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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1932-11-24, Page 6THURSDAY, NQVWR 24* 4938 THE EXETER TIMR^APYOGATE of Dreams >} <1 p mere primitive man, who had suc­ ceeded in carrying off the w-oman he meant to mate and wag prepared to hold her at all costs, “I told you I would compel you,’ ho said doggedly. “That I would let nothing in the world stand be­ tween you and me- I meant every word I said, You’ve up out now — except marriage me.” | “No—no! Not that!” The poig- ■ nacy of that caught-back cry wrenched the words from his lips in hurrjting, vehement disclaimer. “You’ll be perfectly safe—as safe as though you were my sister. Don’t look like that . . . Jean! Jean! . Could you imagine that I would >—my CHAPTER XXVI Jean had lived long enough in Devonshire by this time to know the risks of being caught in a mis"t on Dartmoor, and she sped out of the room, intending to go to the garage and warn Burke that he must hurry. He met her on the threshold of thej y0^y.pu“wlwm T worship—m: bungalow, and she turned hack1 little white dove?>« lThe wcrds rush. with him into the room she had just e(j out in a toi^ent quitted. [ S]iaken and “Are you ready?” she asked eag-1 «.Before God) uu. 1UU erly. “There’s a regular moor mist.ly safe> Jean svveete-st, coming on. The sooner we start the better.” • „■ _ _ ___ _ Vilo.He looked at her oddly. lie was.iove jn Gie wiroie -world could hold rather pale and his eyes were-cur- you/> He was silent a moment; then iously bright. as Gie tension in her face- relaxed, “The car won’t budge,” he said he went on; ,.But the worl(J Won,t I ve been tinkering at her all this know that!” The- note of tenderness time to no purpose/’ | was gone now, swept away by the Jean stared at him, a vague ap- resurgence of a fierce relentlessness prehension of disagreeable possibil- —'triumphant, implacable—'that ities presenting itself to her mind. nieant winning at all costs. “The I world won’t know that,” he repeat- ,p +i,~ . “After to-night, for your own ! sake—because a wonman’s reputa- repeated. ^j0n cannot stand the breath of , you’ll be compelled to marry me. You’ll have no choice. . Jean stood quite still, s-taring in . [ front of her. Once lier lips moved but no sound came from them. Slowly, laboriously almost, she was realising exactly what had happened her mind adjusting itself to the re­ cognition of the trail in which she had been caught. Her dream had come true, after !—horibly, inconceivably true. The heavy silence which had fall- hoarse and passionately tender, no! You’ll be utter- . . . . , beloved—I swear it!” His voice steadied and deepened. “Sacred as the purest tremely awkward one if the car re- ed> mained recalcitrant! “Won’t budge?” stie ___ “But you must make it budge, /Candal~ Geoffrey. We can’t—we c“’t here you know! What’s gone wrong with it?" ’ * i . j Burke launched out into a string of technicalities with a confused mechanism of a invention of the pressly for the chastening of human nature, but from which she .succeed-! ed in gathering the bare skeleton all­ fact that something had gone rad-1 ' ically wrong with the car’s running en seemed suddenly filled with the dream-Burke’s voice—mocking and , exultant. we to do?” she asked’ ‘ . . . you’ll he stamped with the It’s too . . it’s can’t stay which left Jean feeling that the motor must be an devil designed ex- powers. • Her apprehensions quickened. i, “What are blankly. “Make the console each lightly. She frowned a little. It did not, seem to her quite the moment for jesting. “Don’t phe said get back do?” “I can’t do anything more than I’ve done. Here we are and here we’ve got to stay. “You know that’s impossible,” she said, in a quick, low voice. He looked at her with a sudden ■devil-may-care glint in his eyes. “You can never tell beforehand whether, things are impossibde or not. I know I used to think that "heaven on earth was-—impossible,” "he said“slowly. “I’m not so sure mow.” He drew a step nearer her ■“Would you mind so dreadfully if'might have regretted the share she we had to stay here, little Miss and taken in the proceedings, small Prunes-and-Prisms?” 