THREE SHUTTERED HOUSES • By BEN AMES WILLIAMS C**»rt**— WWJ SHVKt THE STORY CHAPTER I.—Driving home through ■ rain, young, wcJMo do Clint -Fervicj picks up a girl, icar.tily clad, canning tn (error-stricken flight down the nid. She ride* a abort way a. leaves the ■car ard rur» into the woudt. Ha d« the and the spilled tablets were half-dissolved. There were three remain log la the bottle. June stood in tome consternation, td bar mother called: i was that? June, did you them?" tipped over the sottu, jut* «on(Seae to dissolve. "These are harm fhaa, June,” she urged. “Practi cally! And they do make me sleep.” laughed feverishly. "Twice •Shis many wouldn't really hurt rr.e, Jfcne.” Her eyes were haggard. "And I can't help it If I don't wfcaep, I go mad.” She drained the draft “That doea data atrong," she said with a faint grimace. “Now run, baby. Kiss w. and go. 1'il be asleep In a ealnute.” June kissed her, made her lie Mown, covered her over. She opened >■ one window s crack. Kitty Lea , ford was not a fresh-air addict June i locked at her and saw that she was ► Already half asleep. The girl r laurnad off the light and slipped ^ .-w way. [ Jk the head of the stairs she I yyHStil long enough to be sure the > wCbers were leaving. She heard - oneona slide the bolt on the front v Mm, beard Uncle Justus aay: *Tre fastened It Denman.” Ttten murmuring voices toward Mm kitchen. They all went out that end after S moment Grandpa -rs Grandma Harder returned to . gpe Into their own room, on the * m--* floor, in the east wing. Her ■ Mrthtr'i room and her own were in r Ma west wing, over the big ettting A deep uoeaainesa poeeesoed June. ’ JKhm her own door waa doted and Am war alone, she stood still, even ■ Aar eye.' unmoving. It might be, thought the sullen electric air , wshich made her thus rattiest and K *uL at a vague foreboding. S-V-GedwanUcd Gahraaised BoD Tfai and r—nhii and Woodwork A. T. Griffin Mi* Co. TO THE HE2LALD curm m June undressed slowly, listlessly. There was nothing In life as she knew it which could provoke her to eagerness. Her movements were automatic, her thoughts went round and round a familiar circle. I This wfas her world. These folk who had been here tonight, and Un cle Jim, who lived in the hut by the pond. She thought cf him now with a faint smile. There was sound mirth in him. He used to laugh at these people here; contrived nick names for them all to make June smile. Grandma Bowden was the Iran Hand, Aunt Evie the Velvet Glove. Grandma and Grandpa Har der were the Conquered Provinces. He never sought to make June laugh at her mother, she remem bered now. Once or twice she had tried to persuade Kitty Leaford to go with her to meet Unde Jim. "You’d like him. Mother,” she had urged. "I know you would-’’ But her mother would never go. The girl went mechanically about the business of preparing for the night. Her eyes drifted half-resent fully around the ugly room. She loosed her hair and brushed it slow ly for a while, watching her reflec tion in the mirror above the marble slab. The house long since was still. When at last she turned out her own light and opened one of the tall window's, the saw Aunt Evle’t house next door was dark and silent too. Also she saw, far off, a flicker in the sky; she even heard the rumble of thunder. Yet the storm might not come this way, or If it did, her mother might not waken. She got Into the big bed and lay without drawing any covering over her, for the night was hot, and the air was lifeless and still. The old house creaked ad around her; mice scur ried In the walls. She must have slept at last, and for as indeterminate time. It was a gust of wind which woke her, a sudden quickening In the tempo of the night. Then lightning etched a net of flame across the sky, and the crashing thunderstroke burst In her ears. June wee not afraid of thunder* showers; but her mother, despite the drug she had taken, might have welted; June decided to go In and see. She knew the older women would be. If she were awake, cower ing now, end crying out as though from eo actual physical pain. The girl got out of bed and crossed the haQ to her mother*! door. Without opening the door, she lis tened, but she heard no sound from within. Yet still June hesitated, un certain, uneasy for no reason. In the end aha opened the door and spoke softly Into the darkness. “Mother, are