NEIGHBORS' ^flVES
' ERNEST LYNN, author oi THE YF.LLOW STUB
BBCilN IIRItK TODAY
John, and Fay Mllburn buy a .
home when their baby girl I* i
born and the advertising agen
cy iii which John It partner and j
copy writer lands a new cou- |
tract. Among their acquaint
ances are:
Noel and Vera Boyd, whose
marriage Is strictly "modern."
Pat and Marian^ Forbes, who
hare three children and whose
domestic life is unhappy be
cause of Pat's roving tendencies.
Previous chapters told how:
John was fascinated on meet
ing Nell Orme, of whom Pat
Forbes hints that she Is having
trouble with her husband.
Fay took Judith, the baby, j
to visit her parent* In Ashe
ville and during her absence
John "ran around" a good deal, '
mostly in company with Pat
Forbes. When Fay returned J
gossip had retailed some of hlB !
doings and sharp quarrels be- j
tween him and Fay followed, '
one of which drove him "but on !
a tear." Fay, learning he had
been out again with other wo
men, threatened to leave him !
if It was repeated.
| Jo)|u later encounters Nell
Oral? at the Boyd's ? a plot of
V Vfcr?>S?, who takes delight in pro
moting "affairs." He resolves
not to see her again, as he real
izes Nell is carrying him off his
feet. But he does and the day
comes when he takes her madly
in htf arms.
Fay learns of it and leaves
him. John closes the house and
takes an apartment, and here
one night comes Nell Orme to
tell of a quarrel with her hus
band. Howard, who suspects
John of having come between
tb?m. While John is talking
w.lth her the door opens and
Howard Orme enters.
NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY
(The name* and situations In.
this story are fictitious).
A CHAPTER LIV
John could do nothing hut
atare. And within him was the
knowledge of the futility of wor'ds.
? Terror had leaped to Nell
Orme'a eyes.
As for Howard Orme, the man's
face was quite terrible to behold.
The thin, straight line of his
mouth was even thinner and
stralghter because of the Bet
teeth. The muscles of his Jaw
stood out like great knots and his
eyes, narrowed In anger, blaied
like a cat's.
Of the two, John, despite the
false position he was in, was by
far the calmer. As for Nell, she
had backed against the wall and
stood there, a breathless specta
tor.
John was thinking. ?'He'll have
to aay the first word. 1 won't
make any apologies."
Howard, closing the door be
hind him and bracing his back
against It, looked slowly from
John to his wife and then hack
'\agaln to John.
i 1 "Well," he said firmly, his
S 'voice little louder than a whisper,
"I'm not surprised. I would have
bet money this was where I'd find
you two."
And then silence again. John, j
although the unfairness of the ar
rutation angered him. still stub- j
bornly refused to speak.
[ .Once more Howard stared at his
wife and shifted his gaze back'
again to the mau he thought had
dt*atroyed his hotue. And the;
muscles of his jaw began to work
land his mouth to tremble: the nar- 1
trowed eyes to blink.
J "You see." he cried at Nell. "I |
told you you were lying when you 1
denied your love affair with this I
man. You lied- -didn't you?" He
was trembling now. all over, a pit
iful figure.
i And quite suddenly he collapsed
and sank sprawling into the near
est chair. Nell spoke his name ?
"Howard" ? and at the sound of i
her voire a great sob escaped him
and he buried his faco In his
hands.
Nell at once started toward him.
her hands outstretched to comfort
him. but John whispered. "Walt, j
Let him have It out." and she re
mained where she was.
But Orme was not long In re
covering and John, as the other
slowly raised his head, said. "How
ard. do you want to listen to me?" ,
The words were as friendly, as
kindly as he knew how to make,
them, but why, asked Orme. hlsl
lips tightening again, should he i
listen to any inore lies?
i Wasn't this evidence enough for
hlra ? to come in on his wife In j
I another man's apartment, in an- ]
| other man'B arms? What did he i
have to listen to?
