Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 27 January 1938 — Page 18

PAGE 18

BY ADELAIDE HUMPHRIES

CAST OF CHARACTERS CONSTANCE CORBY-—heroine; richest girl in the world. BRET HARDESTY-—hero; bridge builder. RODNEY BRANDON—Connie’s flance. KATIE BLYN-—Connie's ‘‘double.” Yesterday—Bret breaks up Connie's anniversary party and she knows that they can never be quite the same again,

CHAPTER TWENTY

RET and Connie did not have their talk on that tomorrow. Bret apologized again for the scene he had created at their anniversary party; he said that he had had too many whiskies and sodas, but that he would not use that for an excuse. He supposed it was the outburst of an accumulation of the past months. He hoped Connie would forgive him. Connie said that she would, in a polite, constrained tone of voice that showed plainly that she had not. She maintained this cool courtesy between them for more than a week, keeping Bret at a distance, as though he were a perfect stranger, or a bad little boy who must learn obedience. He was completely miserable, “We've decided to charter vacht, take a trip—perhaps muda-—make up a party,” Connie said, at the end of that week. “Do you think you'd care to come along, Bret?” “If you want me,” he answered, did this mean that now she had decided to forgive and forget? ‘“You know I want to be where you are. Who, may I ask, do you include in ‘we'?” “Oh, Rodney, Veronica, a half dozen or so.” Her reply came careJessly. If she was glad he was going, she did not let him see it. “Everyone's leaving town now that it's spring; it will be deadly dull here. The Easter lilies are gorgeous in Bermuda, whole fields of them. The weather ideal, the crowd smart and amusing. I think you'll enjoy it,- Bret.”

my Ber-

” 5 #

E did not care who would be there, if only she would smile at him once more. He tried to take her in his arms now, but she held herself aloof, unresponsive. “I'll like it,” he said, “if you are sweet to me again. Let's stop this nonsense, honey, let's be friends; sweethearts. Can't you see we're drifting apart, behaving in this way?” She did not answer, but the look in her eyes accused him as the one who caused their “drifting.” He let her go, turned away, his pride flaring as a hot, angry flame inside of him. It was not his fault altogether; she knew that; she was taking unfair advantage, since she held the advantage, in so many ways, over him. If only he did not love her so much: if only she did not have all this money. .~ “It will be nice to see the first signs of spring,” he muttered. “Lord knows there's none in this manmade city. Not a blade of green grass, or a leaf, or flower.” His thoughts winged back to his own country, the dark hills that would be coming alive with that tender young green haze, the sky that would be so blue and unclouded, the air so crisp and fragrant. An almost unbearable nostalgia seized him. “See here,” he turned to her once more, dropping all restraint, his dark eyes warm and eager, “why don't we go back home, alone—just we two, darling? The hills will be beautiful now--vou remember last spring in the valley! We could have another honeymoon, take our long tramps, climb our own hill, come ‘alive’ again, too—as we'll never do anywhere else, among a lot of people. Wouldn't you like that better, honey? Wouldn't you be willing to £0 back with me?” There was no answering warmth in his wife's eyes. She drew herself up, threw back her head. “I'm sorry, Bret,” her voice was polite, unsufferable cool once more, “that vou don’t like my friends. Or the plans we've made. Go back to that sleepy little old town, buried in the hills. . . . Heavens! I'd be bored to death. I'd die.” ” & u T was on the tip of his tongue to tell her that she had not been bored a year ago, that she had been happier than ever before, content, busy. But he checked the words. She had been Katie Blyn then, a different girl than the one who stood looking at him with hostile eyes that held a shade of contemptuous amusement. This girl was Constance Corby, heiress to myriad millions. He wondered how she could possibly be the girl he had married. She might have read his thoughts, for a slow flush colored her lovely face, her eyes flashed now in anger. “I know what you're thinking. You might as well have said it. That I liked that little town, your hills and country, well enough last year. But I was only playing then, Bret, pretending. That was all it amounted to, really.” She hurried on, before he could reply; she saw the deep color beginning to stain his face, too, the fire that leapt into his dark eyes. “It's you who've changed, Bret, not I. I am what I was always, before and after that brief interlude. But you are different. You're glum and serious, cross and moody. You won't try to adapt yourself to my world; you won't try to like my friends, learn to live and play. Life isn’t all seriousness and work; it should be fun and gaiety, too. I thought you would be big enough to meet this difference. I thought it would take more of a man to make a happy marriage with a woman who had so much more than he, it would take more courage, more doing. But it doesn’t seem to me youre trying very hard, it doesn’t seem as though you were succeeding. It’s you who are differ ent, from the man I married.” ad = n E did not answer right away. The deep color drained out of his face; the fire left his eyes. “I believe you are right,” he spoke at length, slowly. “I'm not the same man. I've lost that courage—the things you thought made me different—different enough to face any situation and conquer it. Different enough to marry the richest woman in the world and make that marriage a success, to maintain my own independence and birthright and self-respect. “I told you--the other night-—be-fore your friends—what I have become. A man who lives on his wife's charity. A man who fritters away

