Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 28 January 1941 — Page 15

Serial Story ~ aD Conscript's Wife | ‘By BETTY WALLACE

, YESTERDAY: Kindly strangers help Martha and Paul after the crash. Paul is unconscious. Martha is not seriously injured. At the hospital, doctors report Paul has concussion, fractured collar hone. When Martha goes home, Eugene censures her for parking on the side road. Next day she learns Bill has called, is coming to spend the week-end She is tefrified by the thought that Suzanne may have seen Bill, that he is following Paul here.

CHAPTER TWENTY

MARTHA MARSHALL dressed very carefully for Bill's eyes, that Saturday morning after the accident. She creamed and powdered her face, trying to obliterate the long red scratch on her cheek. All the while, her fingers trembled with anxiety. : Was it only because he wanted to see her that Bill had managed to get this unexpected pass? :Or was it because Eugene told him that Paul had come? : Eugene said Bill had been surprised. A chill little shiver crawled down her spine. Surprise was probably mild as a description of what Bill felt. ! "Then . she brought herself up sharply. Surely Bill wasn’t going through the suspicions and the doubts and the fears that she'd lived through herself! It ‘would never occur to Bill to imagine anything about Martha and Paul. Or—her fingers, fumbling with the buttons in the back of her blouse, stopped suddenly — had Suzanne really dared to carry out her wild threat? Had she actually appeared at camp? She couldn't eat breakfast. The phone ringing made her jump. Eugene answered it. With a grunt, he put it down. “For you. It’s Elliott, at the hospital. Must have had a phone put in his room!”

Helen's room, at the same hospital, ||

had no phone. ; When she heard Pauls voice, a weakness came over her. “Are you all right? How do you feel?” “There’s nothing the matter with me,” said Paul. He sounded so exactly like himself! As if he were in his own office. “But I've been nearly out of my mind worrying about you. How are you, Martha? I thought I'd killed you with my criminal carelessness.” “I'm practically perfect,” she said. “The hospital snubbed me. Paul, Bill's coming from camp. We'll both be up to see you in a little while.” “Bill? How did he—?” “He doesn’t know about the acci-

dent yet. He called last night while| .

we were out.” She went on uncertainly, “I'm so afraid Suzanne may have—" “She wouldn't have dared,” he cut in. “She was just talking and Jog her head. Don’t think about

Even as she held the phone, she heard the children shouting outside. “Here's Uncle Bill, and he’s a sodjer! Daddy, Daddy, Uncle Bill's a sodjer.” = “Bill's here,” she said. “Goodby, we'll be there in a littie while.” » » ”

SHE RAN TO the door, the swift singing happiness that always came at seeing Bill coursing through her. “Darling!” = She threw herself into his arms, her cheek with the alarming scratch against his shoulder. Perhaps he wouldn't notice. it right away. His arms, tight around her, made everything all right once more. The sense of panic which the accident had hrought—the nebulous fears which had gnawed at her this morning—were gone. “Darling, I'm so glad you came. Oh, Bill, I do love you so!” “Honey,” he cried. “Martha, sweet. Here, let me look at you.” He held her away from him, his eyes on her face with the old hunger and eagernéss. And then, like a blow, he saw the scratch. “Martha, what happened? Where did you get that scratch?” : Behind them, Eugene was grinning sardonically. Before he had a chance fo speak, Martha told Bill quickly, “It's nothing. T’ll tell you later. Come in, let's catch our breath first. Are you hungry?” “See here, kid, what's been going on?” Bill was seriously alarmed, and his eyes commanded her. “1 was in a little accident,” she admitted reluctantly. “Paul and I were driving last night, and—" “Last night? I wondered what made, him come up here, when Eugene told me on the phone.” “He brought her her paycheck,” said Eugene. “Then they went for a ride and first thing I know, he’s in the hospital and a man brings Martha back, knocked silly.” “1 wasn’t knocked siliy! I vas only scratched up a little. It was unavoidable. We—we turned into the highway, and the other car had been going so fast—" Bill's sunburned face was still, closed up, unreadable. He sat down on the sofa, drawing his wife beside him with hands that were suddenly very strong. She felt his fingers biting inte her arm, and saw the line of his mouth tighten. “Suppose yo utell me about it, Martha?” “Oh, Bill, don’t get worked up! Really, I'm not hurt at all. He couldn't help it, don’t you see? We turned into the highway—we had been talking. Paul said the office was 80 busy I ought to come back and hire a woman to do the work here... .” : #8 : BILL WAS LISTENING in silence. With that look on his face. With his eyes telling her nothing. She went on, desperately, “We just got so absorbed, talking,’ that we turned out—and the other car was speeding—" . Eugene, straightening his shoulders, put in, “So he wanted you to hire a woman to look after the place here, eh?” .“He thought it was too hard for me.” Bill’s big hand dropped to her knee. He caught sight of the bruises under her stocking. “That's from last night?” “Yes, but it doesn’t amount to anything.” She leaped to her feet. “Darling, please don’t make a tragedy out of an unimportant little accident. ' We ought to go and see Paul. He's the one who's in the