Hell! John didn't think he was
an ignorant kid. did he?
I John's own calm surprised even |
I himself.
"Well now. Howard," he began
placatingly. "I can't resent your
j thinking those things, even though
they're not true."
"Oh, don't lie, put In Orme
! wearily.
He wouldn't take the trouble to
lie, John told him.
"Howard, sometimes things can
look mighty different from what ,
they really are. I won't deny that ]
your wife and I have no business
to be here, that on the aurfaw
things look pretty rotten ? but
you're dead wrong, Just the same."
"Liar!" hissed Orme contemp-i
tuously. "Why don't you two ad
mit your rottenness and be done ;
with It? Why make It worse?"
Nell gasped. "Howard!" she
exclaimed, her eyes wide and Blar
ing.
And John, despite his resolu
tion to try to reason with Orme.
was forced to resent the man's
words.
"See here now." he said angrily,
"I refuse to get melodramatic
about this thing. I don't care for
lall the penny fireworks. You sim
ply don't know what you're talk
ing about."
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Orme. his face whitening. again
hurled the word liar at him.
"No wonder." he went on. glar- ;
ing at John, "your wife left you." j
John took a step toward him.
his face working, bunds twitching. ?
But Nell ran to his aide and put a
restraining hand on his arm.
"Please. John."
"Oh. I'm not going to hit him." ;
John cried.
He stopped and regarded the
other man with a cold stare.
"All right. Orme. I'll tuke that,
too. But that's about all. I'm
going to insist thut you listen to
me ? do you hear. Now your wife
here ? I won't deny that I have al- 1
ways liked her. but never for a
minute have I forgotten that she ;
was another man's wife or that I '
was married myself.
"I won't deny that I flirted with .
her--whlch I shouldn't have done. I
But none of the things you seem 1
to think, Orme. Not that, by the
I^ord eternal.
"You ought to know why she's
here tonight. You drove her to It.
She came running here, half hys
terical, afraid, to tell me that you
had struck her because she denied ,
some of your nasty accusatffriiM." |
In a lower tone, gently, "You
{struck her Howard- Was that |
right?"
I He was thinking, even then, of
I the night Fay had struck him. i
How strange th*? similarity be- 1
! tween their quarrel and the on?*
between the Ormes! He would
never forget that slap of Fay's not
as long as he lived. And how
.much worse for a man to strike a
I woman ?
Howard was saying, "Come now,
I I'm not to be fooled like this.
| What do you nuppose a Jury would
say ? finding you two here like
this?"
"I hope you'll listen to reason.
Howard," John told him, "and go
home with Nell and patch up your
quarrel. There's no good reason
why you two should go on like
this. Patch It up ? you'll b? hap-1
I pier; It will mean bo much to you."
"I'll patch It up all right ? patch
It up In a divorce court."
"Oh no. Howard;" Nell crl^d
out but Howard broke In, "I don't
care to listen to any more of your
Pollyanna advice."
"More of your cheap melodrama,
I eh?" John sneered, looking stcad
I ily at Orme.
I "Call it whatever you want to.
j I'm getlng a divorce and you.
I young mun, will be naimed. never
fear."
"So you'd drag thto through I ho
papers, would you. like some
cheap, f II f thy affair. You'd do
that." ? .
"You bet I'm going to do it.
duuin you!" HtAtard cried, and
again lie seemed on the point of
team. His hands twitched; his
face wan working; with the hack
of his hand he brushed impati< in
ly at his eyes.
"Well," and Milburn's Voice
was hard, "there** no excuse fur'
dragging your wife's nam
through the mud ? or utiue eith
er."
"You know I don't believe in
divorce, Howard." Neil .broke "in.
"If you want to split with me,
why not Just leave nie? I won't
ask anythiiiK of you."
And Howard, half sobbing
aKain. saying. "Oh. of cours. .
you'd both like to net out of the
mess you're in without being pun
ished. Hut I'm going to punish
you both. I'll tell every damned
thing I know to a lawyer."