changed. You're right about that.” That grim line etched itself around his mouth; there was a new look in the depths of his dark eyes. Bret Hardesty was becoming his old self again, a man who knew what he thought, knew what was right—and who had never been afraid of anything. “You're right,” he said once more. “I am the one to blame. The only one. I am the one who hes changed.” “I ‘suppose you mean,” Connie said, her breath coming quickly, “that it is because of the money. I suppose you'd like me to give it to someone, throw it away. I suppose you want me to pretend to be Katie Blyn again. Well, T'll not do that! I tell you what I'm going to do, instead Bret. I'm going to di-

vorce you.”

HE turned from him now, pulled +2 the cord to summon Gibbs. It was time to begin te pack, if she was going to Bermuda. Time to put an end to this ridiculous scene, force Bret, somehow, to come to his senses. She had not meant to go this far, but since she had, she would stick to it. She would even go through a divorce, if necessary. Bret crossed the room, turned the key in the lock, so that the maid could not enter, came back to Connie. He caught her by the shoulders, swung her around. “You're not going to do anything of the sort,” he said. “I shan’t allow you to divorce me, ever. I told you once that this marriage was for keeps. I meant it. You think now, just be-

Daily Short Story

TRADE—By James O'Hara

y bh cause it isn’t working out to please vou that you can throw it aside— and me—like an old glove. You think you can follow through every impulse that comes into your silly, pretty head. First you pretend to be some other girl, then to marry me, when you knew I was afraid of such a marriage, now to refuse to help me work it out at the first signs of breaking up. You think your money, which has always got you everything you wanted, can buy a divorce, make an end to everything between us. But you are mistaken this time. You are my wife. For better or for worse. In sickness and in health. Until death do us part—remember? You are always going to continue being my wife—and you are going to like it.” Someone had knocked on the door, twisted the handle; Gibbs, probably, responding to her mistress’ summons. The knocking was repeated. Bret dropped his hands from Connie’s shoulders, but not before he had given her a hard little shake to emphasize his words, to make them indelible. He turned now, went to the door. “You may come in, Gibbs,” he said. “And no matter what Mrs. Hardesty says, you will not pack her bags for Bermuda. If you do, I shall unpack them. And toss the stuff out the window.” The door slammed after him. Connie could hear his heavy footsteps, going toward his own rooms.

(To Be Continued) (All events, names and characters in this story are wholly fictitious.)

