on the
Ridge.
Gem s o
7 HEN
w o rk raise » yo u r
soul and insp ire s you w ith
b ra ve and noble se n tim e n ts, it
is good, and done by the hand
o f u w o rk m a n .—L a B ru y e re ,
/ ’<> Z»«k hark In anii<iuily 11 one
thing ; to go hark Io if is an»l/i«r. -
w ith the th in g that was in her h e a rt;
the th in g that had been there— who
could say how lo n g ? —but whose
presence she had not discovered un­
til under the shock of A lic ia 's death
" I lik e to ta lk to h im . Miss Meggi
—e f yo' th in k he a in ' c o in in ' any
how, how 'bout yo ' c a llin g h im up
and a skin ' h im to? So I could ta lk
to h im ? " A nnie was grave-eved and
portentous
Megan, je rk e d out of her unhappy
a b stra ctio n by A nnie's tone, looked
up at her c u rio u s ly .
"W h y , Annie, w h a t's w ro n g ’ Why
do you w ant to ta lk to M r. L a rry ?
she asked, puzzled
C. Cotton.
Eloquence Is the m is tre s s of
a ll the a rts .—T a citu s.
The present is the liv in g <um
to ta l o f the whole past.
—C a rly le .
Only deeds give strength tn
life, only moderation gives it
eharm ,— Klehter,
We cun w e ll u lfo rd to believe
th a t w hich is good, because only
the good is tru e .— F ra n k lin
KooLAid
A nnie drew h e rse lf up a little and
there was a gentle, yet im p la ca b le
d ig n ity about her as she said firm ly
" I t 's a p riv a te m a lte h , Miss Meggie
—but it's pow ahful im p o rta n t
Yo
c a ll h im to' m e ? "
“ Yes, of course. A n n ie ," Megan
answered and A nnie thanked her
and went out of the room , padding
s o ftly in the heelless fe lt slippers
that she w ore to "e a s e " her feet
But Megan did not have to cu ll
Laurence, fo r at about fo u r o’ clock
he cam e down the road and turned
in at the gate g rin n in g at her w a rm ly
| and h a p p ily
" I cam e over w ith the coroner and
some o f the county o ffic e rs ." he told
her c h e e rfu lly, d ro p p in g down on the
steps at her feet and b a rin g his head
to the soft wind. "P le a s a n t G ro ve 's
c e rta in ly g e ttin g her name in the
papers.
There was a newspaper
correspondent fo r one of the A tla n ta
papers at the in q u e s t."
Megan asked, a fte r a m om ent,
"W h a t—w hat did the inquest find— "
"D e a th by means of a sharp in ­
stru m e n t at the hands o f a p a rty or
p a rtie s u n kn o w n ." answered L a u ­
rence. lo oking up at her w hite,
d ra w n face w ith su rp rise
"O h look
here, d a rlin g , I had no idea you
were such a close frie n d of hers ”
“ I —w asn't, re a lly ." a d m itte d M e­
gan.
" B u t— I knew her and —it's
been a shock—"
" O f c o u rs e ." said L a rry gently
He took her hand in his and held
it closely.
“ We w on't ta lk about
it— "
" Y e s !” said Megan so sharply
th a t Laurence turned surprised eyes
j upon her. Megan managed a fa in t
sm ile and said, “ I —I re a lly w ant to
know —w h a te ve r they could le a rn —"
“ W ell, it w asn't m u c h ," said Lau­
rence. "N o tra ce of the weapon, a
k n ife o r a dagger of some sort. No
trace of robbery o r a n yth in g o f that
kind. The g irl at the bank said she
had cashed her usual m o n th ly in ­
come check fo r fifty d o lla rs, a few
days ago, and her purse was found
w ith m ore than th irty d o lla rs in it.
They feel sure th a t i f she had su r­
prised a b u rg la r at w ork, he would
not have le ft the purse. They be­
lie ve th a t she was k ille d by someone
she knew —o r at least, someone she
was not a fra id o f
There were no
signs of a stru g g le in the p la c e ."
