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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1939-12-21, Page 20V I wElve • , I * THE WINGHAM ADVANCE-T^ 9 1 It was the owner of the place who came to her aid finally, “Down,’ you, Snappy!" he com­ manded, attracted by the uproar, from the kitchen where he was supervising the cooking. Snappy paused, looked • up sidewise at his master, back yearn­ ingly at the kitten. “Come here, sir!" and as the dog reluctantly obeyed, “down, Snappy! Lie down!" Before the crestfallen terrier had assumed a-recumbent position on the floor, Jan had Pussy-puff in her arms and was hurrying him toward his bas­ ket. ’ “You have your dog well trained,” she told the proprietor, smiling, as she fastened the door of the basket on the kitten and started back .to the bus. “Good dogs, these fox etrriers,” said the man, pleased at her praise, “easy to teach.” ‘ • Jan could hear the roar of the mot­ or as the bus driver prepared to shove off. Everyone else had gone. She burned back at the door. - “Merry Christmas!” she called. “Merry Christmas, Snappy!” Paul Harris was often perturbed, but he was rarely upset. And of all the occasions when he was upset, there had been few when he was wor- ’ried as he was at ten o’clock of the morning of December twenty-fo-urth. The chambermaid assigned to the rooms on Jan’s floor* had come straight to him — very properly, too — with a note she had found pinned to Jan’s pillow. The bed had n,ot been slept in, the maid reported. Paul read the note, holding it with fingers that quivered slightly as he absorbed the contents.“To whom it may concern," he read “don’t worry about me. 'When I get back I’ll explain everything. Jan Pay- son."Paul thanked the chambermaid and sent her on her way. Then he rang the Deverest residence, found out from the butler where Tony was like­ ly to be at the moment and finally located him.“I’ll be over,” said Tony-* hanging up while Paul was still speaking. The next half hour was a nightmare to Paul. “No, I haven’t any idea where she could have gone. No, I didn’t say anything to h-urt her feelings. That note there; Mr. Deverest,>was the first inkling I had that she wasn’t here.”. “But when did she leave? Did she ’appear in the show last-night?” “I gave her last night off,” said Paul sadly. “I thought she ought to rest up for the big doings tonight. And this is what I get for being so thoughtful." “Maybe Dora knows where she Went.” “That’s an idea,” said Paul, bright; ening. “I’ll go around to the hospi­ tal and ask her,” “Don’t frighten her,” said Tony from the doorway. He was on his way upstairs to hunt for clues. “Frighten Dora!” exclaimed Paul. “Really, Mr. Deverest!" After Tony bad left the room Paul stood for a moment, trying to regain control of his injured feelings. When he ■thought -of the high — the very high — regard in which he held Dora Pay- son, the very suggestion that he might frighten her by careless questioning „ was devastating. Finally he reached for his hat and overcoat, stiff suffer- > ing, however, from shock. , Tony meanwhile had reached the v Payson apartment and had been ad­ mitted by the chambermaid. No, the girl told him in answer to his ques­ tions, she hadn’t seen ,Miss Payson yesterday at all. She had done the rooms as usual and left. Then when she came in again this morning, there ■ was thatjiote. Had lie seen it?.Tony Had. He got rid of the maid and af­ ter staring helplessly around, wond­ ering where he could begin looking for some hint, he began pacing aim­ lessly up and down the sitting room. “J must have been Crazy to wait all this time,” he muttered to himself. “Why didn’t I insist oii her dashing around to the marriage license bureau as. Soon as I was certain she knew who I was? Of course her worst sus­ picions were confirmed when I didn’t speak up. She was surer than ever . that I was just a playboy. I hadn’t given her any reason to believe I was serious. “Gosh, and I. thought I was being so smart, surprising her by announc­ ing Ottr engagement at a Christmas eve party! It Was a fool idea, anw- how. Suppose she doesn’t love me af­ ter'all — a nice thing to do, arrange n party to gnnounce a ’girl’s engage- ment to a- man she doesn’t love," No, that wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true- Tony felt if Jan did not love him he couldn't possibly go on living, He had to 'hold fast to the thought that Jan loved him. noit 'so much as he loved her, of course —< he. would have to give her a little time' to reach that point. Then he became aware that someone was standing in the open door of the sitting room, He looked up. What a sour-faced old woman! “Good morning,” he said shortly. “Good morning," said the visitor, even more shortly. “Is Miss Payson in?” “No, Miss — Mrs?—-'I didn’t catch the name .