you all rightr* But there was no reply, and June wee - reassured. She wea about to return to her own room, whan light ning flashed again, close by. and the glare of it was bright in the win uuw u/ Pkikhj Jan* mw her mother tor this in stant, clearly. And when the lightning passed, the girl stnod still, her eyes dilated. There had been something alarm ing in her mother's posture, in the way she lay along the bed. With an abrupt movement June turned on the light, An air-current coming from the open window in her own room blew her door shut with a reverberating crash; and she leaped with dismay at the sudden sound. But her mother had not roused—did not move as June bent over the bed. Mrs. Leaford lay on her side, her head pillowed on her left arm; her right arm limp along the coverlets. June bad seen her In a drugged sleep before, and there was nothing patently alarming in her appear ance now. But though her mother lay on her side, her bead was turned so that her face was upward. The posture looked uncomfortable; and June very gently tried to move her mother's head to the left so that it might be at ease. But when June touched Kitty Lea ford’s check smeared with un guents, her heart turned cold. June caught her mother's shoul ders. She shook them; she cried: "Mother I Mother t” But Kitty Leaford made no re sponse. June might ss well have shaken a bolster loosely stuffed with sand. The girl backed away from the bed. her hands pressed to her lips. She turned and ran down the stairs to the telephone in the hall. The instrument was dead. She snapped on the hall light—en elec tric bulb hanging by one wire la the midst at the gea chandelier— and in that naked illumination she tried the telephone again, without response. Terror was clamoring in her; she tried to fight It down, to think what ■be should do. Or and p* and Grandma Hurdar wera asleep at the end of the hall, | but the knew there was no help is them. Eva if there were help any where. Then the electric light faded and died, aad June stood in the dark hall like a tomb. She eras stifled CASH TALES At Handley Motor Co. Dodge and Plymouth Dealers. Good Used Can and Troche At All Time#. Read the Want Ads. Thru I be electric light reded end died. by the blackness; she gasped for breath; and the front door blew open, banging against the wall, and the girl choked back a scream. She was swept by desperate and nameless terror; a gust of rain came sweeping in, and June ran blindly to meet it, out through the door, into the full beat of the rain. The touch of it was sweet and cool. Then she remembered that the tront door was always locked and boltad. Uncle Justus had bolted it tonight. Why had it opened of it self? Blind panic possessed her utterly; yet she dung to one thought; she must fetch Doctor Cabler. She might have roused Rab or Asa, asleep next door. Rab had even a car. But she took no time to think of these things. She was al ready racing across the lawn; she found the gate hi the hedge, and felt the smooth hard macadam under her feet, and ran swiftly. Occa sionally lightning flashes Illumined her way, kept her in tha road. She had'gone halfway to oocxo* Cabler’* house when a ear cams down the bin behind her. She tried to run taster, to escape this pur suer; but this was vain, and she turned off tba road, and fall, and scrambled to her feet and stood lfks a wild creature brought to bay. The car stopped beside her, and someone asked a question. She stammered something, for this was a man's voice, and June was not habituated to encounter strange man. But instantly, while be used some persuasion, the found hecaeU in the seat beside him. w# ATTEND MEETING J. A. Best, Supt. Public Welfare, Wayne County, went to Gastonia Sunday to take two crippled chil dren. He will also attend the 27th Annual convention of the North Carolina Conference of Social Ser vice, in Charlotte, which convene; Sunday night and runs through Tuesday. Mrs. Rutledge and Mrs. Campen from the Department of Public Wei fare, accompanied him. They wit ...» offered her his coat, but she 1 refused it Then this young man i beside her turned out the dash-light i so that darkness drew a protective i garment over her, and she was warm with gratitude to him. She said: “Thank you—" She watched him covertly, controlling her breath. He asked some question, suggest ing that she was