“He's Only a Boy!”

watched from his protected notch between two ridges on the di- | vide, while across the river Burton | made his dripping way up the slight |

| rise toward the mountain shack, |

taking advantage of every bit of | protection possible. The light was

| getting dim, but Carson gauged the | | distance at about 200 yards end set |

the sights on his carbine accord- |

ingly. The cold winter wind whipped | over the ridge and he settled his | muffler and his collar more firmly | about his neck with one hand while | he kept the other in readiness on | the rifle and his eyes steady, waiting for the chance he expected. He felt no compunction about shooting Burton. He had taken an oath to do just that to all law breakers of Burton's type. And besides, Burton had led him and four other troopers nearly 200 miles with tires screaming around concrete mountain curves and then over rough mountain trails until only he and Carson were left in the grim game. ” ” ”

P=oxs the shack was a clearing stretching nearly 50 yards on [all sides. Carson waited patiently. A half hour passed. His arms and neck and eyes were getting tired from keeping the rifle trained on the almost invisible figure before Burton decided to make the last desperate dash. Carson, his muscles tense, waited until Burton got well into the clear and almost up to the cabin, then he fired. He saw the running figure jerk,

Mind Your Manners

Test your knowledge of correct social usage by answering the following questions, then checking against the authoritative answers below: 1. Is it all right for a bride to have an intimate friend help her write her “thank you” notes? 2. Is it enough to thank a person for a “lovely present” or must the gift be named specifically? 3. When a gift has been sent by a couple, to whom is the “thank you” note addressed? 4. When a woman uses her visiting card to inclose with a gift which she and her husband are sending, is it correct for her to write “Mr. and” in front of her name? 5. Should one speak of “groomsmen” or “ushers” when meaning the bridegroom's ate tendants?

What would you do— About choosing a best man if you have no brother or intimate friend living close enough to attend the wedding? Ask— (a) Bride's brother or father? (b) Your own father? (¢) A casual acquaintance?

» ” » Answers 1. No!

2. Named. Otherwise donor might think his gift was lost in the multitude. 3. Usually the wife, but husband should be included in the

STEAL AGENT CARSON?

move erratically for a few steps and slump forward on its face, the head cradled in the arms like a tired child's. Carson smiled grimly, and here was no mirth in his smile. Too

=: bad that a young fellow like Burton : had chosen to lay himself open to i an end like that!

He set himself to get across the

. river. Tt was too cold to swim un- ! less necessary! It took all of 10 min- . utes to find the ford and get back + within sight of the shack—and when . he finally spied the recumbent fig-

Sh %

lure of Burton his mouth dropped open and he quickly raised his rifle.

Someone, evidently the confederate the desperate criminal had been expecting to help him, had turned Burton on his back and with arms under his shoulders, was slowly dragging him toward the open door of the shack! 5 ” »

ARSON’'S fingers had already begun their slow squeeze on the trigger when he suddenly lowered the rifle and watched the two figures intently. “The regulations don't say anything about shooting a woman, even if It’s a criminal’s moll!” he said to himself. In the fading light the skirts of the rescuer whipped plainly in the strong wind. Carson waited patiently until it was dark before he made his way through the brush to the other side of the clearing and cautiously maneuvered to the window on that side of the shack. In the shifting light of the fireplace he saw Burton, his eyes closed and a bandage around his chest, lying on a cot while the girl sat watching him intently. Carson made sure she had no weapon in evidence. before he poked his rifie through the glass and commanded her to remain motionless while he opehed the window and climbed in. The girl made ho move, said hothing. Despite the grief stamped on her face, Carson saw that she Was a pretty and a very determined person. She would bear watching! “I'm sorry, miss, that I had to do this,” he said. “But Burton knew the chances he was taking!” The girl shrugged. ” EA} »

T: Was you, or someone else who had to do it, I suppose” she agreed in an even, soft tone. “Bd is SO young to have this happen to him, though! He's only a boy!” “But a murderer!” Carson reminded her. “You can’t get around that fact, He was old enough to know the law!” “A suspected murderer, you mean!” she said with some heat. “He hasn't been brought to trial yet!” Carson let it go at that. You can’t argue with a woman whose boy friend you've just shot! For more than an hour he just sat on the other side of the shack and watched, his eyes shifting from Burton's face to that of the girl, Not a word was spoken, even when Burton's eyes flickered open and Carson could see the slight glaze on them. The boy would need medical attention if the state was to have a live defendant. Abruptly he rose and carefully searched the shack for weapons. “I'm going out to build a signal fire,” he announced. “The other men must have trailed us pretty close by now, and that boy needs a sawbones right quick.” The girl flashed him a fleeting look of gratitude. She said nothing, but Carson knew how she felt, Outside in the clearing he set his rifle down where he could get it easily, just in case. He began heaping up brush and fallen branches. Just inside the fringe of the woods

