“TOO WISE TO MARRY”

Manawatu Times, Volume 63, Issue 49, 28 February 1938, Page 9

“TOO WISE TO MARRY”

Synopsis of Preceding Instalments: Sterling Lord’s wife gets a divorce when Bomanza is 4 years old. Lord becomes New York’s foremost divorce lawyer and Bomanza, at 23. is a member of his firm. Justin (Dusty) Rhodes, whose father was Lord’s college mate, gets a job with a rival law firm. At the Lords’ Long Island home he meets Aliah Sandell, popular radio singer, and Dr. David Tree, a neighbour, already famous as a surgeon at 32. Bomanza wins a divorce for a husband whose wife Dusty represents and Romanza’s picture appears in every paper. Aliah retains Dusty in a suit for divorce from honest Jim Sandell, wealthy contractor. Jim goes to retain Lord but in his absence tells Bomanza Aliah’s evidence is a frame-up and agrees to her handling his case. Previously Frank Talmadge, young Sandell employee, had shot himself ut Aliah’s penthouse door. At the hospital he tells Bomanza Aliah vamped him into planting a woman in her husband’s room at his club, then laughed at him. Frightened now, she offers him 10,000 dollars to disappear but he says he will testify for Sandell who took him out of the bread line. When Bomanza pleads with Dusty to drop the crooked case he refuses angrily. Bomanza produces damaging evidence about Aliah’s early life, but Talmadge admits his father died in an insane sylum and Judge Cassinelli, evidently prejudiced, decides in Aliah’s favour. Bomanza has a dinner date with Dusty, the loser of the case to pay the check. She faints in her office where Dr. Tree finds her. He takes her to a hospital. INSTALMENT 26. For days Bomanza lay In her room at St. Lake's, fighting the nervous breakdown that held her in its clutches. Hour after hour she would lie on a stupor, scarcely realising where she was. Then she would lose consciousness again and David would sit beside her, forgetting to cat until a nurse brought something from the diet kitchen and placed it before him.. He grew haggard with the strain. Sterling Lord, haunting the hospital day and night in the hope of good news from his daughter’s bedside, made no attempt to work. When Bomanza Taved in her delirium he would grow ill with the fear that her mind might be permanently impaired. In two weeks, she rallied, and one morning after David had slept a few hours at the hospital he went in to find her in the first natural sleep she had known since her collapse. Miss Barnett met him smiling, a finger to her lips.

'‘The crisis has passed,l believe, Doctor,” she said. 'I didn’t want to wake you. You were so tired.’ ’

David bent over Bomanza to listen to her heart. It was beating almost naturally. He stood up, smiling for the first time in days. "I believe you’re right. When did you first notice the change!” "About five this morning, Miss Lord opened her eyes and asked where she was. When I explained she was in St. Luke’s and that you had brought her here, it seemed to reassure her. Bhe said, ‘Good old David,' and turned over on her side and went to sleep.” David’s relief was so great he threw himself in a chair to pass his hand over his forehead, tiredly. "No one outside of yourself and Miss Barnett knows who Miss Lord is, do they!” '•Not another soul,” the little mid-dle-aged nurse replied, shaking her head. "And you know the secret is safe with us.” "That’s the reason I asked yon,” Dr. Tree smiled. "It is an honour to have you trust me.” The woman’s voice caught. ‘T hope I shall always be worthy of it.” The day before Christmas, David decided Bomanza was well enough to go home. A week of natural sleep and absolute quiet had brought a little of the colour back into her cheeks. Time had erased a little of the pain of her failure in the Sandell case, and she was able to think of it without fearing hysterics. In David’s car, Bomanza snuggled close to him, getting strength from his old familiar laugh and the smile of the deep-set gray eyes on her face. "How could I over do without you, David!” Bomanza said once when they paused in traffic. "Nicely, you little man-hater.” David grinned at her teasingly. She was thoughtful for a moment, thinking of Dusty and wondering if he had ever gotten around to keeping his date with her the night of his victory. David might know. "Has anyone heard from Dusty Bhodes!” she asked, suddenly, and felt David stiffen. For a moment ho was silent, looking straight ahead. Then he said lightly, "Oh, that’s right—you haven’t seen a newspaper for a few weeks, have von!” “Nary a one—what’s the news!” Bomanza watched his face closely. She knew David was forced to tell her something he would rather keep to himself. He turned his head, pretending to be interested in the Long Island scenery. "Didn’t any of us tell you the scandal!” he said, still not looking at the girl beside him. "Dusty and Miss Sandell were married the day after the triaL' ’ For a few seconds Bomanza seemed unable to take in the meaning of David’s words. He waited, fearfully, hardly daring to look at her face. If she were in love with Dusty Bhodes, the blow, might set her back weeks in her recovery. Finally Bomanza got her bearings. "Married! Dusty married to Aliah Sandell! I can’t believe it!”