afraid, end she told him that she was not afraid. Yet her knees were tlrenibling and j her fingers pressad her palms. He spoke again, but she did r.ct hear him. She watched the road, and at the beginning of the path through the wood to Doctor Cab ler’s house, she bade this young : man stop the car. Ho did so, and ' she alighted, and ran awny along , the path. But hidden in the wood, she stopped to look back; and she stayed there till he drove on, watch ing the headlights of his car till their glpam was lost behind a screen of trees. When he was gone, she stood like ore bereft, as though with him a | part of herself had departed too. i But then. In the darkness and the rain, terror returned to spur her on. She ran up the path and so came pounding on the Doctor's door. At length a flashlight’s beam came down the stairs; she could see it through the panel of the door. It struck her in the eyes through the glass; and at the same time the door opened. The light was In her eyes, and Doctor Cabler exclaimed: f ".Inn.1 find bless melM She whispered: “Come quick. Doctor Cablerl” “Come in, June," he commanded, and led her Into the hall and shut the door. “You're drenched. Whet la it?" “Oh, hurry, hurry!" sha cried. “It's Mother. She's deadl" The word on her own lips struck her like a blow. She had not till this moment shaped this word even in her thoughts. “Oh. hurry," she repeated; and thought in a dispas sionate apathy that the injunction was absurd. If her mother was dead, there could be no reason for haste. This had not occurred to her before. “Eh?" the Doctor exclaimed. "Dead?" "Yes," said June, fai an empty tone. Even though the admission convicted her of folly, convicted her of having loat her wits, of having run without tba slightest occasion half a mils through drenching rain, yet she bad no doubt th^t what s&l said was true. Kitty Leaford was dead. Of this, now, June was sure. (To Be Continued) be back in the office Wednesday morning. GIFTS J. C. Eagles of Wilson has do nated one registered Holstein bull I calf, one registered Guernsey heifer calf, and one registered Guernsey bull calf to 4-H Club boys of Wilson j county. De’.naon Williamson of the , Rock Ridge 4-H Club received the j Holstein bull calf. The other two animals will be placed later. I 51DE DRESSlfNT WlO NATCHBL SODA - $onny. OEM aoys KNOWS HOW TO MAKE A CROP WUTH TALKIN' RIGHT you arc. Uncle Natchel. Folks who side dress with Natural Chilean Nitrate of Soda do know how to make a crop worth talking about. Be sure you side dress with Natural Chilean Soda. It helps make plants strong aud healthy. Its quick acting nitrate gives them a nourishing ljjft just when it’s needed most, speeds them along and helps produce a fine crop on every acre—a crop worth talking about. Natural Soda costa no more. You can get |t anywhere. HATl&M-aztH N/71tAT£orSODA -THE NATURAL SIDE DRESSER ON YOUR RADIO! EajoytHoL'iicleNatrhelpTairain every Saturday night on WSB «a 1 WSM.and ovary Stuvljy aitemoon on WflVA, WPTF, WBT, Wt3. WDBO. W3FA. WAGE. HJUY. WJRD. WMCVWJDJC. K.WKB. WWL. BJECOBO Four-H. Club enrollment In the United States reached a new high In 1938, with 1,286 029 boys and Kiris listed as members in 74,584 local clubs. Aproximately 7.500,000 farm j youths have been trained in this: work since it was started in !9!4. Moulding and Columns Shingles and Laths Lumber and Woodwork i A. T. Griffin Mfg. Co. BUILD While The Weather is With You Let us tell you how easily you can finance a home oi your own through us Citizens Building & Loan Assn. CHAS. S. NORWOOD. 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I Ku&W O A'Utlan Cantina* eAatooaoblfc M»ih« oio jlWriomtU □ |ia9kk««c4B< Uartai Wrk □ fiUjitm PlMinc OBtld«o “ BrM«o Ut C%«Ak«rr SNoai kUotrta 1^1 MOT S—Uao FonoM 1 A Aoc*him»«o '01*# I .Vc«u, CUy.... ooanric H l>rM*iu«4|^ !>na«*Ultl« AJ, n!i.l M CirU a^rfw^tn. 3 Iwarfe, ,,4 Mtpats. auaiacaa toainin! oouaaca n tmr*» ■)«.uu fcly.“U □ rim Vw C«U««. AuMmo □ (aim onw*'1*" 3<-,.us«m» a Wait 5 M*1 C1M MitMC* couaai! l h» MIm r.iy—,iiv Ki.win tU. Miwimtu AgrtouJ OMr-a r Fruit Ofowtnn PmJU) Fu®m Q Otmd* I n Huh SektooJ «■*>•«■<■ f d C.»n«g* PraiHMmhory v □ IUuntmt«f - □ C*r4« Q i D Toadt oad CooWy n MliXlMry U ■ □ Tan Hw« «m»*I C-WHwte Miom"**"1 Calming ... ... w_—.PrcitM fiririok...-—’ W. S. TAYLOR, Local Representative Bov 783 Wilmington, N. C.