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PAGE FOURTEEN THE OSHAWA DAILY TIMES, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1940 5 THUNDER STANDS By VINCENT RICHARDS FROM [HE CHAPTER VIII Synopsis Len Rollins, tennis ace, dreamed of helping win the Davis Cup for America. Then he fell in love with Grace Worthington, , but Grace wouldn't marry a man who regard- ed tennis as his life's work. Len gave up his cherished ambitions-- partly because of his love for Grace and partly because of a bad injury to his ankle--and they were mar- ried. But when his recovery was complete he determined to play ten- nis again and won a place on the Davis Cup team. Grace and Len had an automobile accident just as he was to leave for Europe. Len determined to go--leaving Grace in the hospital as, he thought, on the road to recovery. Swanstrom, the non-playing captain, has just told Len and Clark ,another Cup player, that someone would have to upset Lefevre to bring back the Cup. She said softly, "A cut head, but not a big cut, Len. And this arm they tell me is bruised and there is perhaps a slight internal injury. Nothing to worry about, though, really. Jn a couple of days I'll be up and around again, good as new." He kept searching her face. Was she telling him the truth? Was she really hurt no worse than she claimed? "I telephoned your mother." She nodded. "I suppose she'd have thing?" Len shook his head. "I imagine she's all right, though, or I would have heard. Thanks." Swanstrom sat down on the edge guys has to upset the apple cart over there. If either of you can manage to beat Lefevre I think we'll bring back the cup." "Beat Lefevre! Now why not think up something hard," Clark responded loosely. "You know darn well Rollins here or I can take him we've--" any time we want to. It's just that! A celored porter appeared, carry ing a cablegram. "Mr. Rollins. suh?" Len took the envelope. He started unbelievingly at what he strom seemed miles away. GRACE BEING OPERATED UPON TODAY THOUGHT YOU SHOULD BE ADVISED EVEN AGAINST HER WISH- ES. DAN WORTHINGTON. Being operated upon! Why, why in the name of all that was holy hadn't he stayed with her instead of packing off to Europe this way? But he hadn't known; she had made it appear--the recollection came, starkly vivid and illuminat- ing, of how she had clung te him when she had kissed him good-bye She had known then, but had con- to know." "Yes, I thought so. here soon, I imagine." She smiled tremulously, placed her unbandaged hand over his. "Don't let them frighten you, Len. It might have happened rio matter who was at the wheel." They'll be "It was my fault." How difficult | it was to talk, breathe even, when your throat contracted like this and the backs of your eyeballs stung. "I was else." "I know," she sald. "So was I. I | murmured, | two years | was thinking," she "how. beautiful those were." "It's too late now." "I'm seeing Justin tomorrow." "It's no use, Len. You must go abroad. If you stayed now it would be from remorse, not because you wanted to." "That isn't true. not!" "You go to Europe. You must go, now. When you return we'll--" "Yes?" I don't know what we'll do, Len Perhape--" Maybe if we both have time to think it over some present itself. Gracie, don't you?" Very much, Len. And you?" He raised her hand to his bruised 'lips, kissed it gently. There were voices behind them. Honestly it's Mr, and Mrs. Worthington disre- | garded him, stood upon their only child. looking down Len with- thinking--of something "Other years will be as beauti- ful." solution will | You still love me, | cealed it from him. She had sent | him off to Europe though she knew | Clark's voice came to him strong | and clemr. "Good news, I hope fella." "No", Len replied dully, "not good. They're operating." turned and made his way t« cable office, sent a wire ask | more details. But no cable arrived | until late the next evening GRACE PASSED CRISIS COMFORTABLY DOCTORS LOOK FORWARD TO SPEEDY RECOVERY, DAN WORTHINGTON | Crisis! Then she must have been | pretty sick; people don't have crisi unléss--why in the name of ! rer | didn't the fools tell was all about? Darn it | her husband. {The bells tolled off the mid: | hour. The water was black; a ed. "How she's getting along or any- of Clark's chair. Staring out into | the ocean he said: "One of you two ! read, the voices of Clark and Swan- | stars and sky cold; the flags flap- ped dismally. * The day before the boat was to dock another cablegram signed by Dan Worthington arrived: OFFER STILL STANDS DON'T CONTEST DIVORCE AND CHECK FOR FIFTY THOUSAND 1S YOURS GRACE NEEDS CARE AND COMFORT MORE THAN EVER BEFORE AND RICH- ARD WHYTE STANDS READY TO OFFER HER THAT WHAT DO YOU SAY? Grace was through with him. | That last kiss then had been their last. A Judas kiss, in a way, How contemptible women were, how de- ceitful! Why hadn't she been hon- est about it? Why hadn't she told him the truth about her injuries? | Why hadn't she told him she want- ed a divorce? But perhaps