—•’’ “I didn’t give the name, but it’s Mr§. Talbot, if you’re interested. I thoguht that girl was up to something — the way. she went sneaking down the'hall with that cat! Maggie, the chambermaid, said she hadn’t been in all night.” , Tony ignored the last. But what Aiid she say abouit the cat? Here was what he was looking for? “That’s right. The kitten is gone,” he said. “Where could she have been going with it?” “She said,” Mrs. Talbot-.stressed the word to indicate her disbelief, “that she was taking the kitten to see Dora. Fine hospital that permits cats in a sick' room!” Excuse me,” said Tony, leaving the room so quickly that Mrs. Talbot had all she could do to get out of his way. , Chapter XXIV Tony reached the hospital just in time to meet Paul Harris coming down the corridor from Dora’s room. “What did she say?” Tony asked breathlessly. ’“Nothing,” said Paul, “except that Jan brought all her presents over yes­ terday and put them away in a draw­ er to be opened on Christmas morn-- ing. She doesn’t expect Jan today. She think's she’s getting ready for the party tonight and is too busy to come over here.” t, “Mrs. Talbot says Jan had the kit­ ten with her. and that she was 'taking . it to Dora. Did vou see it around the lv, room anywhere?” “I’m sure it wasn’t there,” said Paul. “Dora certainly would have- mention­ ed it to me.” * “Go back and ask her.” Tony urg­ ed. “We’ve got to know!” Nothing loath, Paul returned to Dora’s room. “I forgot to tell vou," he said with what he considered positively Mach­ iavellian cleverness, “Pussy-puff sends- his love.” “I haven’t seen him for so long.” mourned Dora. “I suppose he’5; grown to be a great big cat, so big I wouldn’t know him’!’ I't took a few more minutes to cheer Dora and persuade her that Pussv- puff was doing'all he could in her ab­ sence to improve -his- looks for the ex­ press purpose of pleasing her on her return to the hotel. When he rejoined Tonv. P-»u1 found that young man almost beside himsfelf with impatience. “Dora hasn’t seen the cat—” “Then what are we waiting for’” cried Tony, hu'stling Paul down the stairs and out inito his car? “Let you off at .the hotel,” said Tonv between clenched teeth. “T am going to make a round of the railroad stations.” “Don’t forget the buses.” Paul call­ ed after him. standin0- On the side­ walk in front of the Devon Arms as Tonv shot; awav. Tonv tried all the ticket windows at the Grand Central and repeated the performance at the Pennsylvania Rail­ road Station. - “Did a girl bnv a ticket here ves- terdav?” he asked each astonished ticket* seller in turn. “A very beauti­ ful girl, red hair, you know, and the most unusual expression, «ort of gay and Sad at the same time?” % At about this point the ticket seller usually interrupted with some abrupt query, tending'.to bring the descrip­ tion more' closely down to facts, the upshot of each conversation being that no such girl as Tony described had bought a ticket from the man he happened to be questioning. Had he asked the man at the next window? What time would it have been when she bought the ticket? Any time from three o’clock on? Oh, he wouldn’t have her in that case. He wasn’t on duty then! If the gentleman would call back after three he would be able to talk to the man who had sold her the ticket if she had been buying one, A few of' these men admitted that they had b^en iq th^if cages during voice sounded very loud in contrast to the lassitude that- had overtaken the other passengers. They looked at hiili in surprise; even the couple Jan had privately called “the honeyinoon- ers” stopped tiheir intimate6 whisper­ ing and turned to stare. “Say, driver!" the man shouted again and it seemed a long while be­ fore the driver answered, looking up into the mirror over his head: , “What do you want?” The man’s face was red as he real­ ized he had the attention of the entire bus, but he went oh doggedly: “This here’s a real snowstorm, bro­ ther. I know the look of them—I’ve lived here all my life.", “You’re telling me!" the driver com- ' mented, easing his ’machine slowly around a sharp'turn. The other passengers, most . of them, laughed. But Jan was looking at the ..reddened, weather-beaten face of the inan who had spoken, and something in his expression frighten­ ed her. “It ain’t so funny," .he said sharply and the driver answered in the same tone: “So what do you want me to do? We’re coming' to a stop up here in Valleyville. You can get off there if ■you want to. B<u£ me, if the road’s all right, I’m taking the bus on.” The passengers chattered excitedly among themselves about the situation that confronted them. Jan talked to no one, but she opened the latch of Pussy-puff’s basket and stroked he soft ball of fur. A tiny paw batted at her fingers and she felt his “little glass teeth” as Dora called them, biting her. Then, in apology, a warm tongue darted out and licked her fingers soft-, ly. Jan looked out as the bus crunched to a stop. The place was not large and it stood all alone, in the midst of . loneliness. The proprietor, a young, fresh fac­ ed lad, waited on them nonchalantly, ‘ slapping the coffee in front of Jan so that it spilled over into the-'saucer. “Quite a little flurry, eh?” lie asked jovially. ’“We have all kinds of wea­ ther up'here — all bad.” He laughed loudly at his own'remark. But the driver did not laugh with hirm He said only: “Road clear?” “Sure it's clear,” the boy grinned and added, “as far as the Moose riv­ er bridge.” • ■ “What’s the matter with the bridge?” ■ “How should I know? The man who called just said to tell you you couldn’t get through. But they’re workin’ on it.