'as it had been. She was not a man, Jean stared at him in amazement, half-crazed by. love;’ in whose pas- —in amazement which slowly turn- j sion-blurred vision nothing counted •ed to incredulous horror as a sudden save the winning of the one woman, almost unbelievable idea flashed in- nor had she known Burke’s plan in to her mind, kindled -into being by jits entirety. “Yes, Judy sent the wire,” he said. “But give her so much cred­ it, .she didn’t know that I intend­ ed—this. She only knew that I best of a bad job—and other,” he suggested mark of the beast for ever, late to try and mn away, too late”. he ridiculous,- Geoffery,” j sharplly. “We’ve golf to' somehow. What can. you CHAPTER XXVII Into the Mist “Then the telegram—that gram from Judy—I suppose was all part of the plan?” Jean-felt the futility of the tion even while she asked it. answer was so inevitable. ‘‘Yds!,’—’briefly. “I know Judy meant staying the night lier friends before she went away She sent the wjre-—because I asked her to.” “Judy There anguish tele- that ques- The that with Exetrr QTimefi-Abnnratr Established ISYS' and 1887 Pu&iished every Thursday morning' at Exeter, Ontario her friend^. Burke had IfeVey DiSSh more mis­ taken in his caMUatioW than when lie counted upon forcing her hand by the mere feai' of scandal. But none the less he held her—and her in the meshes of a fne greater and mote binding net, had liO but real­ ised It. Looking back upon ’the episode from which her present predicament sprung, Jean could almost have found it In her heart to smile at the relative importance which, at the time, that same incident had assum­ ed in her eyes, It had .seemed to her, then, that for Blaise ever to hear that she had been locked in a room with Burke had spent an uncounted' houi' or sc with him dt the ‘honeymooners’ inn would be the uttermost calamity that cold befall Ler. He would never believe ’that it; had been by no will of hers—so she had thought at the time—and that fierce lover’s jealousy which had Mcivxc juu * been the origin of tlielr quarrel, and know. But I want you to' reafike | of the subsequent mutual misxjnder- just what it means and to promfee standings and aloofness, would be rmTcrarT tri froeli H-Pa fPnvS! Trfst rXfa+Tns.P way with The imperious decision of his used her fighting spirit. you imagine,” she broke out scornfully, “that— after -this would ever marry you? . . wouldn’t marry you if you were the I last map on .earth! I’d die sooner!’ I “I daresay you would," he. return- wanted another chance of seeing fed composedly. “You’ve top much ycu alone—of asking you tis be" my grit to be afraid of death, Only, you wife, and I told hex* that you Would- see, that doesn’t happen to. Be the n’t come up to the bunalow unless alternative, you believed that she would be there too. it didn’t think you'd trust yourself alone with me again —after —with. “No. “So i did that?”- * was such an immeasurable) of "reproach in quick-spoken whisper the low that Burke that afterpoon at the inn.” blunt candour. I shouldn’t have done.” you see I has to think of something——some way. And it was you yourself who suggested this method.” “I?”—incredulously, "“Yes-. Don’t you remember what you told me that day I drove you back from Dartmoor?—‘A woman’s happiness depends upon her repu­ tation/ ” She looked at him quickly, recall­ ing the scattered details of that af­ ternoon—•Burke's gibes at wha't he believed to be her fear of' gossiping tongues and her own answer to? his taunts: “No woman can afford’, to ignore scandal.” And’ then, follow­ ing upon that, his sudden, curious absorption in his own shoughts. The remembrance- of it aH was like a torchlight flashed into, p'ace, illuminating wliat had been: hidden and inscruta’le.. She spoke swiftly-. “And it was- then—tlint afternoon) —you thought of this?” He bent Iris head. “Yes;.”' he acknowledged. . Jean was silent.. It was* now—penetratihgly so\. “A!nd the HoUfords? any such people?”' she- asked’ ily.. She scarcely knew what prompted 1 her to put so purposeless and unim­ portant a question-.. Actually, she felt- no interest at a-lT th tube-- answer. It could n-ot make tlie least differ­ ence to her present circumstances. Perhaps- ft was a little the. feeling that this- trumpery process of ques­ tion and", answer .served to- postpone- the enevi'tahle moment when she must fhce the situation in which she j found herself—face it iir- its simple 'crudeness, denuded • of' unessential whys and’ wherefores. | “Oh,. ye"s, the' Holfor^s are- quite-! r^a.1,”*. answered Burke., /“And so ■ is tlie pl'an for an expedition to one of the tors by moonlight. >iji , ( will be carried out to-morrow night instead pf to-night-.. Tonight is; fi®r. the settlement between, you and me. ' The strained expression of utter; 1 sheeted incredulity was*, gradually; ■leaving Jean’s face-.. The unreal; was' roui, _ .. “Do The alternative’ is a smirched reputation, Tarnislied a little—after tonight—even if you marry me; dragged utterly in the mire if you refuse. I’m putting" It before you with brutal frankness1, I roused to fresh life, and Tris distrust Of' her become something- infinitely more difficult to combat.. But, compared with' the great present situation which confronted' her, tlie happenings of that past day fa'ded into firsignificance;. She stood added'/ with the sudden tormented now, face to- face with a cliofee such impulse of a trapped thing to hurt I ics- surely few women had’ been forc- back. “You don’t really- believe that,” —impetuously—“T know—I know I could make you liappy! You'd be the one woman- ire tlie world to me And I don’t think”—more quietly— “that you coujd' endure- a slurred name, Jean?