it was all for the | best. With Richard Whyte she would be given the opportunity of returning to her old life, a life she loved as profoundly as she used to | accuse him of loving his. He took up a pencil and wrote on a blue #nd white square of paper: AM READY TO DO WHAT- EVER GRACE DESIRES HER HEALTH AND HAPPI- NESS PARAMOUNT DON'T WANT CHECK LEN | { was debarking at Havre | nessage arrived. He star- dumbly, hand trembling as urried around him. AM ARRANGING DIVORCE GRACE WRITING AM SEND- ING CHECK CARE DES- MOND HOTEL LONDON DAN WORTHINGTON It was all over, then. Well, he would forget her and throw himself ament playing. He would Beat him or die in He would practice igently. He was free to concentrate 1imself the greatest world had ever beating lefvre would tart in attaining the ambition. visualize the future Then Auteui 1ld win the Davis Cup After Auteuil, the Na- at Boston, probably is partner. Follow- would come the at Forest Hills the nation's tennis event of e would prove conclu- he was no mere flash in » would win the cham- The newspapers would evre., ttempt free t) the edon k as Doubl This CHRIS 0 drew to a far corner of the room. | He would not go to Europe, of course, even though she had not been seriously injured. His mind was made up. * +o He remained overnight at a near- by tourist house and spent practi- cally all of the next day: with Grace. At last it was time for him to leave for New York. The boat was sailing at midnight and he would have to go to the apartment first to get his clothes. Some of the color had returned to Grace's face and this encouraged him somewhat. But at the last min- ute he protested that he did not want to go, that the team could go to blazes, that France could keep the cup for all he cared. But she insisted that he should not change his plans. "You can't do anything for me here," she told him, and I probably wouldn't be allowed to go out to Indianapolis for a while anyway, after this. Besides, I'll not be pitied." They were alone when he sald good-bye, and for the first time since she had left him the coolness that had become so strong a barrier between them was gone, There was something frightened, desperate even, in the way she wished him "bon voyage." It startled and puz- zled him a little, With her one good arm she clung to him, held his head close to her, pressed her lips against his with abandon. Her face was wet against his. But when he drew away to look at her she smiled. He kissed her again lingeringly, passionately. And then he was walking down the short hall and out into the street, experiencing a sudden wave of self-disgust that was new to him. It remained, disturbing, cone demning, while an inner voice kept crying over and over again, cad, cad, cad." He did not once look back toward the hospital, but continued swiftly and surely toward the train that would take him to New York and the boat that was sailing at mid- night for Havre. * % * The ocean did not seem blue, the cool salty air lacking in the sweet and invigbrating qualities he had been told it possessed, the stars at night; were dim. In the deck /chair beside him re- Rolls Rough," Don y, you mug, sup- pose you werp in that hospital with your wife, what? Our chances for the cup'd go blooey." Dave Swanstrom joined them "Any word ffom your wife, RO] 1ins?" the non-playing captain ask- up Charlie's was saying. \ L] GREASE JOBS OIL CHANGES CAR WASHES Free Pick-Up BATTERY SERVICE McLELLAN'S RED INDIAN SERVICE STATION TMAS Time - REMEMBER - Real Service N-- Phone and Delivery 67 KING WEST No need to be cold! steady heat if you are burning YOUR WARMEST You can depend on an abundance of cleam, LEHIGH- ANTHRACITE This extra hard coal can be easily checked right down om mild days too--outting. your fuel costs. ~~ ' Its Silly To Be Chilly! VALLEY WINTER FRIEND 52 King Street East CONGER-LEHIGH COAL COMPANY, LTD. WALTER G. CORBEN, Manager Phone 871 sing his praises, compare him to the greats of other days. Thé Nationals over, he would be invited to Newport to play in the annual Fall tournament. A tele- gram undoubtedly would be for- warded to him from Berkeley-- Helen Wills home town--inviting him to take part in the tournament there. He would accept, of course. He would play not only in Berke- ley, but all along the Pacific coast -- San Francisco, Los Angeles, Pasadenf, Balboa, Del Monte, Agua | Caliente. : The South would call next While | winter snows shrouded the states above the Mason-Dixon line he and perhaps Don Clark and Wheatley would travel each week to a differ- ent southern city. In February they would play at Havana, and from Havana catch a boat to Bermuda. After Bermuda | medals? | life? Maybe. But I can't sell; there would be the usual lull of a few short weeks to allow them to | rest a while. Then they would plunge into intensive training for the Davis cup team. The check from Dan Worthing- ton he would return if it was sent to him. That he had determined He'd show them he wasn't quite as big a bum as they thought. He