| Show t P PAYCHECK A I B By Rob Eden BEGIN HERE TODAY John Bennett collapsed completely when frantic efforts to hold his fortune fortune for for- tune failed ailed and everything he owned slipped away The house howe in Sutton Sulton place and the family's personal effects went to the highest bidders The small smal amount resulting from the sale of Mrs Bennetts Bennett's jewels and other valuables yalu- yalu ables would keep Mr Bennett in in- inthe the sanitarium where doctors said he must stay for at least a 1 year Fleur Bennett and her twin brother Paul had to make a living Jiving for their mother and themselves Because Suydam Grant was the father of her dearest friend he gave Fleur a 1 tion in his store He also offered Paul Paula a job but Paul refused it at first Later he had to take It because his efforts to sell bonds for high commissions commissions commissions commis commis- resulted in miserable failure Lora Lars Bennett took poverty harder than an any of them She pined in the tiny apartment Fleur had rented and arid refused to go out lest she see some of f her wealthy friends Fin Finally she became became be came ill but the doctor insisted that she Ehri hc needed nothing but a little healthful healthful healthful health health- ful activity Although she hasn't actually actually ac ac- ac said so so Mrs Bennett sees a 3 arich arich rich marriage for Fleur as the best way out of their unfortunate circum cIrcum- stances And it would be so easy for Fleur to accept Gary Crewe who worships worships woi wor wor- ships her However Fleur has fallen in Jove love with Tom Dorin Dorm a poor advertising advertising ad ad- ve ising man and arid wishes Gary would not pursue h lifer bet l' l NOW GO ON WITH THE TIlE STORY CHAPTER THIRTY Fleur hung up the receiver and walked past the he Weiss family out of their living Jiving room It W was always embarrassing em em- to phone with Mrs Weiss standing or sitting near with Mr Weiss WeIss' pretending to read his evening paper and Lucille and Jack Ja-ck hovering as ne near the instrument as they dared But a phone was still too extravagant for the Bennett Bennetts and they continued to to use the pay phone in the landlords landlord's flat Mr and Mrs Weiss didn't mind the Intrusion she knew Indeed they enjoyed enjoyed en en- joyed it There were were three or four other tenants in the building who didn't have private telephones and Lucille willingly summoned anyone who was called and took all mes meso sages It was the same man wasn't it the little girl insisted when Fleur Fleur- was near the door Now Lucille Lucille- e- e her mother chided But it was mamma I recognized his voice It was the same man wasn't it Fleur With the persistence persistence persist persist- ence of a ye 9 year old old r-old she was clinging to her subject Her black bobbed head was shaking vigorously Fleur murmured that it was because Lucille never stopped her questioning until she was satisfied f lOr r KNOW HIS IllS NAME I know his name too tho Fleur Fleur- But leur Fleur was out the door and running running run run- ning up tip up the stairs as fast as she could run She wished Gary Crewe wouldn't call all because she had to tell teU him the same thing time after time That she he couldn't go out with him But he didn't seem to mind Three times he had called this week and three e. e times last Tonight when she had come home borne she had found a box of roses waiting for her with his card ard cardin in it it They were put immediately in Mrs Bennetts Bennett's bedroom on the dresser blood red red dozens dozens of them with them with leaves and great long stems Fleur hadn't been able to find a vase large enough to hold them so she had filled a tin wastebasket with water and put them in that When she entered the flat It was ws filled with their perfume In the shabby bedroom they seemed Incon incon- But Mrs Bennett wanted them there She liked flowers in her room wh when n she was ilL WHO WAS IT Paul was reading a detective magazine magazine maga maga- zine zinc when wh-en she slid beside him on the couch and picked up her sewing Who was it he asked idly not riot looking up from his story Gary she answer answered d softly so th l lher t ther her mother wouldn't hear In the bedroom bed bed- room She mentioned Garys Gary's name as little as possible around the flat lat Mrs Bennett didn't didn't- know the red roses in her room were Garys Gary's for Fleur had told Mrs Weiss to hold hold any any packages that came carrie for her downstairs downstairs down down- stairs until she got home from work Tonight before she went went upstairs upstairs she took out the card from the box of roses It was was' the only way she decided Mrs Bennett was still curious about Gary and hardly a a. day went vent by but what she asked about him Persistent devil isn't he Paul put his magazine aside and arose He yawned as he walked across the room to the table for his pipe Stuffing Stuffing Stuffing Stuff Stuff- ing the bowl he tapped it on the arm of a chair He was smoking a pipe in inthe inthe inthe the evenin evenings s now Cheaper than cig SHABBY CLOTHES CLOTHES' Fleur stitched the white collar on her her- black dress thinking did so th that t the dress dress' was getting shabby TIe time would when she would would- need some clothes The two black dresses which she wore alter alternately at the store were beginning to look shabby This one was downright shiny and and- although she had tried to rub the shine away pway she c hadn't been successful The sleeve needed mending too It had split at atthe atthe the elbow for the third time She's have to have her white one dyed dye S black Expensive