Megan sat v e ry s till, her hands
locked tig h tly in her lap
K ille d by someone she knew !
Someone she was not a fra id o f!
"T h e re was one sensation," said
Laurence a fte r a m om ent, not look­
ing at Megan
His eyes w ere on the
garden, where, despite the fact that
it was alm ost C hristm as, a few late
zinnias and m a rig o ld s were s till in
bloom and the chrysanthem um s
w ere gre a t shaggy things o f glow ing
beauty. “ T hat was when the tele-
g ram ,ro m her hu«ba" d a rriv e d —
Though
w
W.N.U. release
" B u t th a t’s p e rju ry ," she whig-
pered fa in tly .
Her fa th e r's face darkened an­
g rily . " D o n 't be an id io t! You did
not k ill her. N e ith e r did I. So w hat
possible d ifference can it m ake— if
nobody knows that we went fo r a
w alk? I'm absolutely po sitive that
I w asn't seen: I feel e q ually sure
you w ere not. So w here's the h a rm
if we protect ourselves in a s itu a ­
tion that could easily become ve ry
unpleasant?"
She hesitated and he said q u ie tly,
"Because. Megan, if it becomes
known th a t you and I w ere not in
bed and asleep—th a t you were out
on the Ridge w ith F a llo n —it's not
only going to be e xtre m e ly unpleas­
ant fo r you. but it's going to finish
h im , once and fo r all. H e 'll never
be able to get another jo b as a
teacher no m a tte r how innocent and
a ccidental yo u r m eeting was. Peo­
ple w ill rem em ber A lic ia 's little
th ru s t about y o u r spending 'hours
together on the R idge.' and people
are good at adding tw o and tw o and
g e ttin g six o r seven."
Megan said q u ie tly . "W h e re were
you. F a th e r? "
H er fa th e r lifte d his shoulders in
a gesture th a t was not qu ite a shrug
and d ra w le d coolly, “ Why not? You
seemed p e rfe c tly w illin g to believe
I h a d !"
Pineapple Doily for Crochete'rs
Chair Set to Brighten Kitchen
AT GROCERS
Buy U. S. Savings Bonds!
buck and w o rk stool th a t are beau­
tifu lly s im p le to m ake. Use a red
and w h ite checked fa b ric , o r o th e r
V ^ O U ’L L
find
th is
hundsom e
cheery
c o lo r to m a tch y o u r dec­
1 "p in e a p p le ” d o ily a jo y to c ro ­
o ra tin g schem e, and tr im w ith
chet. I t m easures 15 inches in d i­ w h ite cotton ru fflin g .
a m e te r and is as p re tty in ecru
•
0
•
th re ad as it is in w h ite . V e ry love ­
F o r c o m p le te c u tt in g and fin is h in g In ­
ly indeed when finished — y o u ’ll s tru c tio n s fo r th e D e c o r a to r’s K itc h e n Set
N o. 5736) send 20 ce n ts in c o in ,
w ant to add it to y o u r "p in e a p p le y < o P u a r tte n rn
a m e , a d d re ss a n d the p a tte rn n u m ­
b e r.
m o tif” co lle ction .
•
•
•
Send y o u r o r d e r to :
T o o b ta in c o m p le te c ro c h e tin g in s tr u c ­
tio n s fo r th e B ig P in e a p p le D o lly I P a tte rn
N o. 5144i send 20 c e n ts In c o in , y o u r
n a m e , a d d re ss and th e p a tte rn n u m b e r.
Decorative Kitchen Set
\ 1 / A N T to g ive y o u r k itc h e n a
V v “ face lif t in g " t r e a t m e n t ?
H ere ’s a c o lo rfu l and b rig h t three-
piece k itc h e n set o f c h a ir seat.
And then she rem em bered his
uahen'7h'ag,hrH ,’d
■
when that little w ord " d a rlin g had
" H e r —husband?’ she repeated in-
s lip p e d o u t — th e lo o k In h is
eyes, naked and poignant and un­ credulously.
ashamed, the w a rm th and tender- j
Laurence nodded
"T h a t seemed
ness in his shaken voice that had
as m uch o f a shock to everybody
been lik e a shining g arm ent wrapped
there as it is to y o u ,” he told her j
about her ch ille d body.
