| Show I ff wain Erna 1925 by Vice 1 I IU I II IW l BEGIN HERE HER TODAY Barbara Hawley 25 jilts Bruce Bruc Reynolds architect because sh she wants to see life She jets gets ets a job of on the Salt Lake Telegram Bruce joins join the firm of Manners Stone Reynolds Reyn Reynolds Reynolds olds promoting Vale Acres H He meets Lydia Stacy rich widow who wh becom becomes s infatuated with him Barbara covering a suicide finds find finda a red scarf she recognizes las as as Mrs Sta Stacy's ys Mrs 1 Stacy likes Bruce buhe but bu buthe buthe he refuses her advances so she tells tell Andrew McDermott editor of ot th the Telegram that Vale Acres i is crooked A member absconds am amBruce and Bruce Is indicted Bruce is cleared cleare after Mrs Stacy has been forced force to testify by Barbara who confronts confront her with the scarf Bruce despairs of winning Barbara Bar Bar- barn bam and weds Violetta pr Cranby factory factory fac faa tory girl Barbara Advised in th the Telegram lovelorn column McDermott's McDermott's Mc- Mc Dermott's daughter daught r Fancy who has ha shared Barbaras Barbara's apartment elopes elope with Jerome Ball against Barbaras Barbara's advice Violetta and Bruce have a achild child Barbara leaves Salt Lake tc to Join the staff of Footlights magazine magazine maga maga- zine in New York Elizabeth Furnivall single at 40 becomes Barbaras Barbara's friend at th the Footlights office She is hurt when whet Barbara moves to Greenwich Village Vii Vil lage on the advice of t Maria It ia Capri free verse writer Maria Marla steals tb the diamond dl-amond rings Barbaras Barbara's mother let left her Barbara is invited to a studio party by Daisy Olivero actress That day Barbara finds Miss Furnivall Furni- Furni vall all dead from gas Barbara h in desperation goes to Daisy's party part hoping to forget Ramon futurist painter takes a fancy to tc Barbara to to Daisy's disgust But Bus Barbara sees him dipping his fingers finn fin gers gelS into the salad bowl NOW GO ON WITH TH THE E STORY CHAPTER LIU Talk languished while food occupied oc oc- occupied occupied oc- oc the attention of t the party Barbara found an ottoman in a corner corner cor cor- ner and sank down upon it lt She could not eat Words drifted toward her hel from time to time time self aura sublimation The bearded man and Thomas Higgins seemed to be keepin keeping keep- keep in ing up the conversation chiefly One of the girls In black had gone frankly to sleep on the floor andt and il e t e other was drinking too man many cocktails and arid laughing shrilly between between between be be- be- be tween drinks Daisy Olivero was not playing therole the therol therole rol role of orthodoX hostess She stood moodily b by the window for long pe periods periods periods pe- pe of ot time only turning when someone a remark to her A cuckoo clock bloe loC C piped up twelve strokes What a a silly sill thing for fo you iou to have hii-e Daisy cried Thomas Higgins I thought cuckoo clocks lived lived only in Victorian parlors along tong with haircloth sofas and wax flowers Daisy turned on him Cuckoo clocks can tell people when to to go home tome as lS well wen as any other kind of clock flock she she flared Thomas Higgins looked at her so soberly so- so berl berly Well Veil he drawled that hour tour lour has evidently struck for me nie at Lt least And I dont don't think the rest of pf the gang Is particularly welcome welcome wel wel- come fome either The girl girt in black raised her voice Who Vho says Im I'm not welcome Im I'm sure lure Daisy wants me e here dont don't you pou Daisy d darling Miss Olivero did not deign to an an- HIggins ins str struggled to his feet and stepped over the body of f the sleeping sleep- sleep ing ns rug girl on the floor Ill be go going gong gong go- go ing ng he drawled Somebody order my ny coach and six The test rest of the crowd followed tim him Barbara evaded the efforts of Ramon to follow flier ner er Ive had a pleasant time Miss Olivero she said laid In the hallway hallwa You must some come and see me sometime Thank you I neVer newer make calls replied her hostess Good night Oh Miss Hawley Guinevere Ramon namon was shouting after Barbara is as s she ran down the steps She