“LOVE COMES LAST”

Manawatu Times, Volume 65, Issue 95, 22 April 1940, Page 9

“LOVE COMES LAST”

Instalment 29.

Synopsis of Preceding Instalments. Laura Wiley, successful as BRY an* nouncer, and a fiction writer, is in love with Andy Cooper. When her sister Nina, now 21, a heart trouble victim whom she has always coddled, falls in love with Andy, Laura tells Andy she doesn’t Jove him and Andy decides to play her game—pretend to love Niua. Just then Bartley Ford, to]s-rank New York advertising man, comes to Nowbury to seo about taking over Andy’s agency and making him an executive, and he iirst secs Laura as she weeps at her studio desk. Andy opens a Ford branch at Bridgebaven and Laura accepts Ford’s offer to go to New York. As Andy battles a holdup man, Nina is shot defending him and when she recovers ho marries her. While Bart and Laura are at Dale Cromwell’s for a week-end, ho tells her ho lovos her. Laura lands tho big Spring Dawn cosmetics contract, is to write the script for their radio serial and goes to Dale’s to start it. Dale’s daughter Hannah warns her to keep away from Bart and slaps her, then apologizes. Fearing Nina overheard them when she and Andy met secretly and told him they must never meet again alone, Laura tolls Nina she is engaged to Bart. Overjoyed, Bart plans to fly to Virginia to marry at once but Dale summons them when Hannah wrecks her car and a man with her is killed. Dale suspects ho was a dope peddler. Nina dies suddenly. Laura’s discovery that Brer. Phillips, Ford’s hear man who killed in an auto crash, was a marijuana cigarette addict leads her to suspect Hannah. While Bart and Laura are in his apartment listening to a new radio programme, Hannah enters.

Bart jumped to his feet, at onco tliQ genial host. ‘ ‘ Glad to see you, Hannah. Take off your hat. You’re just in time for the postmortems. ” “That’s funny,” Hannah said, cryptically, “I was thinking the same thing.” She left her hat ou, settled into a chair and sat there tapping her purse with restless fingers. There was in her eyes something reminiscent of two unpleasant experiences and Laura found herself curiously fascinated by that nervous drumming of slim fingers on the familiar black purse. Ignoring Hannah’s apparently pointless remark, Bart said, “We were just listening to a new radio show, one of our own.” Ho made a tragic face. “It was pretty awful.” “What a shame,” Hannah said. “Not one of your gems, was it Laura!” “As it happens,” Laura smiled, “it wasn’t. But it might have been. You never know horn, a show’s going over until you hear it on the air.” “How interesting.” If she would only quit that silly tapping, Laura thought. It was a rapid, rhythmic movement of four fingers .. . one, two, three, four . . . one, two, three, four . . . over and over. Bart lit a cigarette. “How is Dale, Hannah?” he asked, quietly. “You might tell him I’m planning a vacation a long one. I’d like to have him com in and take lunch with me so I coul< tell him about it.” “A vacation?” Hannah repeated The set smilo had faded. “Where ar you going?” “All over.” lie made a sweepin gesture. “All my life I’ve been grind ing away at a job. Now I’m to cu loose and have some fun.” For a moment Hannah’s clouded eye fastened on Laura, theu swung back t Bart. “You won’t have much fun rut ning around the world alone,” she saic 11 It takes two to make a party. ’ ’ If Laura’s eyes could have caugh Bart’s she might have stopped him, bu Bart was looking upward watching spiral of smoko and he said with a hal smile, “I’m not going alone.” “Oh—l see.” The tapping slowe for a moment, speeded up again. “An one I know going along?” Bart turned to Laura, laughing sof ly. “Shall we tell her?” Laura thought: Why shouldn’t u tell her? 1 shan’t let this girl intcrfei with my life. She said, almost sweetl; “You’re one of the first to be tol Hannah. Bart and I aro going to 1 married.” The nervous fingers were no longi tapping, they lay flat, pressed dou hard against the purse. I “You’ll understand, I think, if withhold my congratulations.” Ha nah said. The colour had drained;fro her face, but she seemed entirely call “Have you,” she asked, lightly, “to Bart about your affair with your si husband?” “Hannah—l ” “.Stay out of this, Bart.” “I’ve no intention, of staying out it. You don’t know what you’re sa Laura said, “Never inind, Bart . . Suppose you tell him about it, Ha nah. ’ ’ “You bet I will.” Sho said to Ba “She’s not in love with you. She’s love with her brother-in-law and t night he and Nina were at the hoc she slipped away and met him at t boathouse. ’ ’ Somewhere a bell jangled and : stantly Bart was ou liis feet. “I fuse to listen to any more of this m sense, Hannah,” he said. “If you cs to be pleasant, we will be glad to ha you stay. Otherwise I must ask you leave.” Ho started to leave the room, t Hannah moved backward swiftly a stood between him and the entry way, “Go back and sit down, Bart.” “There’s some one at the door, Hs nah. Will you move to one si' please ? ’ ’ er “Go back aud sit down,” she an poateri evenly. a Bart thought, “She’s raving mad t: But when at last his gazo fell on 1 open purse and tho blue-steel revolv at lie stepped back as if he had be struck.