didn't need money. He crushed the cablegram into a | tight ball, walked to the rail and | 1 | colorful, | with a smashing overhead and a threw it Into the sea. At the rail outside Clark's cabin stood Frank Wheatley. "Hi, Rollins." His voice strange. He kept looking ou the water. "Nice," Len murmured. "Yes," Wheatley said, Sometimes it gets me." "What?" "The life we lead. Sometimes I think of settling down and getting married." Len, stood silent, thinking. "But what have I to offer a girl besides a lot of useless cups and I've only a few years left, at best. But what could I do if I gave up now? What can I do when I finally have to give it up? Sell. insurance the rest of my was t over "isn't it? the world's worst salesman. So what? If IT was lucky enough to find a job I'd have to start where the high school graduate starts, at the beginning. At thirty-two." % "That's not old," Len defended "You could turn pro." "I wouldn't have a chance against Tilden and Vines and that gang. I'm only on the cup team to- day, Rolly, because King and Rey- nolds turned pro. And I'm not very you know. Not like I'm just of screwball service. one those plodders who got to the top | tennis | I'm | you | by pulling pretty hard at the boot- straps. But now that I'm here, I | wonder if it was worth all the time | and effort and sacrifices. Where do |I go from here? When I'm all | washed up, I mean, Rolly." Len said: " I 'had two years of | the other life and I came back to | I just | | tennis, I didn't have to. wanted to; I like it better." "That's exactly the trouble. " Wheatley replied. "You like it bet- | it's like a you, | ter. I tell you, Rollins, narcotic; when it gets can't break away." Len shrugged. "You're lucky, an exception, Rol- lins. you keep your balance, who keeps you from letting the dope strong a hold upon you. You're managing to live two lives at the same time. Few, if any, of the rest of us can do that you can." "Frank--" nyes?" "Oh--never mind. It wasnt im- portant." No sense telling Frank that he wasn't an exception, that he hadn't been able to live two lives either. They'd all know soon nough. Everyone would know The Stade Roland Garros lies within the boundaies of Auteuil Row upon row of seats reach from | the eight-foot high wall to the top of the arena. In one corner is a you | You have a wife who helps | et too | I'm amazed that | huge score board where, from a tiny platform, the score is an- nounced through a microphone to those in the stands. At the oppos- ite end of the Stade is the runway leading into the dressing rooms. The entire matfquee is taken up by the courts lined with white chalk and rolled to the hard perfection of a billiard table. Now, from the stands at the Stade Roland Garros, as Len Rol- lins gazed out across the marquee to where Don Clark 'and Henry | Lefevre were warming up, came a { constant hum. Men and women of many nations and from all walks of life sat side by side watching intently the two gleaming white- clad figures upon the court, coms menting, gesticulating, praising. Henri Lefevre was not the great- est tennis player the world ever known, but he was certainly | the greatest volleyer. Untiring, quick on his feet, accurate, and a | he four had years. | remarkable recoverer, | reigned supreme for | Against him a point was never won | [until he failed to reach the ball, which was seldom. What appeared | to be kill shots when leaving the | racquets of his opponents were converted into points for Lefevre { by his uncanny abllity to get the | ball and return ft. | Clark seemed tense, but Len | knew that he would recover his | | | I had | poise when the match was under way. A stray ball came bounding toward Clark. He picked it up and idly tossed it toward Lefevre. The Frenchman nodded recognition, smiled, showing white teeth, They were ready to play at last and Len turned toward the rune way. Swanstrom did not allow the later players to watch previous matches. "Takes too much out of you," was the captain's explana tion. In an hour or an hour and a half, depending upon the bitter ness of the struggle out there be- tween Clark and Lefevre, Len would meet Letenour. If Clark could possibly rise to the heights and defeat Lefevre and if Len could down Letenour, and then Hughes and Wheatley could win tomorrow . . . ut Clark did not defeat Lefevre, The matrh was over in an hour and ten minutes. France had drawn first blood. Lefevre was vic- torious, 6-4, 6-3, 6-8, 6-3. The racquet was light and airy in Len's hand as he walked from the clubhouse. He was conscious of his white flannel coat with its red, white and blue shield. It inspired a certain ease, a confidence. He could tell from the way he was | hitting the ball while warming up the tall, well-built Letenour (Continued on Page 16, Col. 1) that REWARD! FOR THE LOVELIEST GIRL IN THE WORLD 'ashionable neve color, stunningly Jominine. 17 eo, $4730 © Give her a real surprise this Christmas--an Elgin "De Luxe!" 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