— you wait here, he says, till he calls again.” ■ t The man who had objected to driv­ ing on became, now that he found that they were stopped, anxious to get away. He questioned the boy be­hind the counter at length as to. every other means of transportation, but the young man shook his head as he an­ swered that there were no railroads, no other bus lines, no houses nearer than the village ten miles away, and he wouldn’t take his car out on the road if you paid him. Jan asked timidly how far it was to Moose River, and was told that they would make it in a little over an hour as soori as the road was clear. “But you don’t know how long that will be,” a middle-aged man who had' not spoken, before said in a discourag­ ed tone. The driver shook his head. A woman who was urging her little girl .to finish her glass of milk, said impatiently, "But we’re going beyond Moose River. Do you mean to say we’re likely to be here all day?” , "No telling.” The driver was ex- asperatingly noncommittal. • Jan hoped they would soon be on their way again. After riding so long, she had become accustomed to move­ ment and it was oddly irritating to be left stationary out here in what to herself she called a wilderness. “More like a desert, though, ly,’ she thought, staring out at the -- -- • UIIUIVIV en even by trees. The Country must ( ----- — be a waste of barren rock when the last station. J-usit then he saw a clus- ■ snow was gone; it wasn’t possible that ter of lights, dim in the .’distance. • ’ Lights meant a village. He- breathed easier. There must be a bus stop in the town; perhaps the bus he was tfailing'was here, wailing for a break in the weather.' Surely no driver would try to go on in a storm like this. the hours mentioned, but they were sure that no girl answering Jan’s des­ cription had appeared. Tony wondered if he ought to ring up the hospitals, but decided against it. Jan’s note indicated dearly that she Was going somewhere. And there were still the buses. He had about given up when he dis­ covered a man who remembered sec- . ing a girl, in a green coat and carry­ ing a basket with some sort of-animal inside, buying a bus ticket, Had he happened to hear where the girl was going? Let’s .see now. After deep thought and carefully weighed alter­ natives Tony’s informant decided it. must have been a northbound bus. Af­ ter consultation with those in charge . Tony learned that there was only one bus leaving at about the time, accord­ left. He got a map of the route the ing to his aide’s calculations, Jan had bus would take. He'was hampered by having no knowledge whatever of Jan’s destination — but this was en­ ough for a start, anyway. Getting through the city traffic was the worst part now. If Tony had ob­ eyed his natural impulse he would have driven relentlessly through the streets, mowing down all before him. But of course he did nothing of the sort. He threaded his way carefully, avoiding collisions by no more than a whisker—but avoiding them never­ theless. As soon as he was out of the city lie made up handsomely for lost time. At every bus station he stooped and questioned the attendant. Generally somebody remembered ithe girl in the green coat, and at one station the man was bursting with information. His Aunt Hattie had .come home from New York yesterday by bus, and she had been telling them about a citv girl “too good looking to be real,”- who had forced her way. mind you, into Aunt Hattie’s seat. Aunt Hattie was tired after all her shooping “on them hard city pavements,” and she had.all she ‘could do to manage her bundles as it was. -But this girl had insisted on (Aunt Hattie moving all the packages so she could sit down next the window while she balance on her knees an enormous basket in which she was carrying the biggest cat A qni- Hattie bad even seen the like of. The animal must have been part wildcat it was so restless, aud it kept nrowline- at Aunt Hattie and got her in such a nervous state that she had her Wood pressure, todav. No — the sxirl hadn’t got off at this station. Tony drove on again furiously. It grew coldqr as it grew darker, and the road continued to rise steadily, .winding between steep fir-crowded slopes. The snow, which had been fall­ ing lightly when Tony left town, was coming down, in earnest now. With one window open the icy blasts qia.de him turn up his coat collar. Wind tore. shrilly at the top of the car; clogging snow seemed to drag at the wheels. . It was good to see the lights of the next station and Tony was glad en­ ough to find he could get something 'hot to eat. He was chilled’ through. Between bites he put his usual ques­ tions. Yes, the man in charge remem­ bered the girl in green. “By cricky, but she was a putty one . . . smart too! And what she thought of that little yaller kitten she had with her! She made-a pitcher a- holdin’ if in her arms when Snappy here was carryin’ on the way dogs do when there’s a cat anywheres near­ by.” Welk he was still- on the right trail. Tony drove on with increasing diffi­ culty. After a while he began to be afraid that he was not' on the right, road. There were so few houses; And they were so dar back from the road that he hesitated to plow across the unbroken fields to ask directions. “Iths a real old-fashioned blizzard," he de­ cided. After what seemed hours of wall­ owing in the muffling white he was certain something was wrong. The only sensible thing to do was to turn around and make his way back to the ter of lights, dim in the distance. Lights meant a village. He- breathed easier. There must be a bus stop in Chapter XXV “Say*!” A big gruff man Jan had noticed getting oh last. night spoke sharply from the seat across the aisle, His, “More like a desert, though, real­ ly,” she thought, staring out at the long stretches of white snow Unbrok­ en even by trees. The Country must be a waste of barren rock when the S!’.?',” gCr.CJ Iv «. pvoaiuiv: UlUtall tlte underbrush was buried in drifts. For the first time since she had started on the trip, discourage- *ment overtook her. New York seem­ ed Very far away, and the bright warmth of the Devon Arms might well have been nothing but a dream. ‘‘Mama —• may I play with the kit­ ty?” asked ithe small girl who had fin­ ally abandoned all pretense of drink­ ing her milk. ...........- “.You’ll have to ask the lady, Helen. And be sure to say please,” Said the mother. “Plqathe?” the child, turning' i