" B u t it seems th a t when the detec­
"O h. no- no— I w o n 't ha\ it lik e tive s w ere going through her papers 1
th a t! 1 w on't be in love w ith h im —I ye ste rd a y they found that she had ;
w o n 't!" she w ailed, deep in her a husband and th a t he was the one
frig h te n e d , stric k e n m ind. But her who was sending her fifty d o lla rs
heart w ent re le n tle ssly on, “ You a m onth. They w ire d h im and the ;
ca n 't help it!
You c a n 't stop it. answ er was b rought to the inquest
You d id n 't ask fo r i t —but you can th is afternoon
The husband is
He knows it, too— som ew here in the west, but he's fly.
j ne»er deny it!
he feels as you do you saw it in his ning east to c la im the body. Should
eyes, heard it in his voice tonight, be here to m o rro w o r next day, they
You love him and he loves you—and th o u g h t."
he has a w ife who has a g re a te r ■ " B u t she was a w id o w !" Megan I
c la im on h im than if there were ! protested, dazedly,
ch ild re n . Y our love can never, nev­ j
"A p p a re n tly n o t," said Laurence, i
er mean a n yth in g except h e artbreak
looking up as Annie appeared be­
and self-denial!
You know th a t— hind the screen door th a t led in to ’
but you can’ t stop lo vin g h im ! Any i the hall. "H e llo . A nnie—how about
J
m ore than you can stop b re a th in g !' I. p u ttin g another plate on the table
The inquest was held the fo llo w in g , and le ttin g me slay fo r s u p p e r? "
afternoon in the ric k e ty , nondescript
"Y essuh, M is t' L a r r y —us sho' be
little fra m e b u ild in g where the D ra ft glad to ,” she assured h im , beam ing,
Board met. and it seemed that, ex- i and then asked uneasily
'Scuse
cept fo r the few bedridden in the ' me, suh— but could I ta lk to yo’ —fo'
town, everybody was there
a few m in u te s ? "
Laurence looked surprised, but got
E verybody, th a t is, except Megan
and her father.
F o r c o n tra ry to to his feet.
J im 's uneasy fear, n e ith e r he nor
" O f course, A nnie—don’t te ll me
Megan had been called to appear. you w ant to d ivo rce Amos, a fte r all
L ittle B etty H e n d rix, B ill Logan, these y e a rs !" he laughed, excusing
M rs. S tuart, and a few o f the others h im s e lf to Megan as he moved to­
who had been firs t on the scene had w ards the screen door w hich Annie
been called. Megan did not quite held open fo r him .
know w hether to be m ore relieved,
" I a in ’ t suah. M is t’ L a r r , , dat I
o r m ore frightened that n either she a in 't gw irie g it rid o' d a t s h if’ less,
nor her fa th e r had received orders no'-count nig g er, sho’ m i f f ! ” she as­
to appear.
But she had firm ly
sured him d a rk ly as she led the way
declined M rs S tu a rt’ s he a rty in v i­ to the kitchen.
ta tio n that she go, anyw ay.
Megan got up fro m the c h a ii '
Megan made h e rse lf keep busy
•vhere she had been s ittin g fo r m ore
throughout a day that seemed age­ than an hour.
In the late after- 1
long. When Annie put m id d a y d in ­ noon, the sunlight had been w a rm I
ner beside Megan and asked, a fa in t and pleasant here, but w ith the com i
uneasiness in her voice, "M is s Meg­ irig of dusk, a c h ill little w ind gnl !
gie, is M is t' L a rr y cornin' to m o rro w
up and tiptoed through the trees i
n ig h t? "
and she went into the liv in g room i
where she o u ilt up the tire, m aking
"1 suppose so, A n n ie ." Megan an
swered. and q u iv e ie d a little inside it brisk and cheerful
f
at the thought of facing Laurence
» IO HK C O N T IN I
tb
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Copyright, 1946, The Firestone Tire A Rubber