ran Ull till faster taster When she reached the outside door she heard the voice of Ramon tamon and Miss 1 Olivero in sharp altercation above She ran out Into the street and flown down to the taxi stand at the cor- cor ner er As her cab passed Miss Obi OH- eros rero's building she saw Ramon Hanson standing landing on the stoop looking erly up and down the street When Barbara reached home she sheathed bathed and washed h her l hair hall so th that t tIt It t no longer smelled of Incense and stale tale tobacco The win winter leI months crept away shit their long nights and murky murk lawns dawns Barbara went to work morning after morning before the og had d risen over ovel Manhattan l Miss Furnivall's death had left a shortage hortage in the Footlights Fo staff stat that lad had not been filled Barbara found most Lost of Miss i Furnivall's work added to o her own duties But by this time I she he had become acquainted with the system of the magazine so that sh she corked more easily and rapidly Miller l had apparently accepted her ler er as his main malt helper Two Increases In- In Teases creases in her pay check and im important assignments that came fre- fre put Hit her at ease as fiS to her deco on the staff Miller l came into her office one day In conversational mood Funny thing he ho said lounging o oes' oes on oty her es' es des desk they never found rf cratch in Betsy alls all's belong belong- Ins s rigs to indicate why she killed her lier- self elf I All her letters had been de destroyed deV before she died dle And An he hc personal effects were put in tn order ordet She the must have been planning t tt tha a suicide for days B Barbara frowned I shall alwa always responsible for her death Mr Ir Miller I think my g gown down own to the Village was the la lal laut It t tract straw Wed We'd been good friends u uA- uA then but after attN that she neve neve seem seemed d cordial again t Miller nodded Yes when the theet they get et as ns old as Betsy without any amily easily of their theil own they get queer quee Never lever knew it to fall fail She probably bably lung clung to you as her last friend and when you left her well her well the whole force area of or her loneliness just bumped her ler er off Too bad but you certainly cannot annot be blamed Everybody has hasi o i live his own life Jn to n this world And just because a bad had choice shed she'd no right to make you OU pay for it it Barbara sighed March Maich came in ih with and clouds of dust The city shiv i ered and braced Its shoulders and pr prayed ed for spring to come And th the street sweepers struggled to clear clear- the pavements of ot the slime left by the winters winter's snows One Saturday In March Barbara came Into the office with with witha a a. dull headache Tho air all outside was soft between gusts and tho green grocers grocers grocers gro gro- cers were beginning to to put new radishes and tender tendel lettuce in their windows Barbara sat at her desk head in hands thinking of nothing The Theoffice Theoffice Theoffice office boy brought brought- In the mail mall and jumped at her laughing to see herr her start But she at hint without without without with with- out her usual ready really smile and he left the room room hastily Barbara opened her mail It contained coh- coh con cos- tamed nothing but bills and abd pub publicity sheets She threw It In a basket and rose ros reaching reaching- for her hei hat and coat It was nearly noon hI IM tho street str et outside she walked slow slowly There was a little tittle tea room around tho the corner that she sometImes sometimes sometimes some some- times visited Here she found a table In a dark corn corner r and ordered salad and anel sandwiches The tea tearoom tearoom tearoom room had not not yet o begun to fill WI up and Barbara had tho corner to her set self The waitress brought a dainty tray and set et the dishes before Bar Bar- bara bary She Sho began to ea eat eaf with ef ef- ef fort The salad ok d delicious but she pushed It awa away The sandwiches sandwiches sandwiches sand sand- met the s same same mo fate 0 Only Olly the he coffee seemed ned to satisfy her Women began to come into the shop in groups Some of ot them themore wore