Show uce FOUR FLIGHTS UP TO N W P V f elefter by FREDERICK LAING THE landlady was smiling at them like the wolf in bed red Riding hood you look kinda young to be a married couple oh we aren t married yet peg gy blurted out she felt bill a 8 to fin gers tighten a oh tr her arm so you better show us that apart ment before she changes her mind he added she glanced up at him with a ner little smile feeling ashamed wishing she hadn haan t let him read her thoughts the landlady laughed and peggy laughed louder than she d wanted to I 1 we want two rooms bill said two rooms and a decent kitchen and not facing on the street please too many trucks in greenwich vil lage to suit me I 1 adore the village peggy said quickly the trouble was the words seemed to jump out before she knew what she was going to say bill stared up at a long crack in the ceiling sure we the vil lage she pinched him when the laid lai d lady wasn gasn t looking and he gave her hair a tug and everything was all right again they followed the land lady up the stairs she had just the thing for them she said A couple ot of kids like you won t mind walking up four flights oh no peggy answered then she glanced at bill well would we bill looked up at the ceiling again oh no she knew what he was thinking and it was true she didn dian t want to live in a place that had elevators bad enough to have him come home talking about them every night bad enough to have to answer the neigh bors questions with my husband oh he er sells elevators she could see them lifting their eye brows elevators pardon me tor for smiling mrs bill but I 1 never knew eny any one had to sell elevators I 1 al I 1 ways thought they just hap bened t no definitely not a place with ele gators she didn dian t want to be re a minded of her husbands business I 1 v every time she went in and out of the house the landlady a short bowed legs were leading them up the stairs briskly showing them how easy it was to climb four flights you 11 find it nice and quiet here I 1 m sure the gentleman who has it now has been there three years and he a a writer A writer peggy had kind of a tunny funny feeling all of a sudden like she shed d gone up in an elevator too fast A writer that was what she d always thought she d marry some day or maybe an artist somebody like that peggy Is intrigued they were walking up the last flight now and some one upstairs opened a door don t let him be any better looking than bill she begged As it happened he wasn gasn t he vas as i just a pale young man with glasses f he stood there in his slacks and blue shirt and he looked well on second glance he looked dif ferent nobody would ever take him j tor for a life guard that a what shed she d thought bill was that first time when they d met on the beach come right in the young man waved something at them it turned out to be a monkey wrench of all things don t mind me I 1 in just the plumber peggy laughed it wag was so anex pecked it made her feel good the plumber she said as their eyes met imagine some plumber the landlady said that a gratitude he said look mg ing at peggy I 1 do her a favor and she makes fun of my plumbing I 1 think it s nice if a man know knows how to fix the plumbing peggy said she glanced from the thin hands to the thin pale face I 1 real ly do he looked pleased I 1 m a pant pa nt er too he told her look I 1 pant pa nt ed this china closet what do aou think of the shade it made her feel so flattered to have a writer showing off tor for tier her benefit it its s a lovely color she told him and then she could feel bills bill s eyes on her isn t it bill yeah bill said dryly blue peggy winced well that proved he wasn gasn t color blind it s the same shade as your hat this writer was saying she blushed think of a man mans s noticing that yeah bill said the way he said it it wasn gasn t exactly a camph ment it if you want to see the apart ment the landlady began sharply then she pulled a smile over her false teeth this here s the kit lut chen bill said you mean the apart ment opens into the kitchen 7 9 behind his glasses the young man s light blue eyes were looking amused oh you 11 get used to it and it 11 give your friends some thing to talk about hes he s some little talker himself isn t he hea the landlady said I 1 think he s wonderful peggy said laughing he certainly knew how to make a person feel perfectly at ease then she got a look at bills bill s face she began to feel miserable it if only he wouldn t look like that like a she tried to push the thought out of her mind but it came right back again like a dis appointed salesman I 1 in sure you 11 make a mistake if you don dont t buy our elevators mr kotch the landlady led them into the living room and when peggy saw tt it her heart sat up and begged her eyes drank in the bookcase that covered a whole wall the ong inal paintings on untrained unframed canvas the oversized fireplace with three painted masks above it and there was a table with a type typewriter riter and a lots of papers piled up in care less stacks what darling taste you have she almost said it but she thought about bill just in the nick of time the bedroom bedrooms s in there the landlady said she let peggy and bill go into the bedroom by them selves bill s head almost bumped the top of the doorway as they went in together this is a dog house he said peggy was in such a daze she thought he said dolls doll s house at first isn t it she said excitedly and then seeing his expression what A dog house he said look I 1 can almost touch the ceiling lis ten peggy I 1 lve ve learned something about buildings in the elevator busi ness do you know how old this house is isa why it was a dump when they built the brooklyn bridge peggy gasped he heard you youl suddenly all the thrill was gone and her heart felt like lead her eyes were blinking as she turned and went back into the living room bill followed behind her stooping with an exaggerated wariness as he went through the doorway her fingers were twisting the en ga gement ring nervously around or W 14 al P J W 17 f U I 1 joe I 1 I 1 think it s nice it if a man knows how to fix the plumbing peggy said she glanced from the thin hands to the thin pale face I 1 really do and around one thing sure she wasn gasn t going to marry an elevator salesman or any other kind of a salesman for that matter listen honey bill said gloom lly fly if you really like the place it didel didn t matter nothing mat now really just to get out to get away to get out of every thing as painlessly as possible I 1 guess you have to be a writer or something to appreciate it she told him forcing out the words she glanced at the pale young man and managed to smile A writer or an artist H I 1 dont know the young man protested with a shrug what kind of stuff do you write bill asked grudgingly huh hub the young man said the landlady laughed him he s no writer he a s my son a and she added proudly he sell sells vac aum cleaners run out of the room bun run down the stairs she told herself but bill a arm went around her ders steadying her and his arm felt strong and tender I 1 my man is a salesman too she said and she held her head up he sells elevators |