he thought until the heavy log of the fall trap crashed through the lower branches of a tree and pinfoned him by both legs, just before he fainted. He awoke while the girl was moving the heavy log gently from his broken leg. Silently he allowed her to support him to a chair in the cabin, and it wasn’t until she began setting the injured limb that he passed out again.

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rifle, he notice

he tripped on a trailing vine. Or so |. *

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES OUT OUR WAY

SAY COME

{COPR. WS0EY WER SERVICE. Wo. dn M. REG. U.S PAT. OFF

LI'L ABNER

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I KNOW YOUVE WORKED HARD, T KNOW YOU'VE DONE A LOT FOR ME AND T APPRECIATE IT. BUT I HATE TO BE ALWAVS APOLOGIZING WHEN MY FRIENDS COME. YOU CAN

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WHY MOTHERS GET OGRAy,

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FRECKLES AND HIS FRIENDS

- 1) BUT I DON'T UNDERSTAND!

HOW COME YOURE ORDERING ME OFF “THIS LAND [T BELONGS TO BUTCH, THE BABY IM TAKING TARE OF!

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YOUR HEALTH

By DR. MORRIS FISHBEIN American Medicat Journal Editor HE announcement that a Linton, Ind. girl, 13 years old, had given birth to a baby has aroused considerable interest throughout the country. There are, however, cases on record which indicate that it is possible for young girls to become mothers at exceedingly early ages. There is one authentic report in medical literature of a girl in Ukrania, 6 years of age, who was precociously developed and who gave birth to a baby although the child did not live. There is also an authentic record of a Mohammedan girl, 7 years old, in London, who gave birth in 1932 to a living child weighing four pounds three ounces, So far as anyone knew she had never developed the changes which indicate that a girl has passed from childhood to womanhood. Her age was, however, absolutely verified. Beyond suffering from fright for the first three days, she

still quiet and capable-looking. She knew how to play the game, he thought gratefully. He closed his eyes and presently he was breathing heavily.

When he opened his eyes morning light ran through the dusty windows. A quick look assured him that both the girl and Burton were gone, and his rifle, too. On his shirt was pinned a scrap of paper. “Sorry. It was our play,” was all it said.

Carson grinned as he saw the cof fee pot steaming on the dying embers of the fire in the fireplace. He'd done his part. Let the other minions of the sovereign state finish the job if they could!

He wondered nursingly how long it would take the troopers to find him . and whether the girl suspected he knew she was Burton's sister, id he thanked her for the coffee.

The End.

{ n All events, when end, oehaTattaty

this story are

lof age who gave birth to infants.

{that of a girl, aged 11 years and

made a perfect recovery and was able to nurse her baby.

» ” HERE are also records of a child, 8 years and 10 months old, who gave birth to a baby

weighing eight pounds. And there are a considerable number of records of girls 10, 11 and 12 years

In fact, there is one record of a girl 13 years and 8 months old, who gave birth to twins. A recent case authentically reported in Journal .of the American Medical Association in 1927 was

10 months and 22 days, who gave birth to a child weighing 6% pounds. In this case the father was a boy aged 18. Much has been written as to the age at which a boy may become the father of a baby. Although sexual maturity has been reported in boys 12 years of age, in the vast majority of cases a boy must be at least 13 and probably 14 years of age before this possibility exists. Indeed, in the majority of boys the deveolpment of glandular ace tivity capable of reproduction does not develop until the 15th or 16th year.

SO THEY SAY

We don't believe in nudism or wrongdoing, but we love nature and have a right to live this way.—<Max Silverman, back-to-nature enthusiast, after sheriff’s deputies arrested him on insanity warrants in California.