“No. The doctor said broken collar bone and concussion. He sounded all right on the phone a little while ago,” ; : Eugene said, “Take my car. Don't forget to look in on Helen, t00.” tha tried to be natural

All the way to the-hospital, Mar- :

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Some GILA WOODPECKERS, OF THE SOUTHWEST DESERT COUNTRY, NEVER ALEC \NOOD/ THEY MAKE THEIR HOLES IN THE GIANT CACTUS.

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Shie| kept her voice light, ask:d him about camp, laughed about the accident. But his answers were short, and behind the eyes that (cld her nothing, she was afraid Eill was painfully fumbling with ths fact vhat Paul had driven up her: after her. Once he said, “Why diin’t he mail you the check?”

“Oh, he wanted to see how .I was doing, too, I guess. After ell, the office is busy and—maybe they told him to talk me into coming back.” ‘That curious constraint was still between them as they walked into Paul’s room at the hospital. It was there as Martha hung back, let#ing Bill speak first. “So you got my wife all scratched up, you worm!” Bill cried Paul was propped up on the pillows, There was.a bandage around his arm and shoulder. He clid not lock ill. “I wish they'd let ine out of here.” . “Let you out? You ought to be in jaill” Bill roared. “Takirg my wife out and nearly killing her.”

” 2 s

PAUL'S SWIFT wince was too real. Bill said, hastily, “Heck, fella, I'm just kidding. Lucky it was no worse. Don’t take it to heart, Paul. Accidents will happen.” Martha stood close besidz Bill, gratefully. Everything was going to be all right. The door opened. A nurse looked in. “Another visitor for you, Mr. Elliott.” Suzanne Decker, her arms full of flowers,’ came into the room.

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THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

Martha stiffened in surprise. Paul, too, was looking at Suzanne in undisguised amazement, “How did you find out so quickly?” he asked. “I phoned you at the office early this morning. Your chief engineer told me you were in the hospital.”

She ran to the ‘hed. ‘Paul, how are|,

you? All the way out here, I kept thinking the most awiul things! He only said you'd beer. in an accident—he wouldn't give me any details, said he didn’t know.” - She looked at the white bandages around his shoulder. “You're badly hurt! That bandage--" “The awful truth is! a broken collarbone,” Paul said. “Your hasty trip, while a compliment of course, simply isn’t justified by the injuries.” ‘He was smiling, now, but Martha sensed the annoyance under his bantering. £0 “Martha was in that accident, too,” came Bill’s voice, from the other side of the bed. “Don’t you care what haprens to her, Suzanne?” He meant i; lightly, of course.

He was teasing-—going on with the|-

bantering Paul had begun. But it was exactly the wrong thing te say, Martha realized with horror. For Suzanne's red lips were tightening grimly, and flame leaped into those gray eyes, Suzanne cried, “Why should I care what happens to Martha, Bill Marshall? You blind fool, if she had only let Faul alone this would

never have happened!”

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

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