/’’ She made no- answer;. Every word he spoke only made' it more salient- that you”! be my wife before it’s ton late—while- I can still get you back , to Staple during the hours of pro- i priety”—smiling grimly1* I “Even a tarnished reputation’ might be preferrable to marriage with you—more endurable,” she ed" to- make. Whichever way she decided, and whichever of the two alternatives she accepted1, her happiness must pay- the price.. Nothing; she* could ever say- or do, afterwardk,’ would set" lier-right fn the eyes oftlYe man whose belief in her meant1 every­ thing. Whither she agreed to. marry Burke; retinmihg home in tlire odour of sanctity within the next livrur ora darkiiy clear to lier-that- she-was caught „ na uaiKji t___a -----a __j. web so’ or whether she refused and re- Are ;—bound hand and' foot in from which there'was- no- escape. Yet little as Burke guessed" it,, the, act­ ual question of .“what people would say” did not trouble'lrer* to' any great extent. She was-\ too much her father’s own daughter Co permit a mere matter of reputation to force lier into a distasteful- marriage. Not that she- mi'nimsed’ the value of good repute-. iSlie Aya'S" perfectly aware that if site' refused' to marry Burke, and he carried •out lii's threat of detaining her- at' tire- bungalow until ’ the following morning, she would have a heavy penalty to pay —the utmost penalty- wliich a sus­ picious world exacts- from a woman even though she may be- essentially iirirocent, in whose1 past there lurks 1 a. questionable episode. But she hat[ courage1 enough tc face- the consequences- of’ that refus­ al, to stand up to idle-clatter- of pois-; - onous tongues that must ensue; and I trust enough ^to bank on the loyalty of her real friends, knowing it I would, be the same* splendid loyalty J that she herself would have given ■Only^ik t0 any one oi’ tkem in like circum- 1 stances. For Jean* was. a woman who won more than? mere lip-service (fromi those who ca.ir.ed! themselves ■I clear: there drear- turned1 tlie' next'morning—firre;. but with the incontrovertible fart of a, night" spent at Burke’s bungalow alone with liim’, behind her, Blaise would” never trust or believe'ire her love foT him again. And” if she pomised to marry Burke- and” so- save her reputation it must automatically meaji the end of everything between herself and the man* she l’oved—the dropping o? an iron- curtain compared with which tlie'wall" Built up out of" their frequent misunderstandings past seemed something as and as' easily demolished as house. (To be Continued) felt glad Judith was not there to becoming real, and' she knew now Had it been otherwise, she what she was up against; the hardhear it. the leaping, half-exultant note ini his tones. “Geoffery------” Her lips moved stiffly, and, even to herself her voice sounded strange and hoarse. “Ge-of- fery, I don’t believe there is any­ thing wrong with the -car at all . . Or if there is, you’ve tampered with it on purpose . . . You’re not being straight with me------” She broke off, her startled gaze searching his face as though she would ring the truth from him. Her eyes were very wide and dilated, but back -of the anger that blazed in them lurked fearl—stark fear. For a moment Burke was silent. Then he spoke with a quiet delib­ eration that held something omin­ ous, inexorable, in its very calm. “You’re right,” he said slowly. “I’ve not been straight with you. But I’ll be frank with you now. The whole thing—asking you to come here today, the moonlight expedition for to-night—-everything—was all fixed up, planned solely to get you here. The car won’t run for the simple reason that I’ve put it out of action. I wasn’t quite sure whether you could drive a car, you see!” - “I can’t,” said Jean. Her voice was quite expressionless. “No? So rntich the better, then, But I wasn’t going to have any weak link in the chain by which I hold you.” “By which you hold me?” She peated dully. She felt stunned, in­ capable of protest, only able to peat, parrot-fashion, the words had just used, “Yes. Don*t you understand the position? It’s clear enough, I should think!” He laughed a little recklessly. “Either yen promise to marry me* in which case I’ll take you home at once—the car’s not damaged beyond repair—or you stay here, here at the bungalow with to-morrow morning.” sharp cry she retreated her face ash-white, reckless quality of Burke’s voice left her no illusions-.. “Geoffery,” she said quietly, ‘‘you won’t really do this thing?’ . If she had hoped to move him by a simple, straightforward appeal to the best that might be in him, she failed completely. For the mom­ ent, all that was good in him, any­ thing chivalrous which the helpless- , ness of her womanhood might have invoked, was in abeyance. He was a iir the trifTing- a’ card INSURANCE life; accident & health When Studyingyour future1 Life, Income1 or- Pension program, consult ARCHIE T. STERLING Representing METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY EXETER, BOX 277 Dr. Wood’s Mr.- A. M. Lambert,, Mount. Obe, B.C., writes^— “When out on my trap. Ene I, got thoroughly chilled: caught cold, and wouldi cough until I thought my . Bead would burst, and no matter what I did the cough would not let up. . • I sent for two bottles of Dr. Wood’s Norway Pine Syrup, and. before I hadi finished the first one my cough was relieved.” v 4 Price 35c. a bottle; large family size 65c; at aE drug and general stores; put up only by The T. Milbuam Co limited, Toronto, Ont. Norway/ Pihe Syrup me, until With a from him, SUB SORI PTION—$2.00 per year Ip advance. • RATES—Farm or Rea} Estate tor sale 50<j, each insertion for firm- fpnr insertions, qpent Insertion, tides, TO Rent, Found 10c. per Reading notices Card of Thanks vertisjng 12 and Memoriam, with extra yerses 25 c. 25m each subsa- Miscellaneous ar- Wanted, Lost., or line'- of mx word*, 10c. per line. 50c, Legal "ad- 8c, per line. lx> one verse 50c. each. Member of The Canadian Weekly Newspaper Association Professional Cards A < A A A. . . GLADMAN & STANBURY BARRISTERS, SOLICITORS, Ac. Money to Loan, Investments Made i „ Insurance Safe^ieposit Vault for use of our , Cl-ienta without change EXETER LONDON -HjENSALL CARLING & MORLEY BARRISTERS*, SOLICITORS, Ac LOANS, INVESTMENTS INSURANCE Office: Carling Block, Main Straw*. EXETER, ONT. At Lucan Monday and Thursd»7 Dr. G. S. Atkinson, L.D.S.,DiD.Sr Office Office Closed DENTAL SURGEON opposite the New Post Ottlei* fM&in- St., Exeter Telephones 34w ‘ House every;- 'Wednesday (all d.toiar> until' further notice. Dr. G. F. R&ulston, L.D.S.,D;D.S. DENTIST Office: Carling Block EXETER, ONT. Closed Wednesday Afternoon* DR. E. S. STEINER VETERINARY SURGEON Graduate Off the Ontario Veterinary College DAY AND NIGHT CALLS i PROMPTLY ATTENDED' TO Office in the old McDonell Bara Behind Jones & May’s Store EXETER, ONT. JOHN WARD CHIROPRACTIC, OSTEOPATEfY, ELECTRO-THERAPY & ULTRA­ VIOLET TREATMENTS PHONE 70 MAIN ST., EXETER ARTHUR WEBER LICENSED AUCTIONEER For Huron and Middlesex FARM SALES A SPECIALTY PRICES REASONABLE . SATISFACTION GUARANTEED I Phone 57-13 Dashwood R. R. NO. 1, DASHWOOD re- FRANK TAYLOR LICENSED -AUCTIONEER For Huron and Middlesex FARM SALES A SPECIALTY Prices Reasonable and SatisfaetW. Guaranteed EXETER f». O. or RING 138 USBORNE & HIBBERT MUTUAL FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY Head Office, Farquhar, Ont. Some Prize Winners in Competitions Sponsored by • Ontario Department of Agriculture. On either side of Miss Ontario are shown winning growers’ trucks in the Ontario Farm Products Parade. Lower left and lower right are other prize-winnFhg entries, the one on the right showing in the background historic Parliament Buildings ana a section of the huge crowd which swarmed the route of the Parade. The first prize-wlnnihg display in the window Competition is shown in the lower centre. The Department, realizing that better times for the Farmer mean better times for everyone, sponsored competitions Ih every city in Ontario to stimulate the sale of Ontario Farm Products, and from all parts of the Province word comes that the programme was a pronounced success* OSCAR KLOPP LICENSED AUCTIONEER ' Honor Graduate Carey Jones’ Auc­ tion School. Special Course taken in Registered Live -Stock (all .breeds) Merchandise, Real Estate/ Farm Sales, Etc. Rates in keeping with prevailing prices. Satisfaction as­ sured, write Oscar Klopp, Zurich, or phone 18-93, Zurich, Ont. President FRANK McCONNELL Vice-Pres. ANGUS SINCLAIR DIRECTORS J. T. ALLISON, SAM’L NORRIS Simon dow, wm. h. coates. AGENTS JOHN ESSERY, Centralia, Agent for Usborne and Biddulph ALVIN L. HARRIS, Munro’, Agent for Fullarton and Logan Thomas SCOTT, Cromarty, Agent for Hibbert W. A. TURNBULL Secretary-Treasurer Box 295, Exeter, Ontario GLADMAN & STANBURY Solicitors. Exeter i