We feel greatly gratified to see relations between Japan and her treaty powers growing in friendship and cordiality Emperor Hirohito, opening Japanese Parliament.

Never pop the question or aceept a proposal in the moonlight. Do it in the glaring light of high noon.— Dr. W. ©, Mather Jr, Professor of Sociology, Franklin College.

The most irritating sounds picked up by the microphone are not audible to the human ear.-Norwood Fenton, film sound crew worker,

\ POLK'S Buttern

pO AND E Do Pappy

SE ER

SURE MIN! WHO WOULDN'T NOT 0 167 | BE INON A MILLON-TOLLAR 2

LIL ABNER

S/VES»

IE SEVEREST JOLIING MAY LEAVE URBED ON THE OTHER HAND, TSAR MAY BLOW THE BOTTLE, THE YOKUMS 70 KINGDOM

THURSDAY, JAN. 27, 1938) FLAPPER FANNY

By Sylvia

“Don’t make him sore, Chuck=you got to handle that guy with gloves.”

“I will=with boxin’ gloves.”

THIS LAND HAS ALWAYS BEEN | MINE | I LEASED IT Four YEARS {li BUT NOW WITH OIL BENG All PRODUCED HERE, IT WOULDN'T BE SMART BUSINESS © EXLEASE wWoOuLbd

TEND THE po rr

I nnd HERE'S

SOMETING EISKHY ABOUT THIS! BON'T WE SUT WwW

| 4 I BON'T Tam You'll Jo a END MANY NN THE TA} SACK 1 LEFT You mr A HOLDWG 1! ull —— == a

ASK THE TIMES

Inclose a 3-cent stamp for reply when addressing any question of fact or information to The Indianapolis Times Washington Service Bureau, 1013 13th St, N. W., Washington, D. C. Legal and medical advice cannot be given, nor can extended research be wundlertaken,

Q—=At what age does a person get a pension in Indiana? A-=Seventy years Is now the minimum age at which residents of Indiana are entitled to the State old-age pension. After July, 1928, however, the age limit will be 65 years, The Department of Public Welfare, 141 8. Meridian St, can advise you further about the pension,

Q-—-What make of automobile was used in the motion picture, “Topper?”

A—-The body was specially designed by Anthony Garrity, who has created designs for the bodies of cars owned by Irene Castle, Zane Grey, Tom Mix, and other celebrities. It was constructed at Pasadena, Cal, on a Buick chassis,

Q—Will the Department of Agriculture pamphlet containing a summary of state game laws be published this year? A--Because 50 many late changes are necessary to bring the compilation up to date, the Department has discontinued its publication.

Q-—How many states have civil

service merit systems?

A-—With the adoption of laws providing for state-wide merit systems by Legislatures in 1937, the total number of states under civil service provisions has been brought

to 14.

Q-=TIs there going to be a celebration soon to commemorate the first Swedish settlement in America?

A-On June 27, 1938, the 300th anniversary of the first Swedish settlement in the Delaware Valley will be celebrated in Wilmington, Del. Similar celebrations will be

Copr, 1938 by United Fe

“NOW !<<Doesn’t he look like me?”

held in other places. The Crown Prince of Sweden, Gustaf Adolphus, has accepted an invitation to participate,

Q--Is steam ever a liquid? A--At its critical pressure and temperature, 3226 pounds and 706.1 degree F., respectively, steam is to all intents and purposes a liquid and is not distinguishable from the water with which it is in contact.

Q--Does the average speed of ocean vessels exceed 20 knots? A--Apparently, it is well under

20 knots, While the larger compan. fes each have several ships that go

over 25 knots, they also have = larger number that travel 20 knots or less.

Q-=-What training did the puzzle maker, Sam Lloyd, have to fit him for originating his puzzles? A-=He was the son of an excellent « mathematician and chess player, Sam was trained by his father to develop his mathematical ability, and even as a child he was a prodigy . in that science, Q--How many quarts can be shucked from a barrel of oysters? A-From 10 to 12 quarts, depending on the quality,

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