ore flowers flower's and all aIr of them were dressed according to last spring modes mode r It was not a shop extensively extensively extensively exten exten- patronized b by working wo woo men The s soft ft m murmur of cultivated voices began egan and waitresses began to scurry silently about with trays of delicately ly t tempting food Ba Barbara bara looked about her at the r T pretty clothes She herself was still wearing a winter hat She rose hastily paid her bill bili and fled Tho The spell of spring had ad touched the streets Nobody seemed to be going anywhere especially and groups formed on the street corners cornelS cornel'S corners cor cor- ners nelS to tall talk Barbara wandered on alone her head still throbbing dully At the corner of eighth Forty street she did not turn toward the theoffice office At the corner of U the C street st Barbara Barbara Bar Bar- Bar I bara found a flower stand banked ed edwith with hyacinths in pots and narcissus narcissus narcissus nar nar- and daffodils in vases The lavenders and pale yellows shone against the dull grays of the street Barbara stopped a moment to look ook at the flowers The hyacinths were as fragrant as as those that bloomed boomed long ago beneath the railIng railing railing rail rail- ing of her hel mothers mother's front porch in Salt Lake How lIow much for the hyacinths she said to the man in charge of the stand ones cents ones dollar apiece Barbara selected a hyacinth with two pink spires of blossom Wrap this up please The man went away to get paper Someone beside side Barbara called her by name br breathlessly I Barbara looked up Why y Barbara Barbala dear It was Fancy McDermott Why how ill I you look Babs Barbara stammered slightly fu fu- fu I em-I rious with herself ersel for feeling em em- Im not ill III Fancy Iancy Its It's good to see you you Good Im I'm tickled silly How Howlong Howlong Howlong long have you been in New York Dad didn't tell tell- tell me me Perhaps he thought It wouldn't matter to you Barbara stopped short biting her lips Fancy put her hand on Barbaras Barbara's shoulder I He knew better than that Babs she said haid softly Th Then n with In Increased increased increased in- in creased gaiety Come on out home with me now and stay for dinner Im I'm dying for you OU to see sec my cute place Barbara glanced at Fancy's left lefthand hand Fancy ancy was vas not wearing a wedding ring She had not spoken of Jerome Why yes Fanc Fancy Id I'd like to I Iwas Iwas Iwas was wondering what to do with a dull Saturday afternoon Where do you live Fancy dimpled ed L On Riverside drive Isn't that gorgeous Its Its It's just a little bird cage of ot a kitchenette kitchenette kitchen kitchen- ette but so cute all ivory and blue And everything electric and easy to work with You'll never believe Im I'm a good housekeeper will you Barbara Barbala laughed Ill IU believe it When I see Bee you at work sh she said They caught a Riverside bus on Fifth avenue and took seats on top Fancy chattered in incessantly asking questions about Barbaras Barbara's work and an about friends they had in common Barbara answered quietly quiet quiet- ly No mention o of ot their last meet- meet ins inc was made Central park was na flaur flaun banners of young green r spicy spi spring ing s smell mell from t greeted them as the greenlY bus past the park At Ope One Hundred and T Tel Fancy rang the bull bell iT 1 T corner comer she said to 13 Barb The apartment was all aIm y had bad said ald Barbara gland glane its sunny living room 1 It with old walnut a Chinese rugs II fl Fancy buzzed about jl n kitchen calling to Barba out and sit by her She h hInto into I a huge apron and w bing potatoes with u 11 uj brush p The preparations for d dT l lon on while Fancy and Earl Barb bJ They could see the Hud Huud H d from the kitchen window windon was In the rivet river Theres a b big gra 1 that is my spec special l pet sc sa saI I like to lie on tho sot soft other room and look at attend 11 tend Im I'm the captain Agoes Ai A An- An goes away I dont don't feeler rf till It comes back S Sl Sh childishly The doorbell rang Ii cried l Fancy Ter Jena let him In will you B Bar Bai rl hands are all wet wet j I To be continue continued |