"You'd better nut, Orine,"
John warned him.
"Well, try to stop me."
And no^* John had (surrendered
I completely to his anger.
I "If you insist on doing that.
lOrme ? do you hear me? ? If you
insist on that 1 believe I'd !>??
Itempted to kill you. 1 think I
| would kill you. Clod! I've stood
la lot, but I won't stand for this."
! Nell had gone over to her hus
j band's side and was plucking at
'his sleeve.
"Please, Howard,- he'a tellinv
the truth, the honest truth. Com- .
let's go home. Let's get out of
here."
She shot an agonized glance at
I John over her shoulder.
I "Come. Howard," she went on.
las Ormc began to push her away,
"please let's go home, and you
I sleep on It tonight and maybe in
(the morning you'll be ablo to
! think clearer."
"Think clearer! I'm thinking
'as clearly now as I'll ever think.
| Damn you. Mllburn," he cried, his
(voice breaking. "And you, too,
| Nell. Damn you both! I'll have
I you both in court? you see if I
j don't."
"You do," John told him, "and
j you'll regret it to your dying day. '
"You mean to say I haven't got
i the right to get a divorce? You'd
'better not butt in on my affairs
any more."
| And John, not knowing what
else to Bay, turned wearily away,
thinking, though, that if Ormc did
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uuiue into it, he'd i?c- tempted to
kill liliu.
' Oruie was snatching at his hat.
! "I ought to kill you.'' he was
(crying, and started toward the
| d?or, Nell after hlui. "I ought to
| kill you."
And John ? "Yew. I suppose bo,"
he said.
? ? ?
There wa? no sleep for him that
, tlight. CSoiug to bed watt not even
to be thought of. Hilt before sett- i
1 ling down in his arm chair he went '
| first to a closet and brought out
\ a bottle. ... i
I Over his glass he was reflecting
.that if Howard should do what he |
; had threatened to do and Kay1
^hould learn of it. lle'd sooner die
than live with the knowledge that
I she could think of hint as the kind
1 of man Howard would paiut him.
! "(?od!" he cried. "What have I
done that I should deserve all
this? It Isn't fair ? it isn't right, j
Fay, I'm innocent ? 1 swear It!"
And so the night wore on. What',
he wondered, was Howard Orma
doing now. Had Nell gone home
with him. and were they quarrel
ing again? What a pity that Nell
; should have this trouble on her
hands.
And yet Howard ? how could he
really blame the man? What
would he ? John ? have done had
he come upon his own wife in an
other man's apart nii-nt?
What a nasty, muddled thing
life was anyway. What trouble
rould be born of misunderstand
ing. And what was to become of
him?
He rose to pour himself another
drink. Wouldn't Nat Graham
gloat, he was thinking as he
? t i p)M*d the bottle, if he only knew
| of this.
Ho could hear a horse-drawn
'vehicle go clattering past his win
dow ? the milk man. most likely.
Funny that routine things should
? go on uninterruptedly llko this
while his own life was going to
smash. But that was the way of
tho world- -harsh, unfeeling, no
'one caring a rap for anyone else,
j Some time during the long
hours before dawn he went to his
bedroom uud opened the bureau
drawer where lay the little rub
ber doll that had belonKed to Ju
dith. He squeezed it hard. an>l
the toy emitted a faint squeak.
It was unbearable ? It tore no at
his heart.
He was glad when ho saw the
sun shining in at the window;
glad for the t \cii?*? of disrobing
and Jumping Into the tub. And
now, he thought, as he emerged
from his bath, unother day. with
more trouble In store.
On hra way to breakfast he
bought a newspaper, glancing at
the thing mechanically and with
no Idea whatever of reading. Hut
suddenly he stopped to stare at
the paper's ominous headlines,
which were proclaiming a thlni;
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EVELYN BRENT
in
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A([rfT?Mp to Krn
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