(By Julie Anne Moore)

il Hannah—are you out of your mind! « Put that thing up, instantly.’’ \ Hannah smiled. It was a smile Laura i wouldn’t forget for a long time. ‘‘l j don’t want to hurt you, Bart,” Hail- j nah told him. “And I won’t —if I cau i help it. Get back over there —no, not j near her.” i From the doorway at Hannah’s back, j Kato announced, “Gentleman to sec | Mr. Ford. ’ ’ Hannah did not move. sShe apparently assumed Ivato could not seo tho re- . volvcr, for she said, quietly, “Tell the i gentleman Mr. Ford is not at home, Kato. ’ ’ But Kato's nose for trouble had divined the situation. Ho barely blinked . as ho said, “Yes, miss,” and vanished. : Hannah moved forward, slowly. “Will you put that gun away?” , Bart said again. It was tho first time in his life ho had faced the business | end of a revolver and it did something to his nerves. “Presently,” Hannah replied. “But not just yet. I want to ask Laura a few questions first and if you’re wise. You won’t interfere, Bart.” She turned to Laura, said, “Make no mistake about it, Laura, I’m going to use this. But you can’t say I didn’t give you fair warning. Remember what I said to you that night in the Romney police station?” <*> <§> Tho train was five minutes late getting into Grand Central, but five minutes more or less meant nothing to Andy. He bad come without baggage because either ho would seo Bartley | Ford to-night or ho would go back and send his resignation in by mail. That much he had definitely decided. Ho owed it to Ford to make the effort to seo him personally and explain that circumstances made it necessary for him to resign. If he saw Ford, line . If he didn’t, a letter would have to serve. Ho was leaving the Bridgehaven office not later than the first and it would be up to Ford to find some one to take his place. He picked his way through the restless crowd to the telephone booths, thumbed the pages of the thick directory and found Ford’s number. As his eyes fixed on the address he realized that Ford’s apartment was not more than five minutes’ walk from Grand Central. Should ho telephone, Ford might offer some excuse or proposo conference to-morrow . . . The sooner this was over and he was out of New York, the better. Slightly more than five minutes later, he stepped from the elevator, followed tho operator’s directions, and pushed the bell button. Just how he was going to tell Ford, he didn’t know. Tho man had been decent enough to him and he hoped ho would not make it difficult. After all, a fellow had a right to quit his job provided he gave reasonalblc notice. The door opened and a Japanese servant stood there bowing. Andy gave his name. It seemed a long wait before the door opened again, but when it did, there was action; the little Jap literally leaped into the hall, hissing in a strained whisper:

“The police—get police quick! Miss | Cromwell has gun —will kill Mr. Ford . . . tho police iu a great hurry!” Andy caught his shoulders and shook him. “Wait a minute —what’s this all about? Who’s iu there beside Ford and Miss Cromwell?’’ 1 Kato said, * * Miss Wiley in tkorc, also, but Miss Cromwell will kill Mr. ' Ford. You must get policel” “Listen,” Andy said, shaking a fin* 5 ger before the man’s nose. “Never * mind the police. Show me in.” The servant stepped inside, opened a • door on the right ar. l pointed down a short, narrow hall. Through tho open t doorway at the end of this hall came t the sound of a woman’s voice, i Andy closed the first entry door after “ him, moved softly along the hall and halted just inside the doorway that 1 opened on Bartley Ford’s big living- / room. Laura was seated near a window on the opposite side of the big room. At least ten feet away Bart stood, a hand e on the back of the settee. Facing them, c her back to him, Andy saw tho slim r girl he had met at Dale Cromwell’s. To all appearances, it was a quiet group ,q engaged in idle conversation, but Andy knew the little Jap hadn’t been so exc cited as that over nothing. n No one had noticed him as yet and he thought: I could walk up behind her l and pin her arms to her sides, but one x . of the others would probably give me u I away before I got there. t He stepped into the room, smiling a j greeting to dll present. “Hope you 3 . don’t mind my coming in,” he said. “How are you, Laura, Mr. Ford.” At the first sound of his voice, Han nah had wheeled, braced herself. )t Andy said, “Oh, how do you do— Miss Cromwell, isn’t it?” From a dis tance of perhaps fifteen feet, he was gazing down the barrel of a revolver but nothing iu his face said that h< saw it. But when ho had reduced th< t distance by live feet, Hannah said: ’ “Stop ... If you take anothc step I’ll shoot.” ie “She’s not joking, Andy,” Laura 10 said, quickly. “Do as she says.’’ ‘ e Hannah said, “You’re not supposed to be in this and you’d better not try n ' to interfere.” She gestured. “Get e * over there against the wall—and don’t n * argue.” ro Andy though: Tho girl is stark mad. /e The leaden eyes, the utter absence of nervous reaction testified to that. There was a deadly calm about her. A somnainbulist about to kill in bis sleep would look like that. His gaze flickered over Laura’s drawn, bloodless face, rested for an in* n- stant on Bartley Ford who stood transit, fixed, nails digging into the settee, came back to llaunah Cromwell as she e- spoke again: “Arc you going to do as I say —or ” not?” he Until this moment he hadn’t con;r, sidered any heroic defiance of her com* in mand but now he saw that, as they were, they formed a triangle about tho

girl which made it impossible for her to watch the three of them at once. It was an advantage they could not afford to lose. But Hannah had uttered her last warning. A sharp -edge ran aJong his nerves as ho saw the muzzle of the gun rising, slowly . . . Then, in a flick of an eye, the whole situation had changed. Laura was ou her feet, lunging forward, screaming at. the top of her voice, and Hannah was no longer pointing the gnu at Andy but calmly drawing a bead on the inarcasite pin on Laura's breast. I Andy had a fleeting impression of a I rigid figure clinging to the settee. He I saw it, noted it and would think of it i again, but lie would never be sure, tor I when Bartley Ford flashed across his I vision, Andy was clear of the floor in a flying leap for Hannah Cromwell’s legs. (To be continued.)