though having clothes dyed and sometimes not so successful Last month In fri desperation des des- she had hod had a green fro frock k dyed and the dress had come back two sizes smaller Tiresome too wearing black althe all al the time lime Every day and every day Once there was was' a n time when she adored black when she haa had waited anxiously for her eighteenth bIrthday birthday birthday birth bIrth- day so that she could wear black blackFor For Mrs Bennett Dennett had refused to allow her daughter black until she was 18 ITS IT'S ALL RIGHT I 1 hate that dress sis Paul said slowly lighting his pipe So do I I. I darling arling Fleur laughed She hated the other one too and the turban she wore every day to the store and the black cO coat t that was too thin on these fall mornings The black coat was getting rusty She must ask Mrs Weiss what to do about Weiss had remedies s for every thing except shineI shiner shine I r hate to see sec you looking so shabby shabby- Its all right I don't dont go an any place except with and Tom and he doesn't care He knows She h nad bd d been too prodigal selling so many mam of her clothes those first awful months But If it she hadn't sold them wh what t would they have done It was hard to to realize that things That with money and bringing it home there wasn't that frantic worry about the rent about their food about how they hey were to live ENOUGH MONEY This This week they were were 25 f ahead head and the 25 was in an old baking powder tin in the kitchen Twenty five whole dollars Fleur was proud of the money She called it their emergency fund and Paul called it the untouchable fund and pretended the tin box was very I hot when he put money in it I The most surprising thing was that they didn't need it That the rent was paid and enough money in the coffee tin that stood beside the bakin baking baking bak bak- in ing powder can to last them the week Fleur h had d two banks one for current current cur cur- rent expenses and one ne for savings The coffee can was was was' for current expenses ex ex- ex Th The coffee can was almost empty every Saturday night but every cent that hat remained in it was put solemnly in n the baking powder tin the theother theother theother other money was added That was waslow how low the 25 had accumulated And it hadn't taken so long A month or so By next month the 25 would grow into 50 and then from 50 50 into a hundred When it was a hundred Fleur planned to really bank bankit I it t and open a savings account She wanted a hundred though before she went vent to a bank NO IT Is that why you wont won't go out with Gary Gary because because you haven't any clothes Paul asked No you know it isn't Paul The collar was on and Fleur looked again at the sleeve and sighed Shed She'd have to 0 cut a bit of material from one of the seams scams t to patch it Mrs Bennett called for fora a a. a drink of water and Paul got up to get it for her She had been up and around the fl flat flata ta a little while during the he day but she was in bed when Paul and Fleur came home She still insisted she was vas too weak to exercise exercise exer exer- cise else as Dr Hanford had prescribed I wonder how long this Is going to o go on Fleur Paul back from the bedroom flung himself on the couch and picked up his magazine I mean all this this living living like t s in this flat fIat and me working at Grants Grant's in the shipping department and you in the junior junior- junior misses Day in and day out You told me last week you didn't mind the job so much now now now- Oh I dont don't as much as I did at first but its it's so uninteresting so mo mo- mo- mo I spend the entire day wrapping rapping dishes and i if you can see any romance about that that why why I 1 WORK SO HARD liARD Perhaps you wont won't be there long Mr r. r Grant said he had plans for you Yo You cant can't expect them to materialize in ina n a month Paul continued to have periods of rebellion He was discouraged discouraged discouraged aged tonight But Ive I've been working so hard and getting no place You cant can't blame me for being disgusted And then all this He waved an impatient hand round around the room And olAnd mother beng being be be- ing ng sick and worrying about her You mustn't think too much about it it w why y Ive I've been working so hard Ive I've got your system sis I work so hard during the day that I dont don't have time to think Its It's on onI only when Im I'm through at the store that it all comes back The alarm clock ticked loudly in inthe inthe inthe the silence to that at followed Paul was sitting deep deep- in the couch his legs sprawled over the rug I I DONT DON'T KNOW KNOWse Be se swell wouldn't It It if Jt we lived in n the old days of magic and all that and we could have three wish wishes s that we knew would come true Fleur sewed on quietly Remember how we used to play magic Paul went on eagerly When we were kids Fleur remembered It was when they were very small Daniel the caretaker played with them for he liked magic games too Well I wouldn't want any more han one wish now One grand and wish Know what it would e c sis leur l shook her head Well Id I'd wish we were living in Sutton Sulton place again No use wishing the other two wishes because if we were there wed we'd have everything that thai we had once What would you wish The girl gathered th the black dress and md got up up from the couch I 1 dont don't know know- know tt she whispered half haIt to herself herself her her- self and half haIt to Paul She did know though She did she told herself Shed She'd wish wish that that she Tom and might be married tomorrow To be continued continue |