(By Alma Sioux Scarberry) Instalment 26

,+»»»»»»♦♦♦♦♦»»♦♦♦«tern "They flew to Florida in a blaze of glory and publicity the next afternoon. Judge Cassinelli tied the bonds of holy matrimony, and sent them off with his blessing. ' Young Lawyer Makes Good; Marries Rich Beauty,’ raved the headlines. It read like an Alger story.” David was relieved when Bomanza laughed. At first a little hysterically—then as though she really enjoyed the joke. When she could control her mirth she shook her head wonderingly. "David, this cockeyed old silly world is getting goofier every day.” "Sometimes I think so myself,” he agreed, smiling again, his heart light with relief that Bomanza had taken the news of Dusty Bhodes’ marriage as something funny instead of tragic. "I imagine Jim Sandell thinks that’s all the revenge he needs.” Bomanza sighed then. "It would be my idea of a splendid way to get back at an enemy—marrying him off to the gal that had done so much dirty work to me.” "I wonder—how it all happened?” Bomanza said, almost to herself. "It’s the last thing in the world I’d ever expect Aliah Sandell do—marry Dusty Rhodes.” David shook his head. "You figure it out.” Suddenly Bomanza jumped. ‘T know ” she said, excitedly. "I know how it all happened.” "Riddle me this.” David looked interested. ‘ ‘ Aliah Sandell married Dusty Rhodes—because she thought I was in love with him!” David raised his brows. "Not such bad feminine deduction. Shall I confess—l thought you might be in love with the young barrister myself! You acted very strangely at times, my dear.” Bomanza nodded. “I know—l believe father thought so, too. And to be very honest with you, when I got over being so mad at Dnsty for saying I was too beautiful to have brains, I worried so about him it had me a little groggy. Now I know it was my sympathy getting the better of me. I thought he was going to make a fool of himself—and I wanted to save him. ’' "Your maternal instinct,” David said, knowingly. "Even man-haters have it when they think a poor innocent male is getting into the clutches of a siren.”

"I was right.” Bomanza said, defensively. *'He needed some one to look after him. It’s a crime—the way Aliah Sandell took him in. He married her for her money and fame, of course, so ho wasn’t worthy of my interest, really though.” "Just a gigolo,” David sang under his breath.

"I guess he thought a rich wife was the shortest cut to fame and fortune. Dusty Bhodes always was ambitious—greedy for money. I suspected that from the night I saw him at the opening of the 'Radio Follies’ with Aliah.” "As one psychologist to another,” David confessed then, "I suspected myself that Mr Bhodes had a celebrity complex. He picked up his cars and scented a big name like a bloodhound, every time he saw one a block away. I was hoping you’d see through him in time. ’ ’

"You didn’t think I’d go so far as to fall in love,” Bomanza smiled amusedly. "David, I guess I never will be able to convince you I’m too wise to marry—till I die an old maid and you see me placed in my yirginial grave. ” David shook his head wisely.

"You’ll fall for some poor, helpless youngster some of these days and throw up everything—career, luxury and happy home—all for love.” Bomanza laughed derisively. Then she remembered Pat.

"Drive by the Caseys* please, David,” she said. ‘‘Just for a minute. I want to ask Pat and Mike to come over and help trim the tree to-night. It wouldn’t be Christmas without Patsy.” David nodded. He was silent for a moment. Then he said quietly, "You haven’t heard about Pat either, have you!” (To be Continued.)