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Show i ' fu n J 1 Mr. JamesDale was cursing in a stream of words which should have blistered his tongue. But he couldn't really let loose when he had to keep it jail under his breath because he was surrounded by half the people in New York all trying to get into one ; small subway car. Mr. Dale was cursing the crowd that pushed and battered him, he was cursing the teeming hat feel rain which had made his brand-ne- w on his head; but above all like a sponge-ba- g who he was cursing the six other lived with him. On sunnier days Mr. Dale had been wont to speak of his roommates as "New York's Finest." Now the words filled him with a faint. nausea. Mr. Dale had carefully hand-irtckhis partners in domesticity with an eye to' background, breeding, amiability and bqve all, disposition. How was he to suspect the homicidal mania which gripped each and every dne of them at the sight of an umbrella in any shape or form? Seven umbrellas, he thought bitterly, black ones, gray ones, blue ones enough for all, enough to last a moderate man half a lifetime and all of them with more holes to the square inch than a collander. And each of them he, Mr. James Dale, had personally deposited in Mr. Mas Ginsbaum's "Anything Fixed" shop to be patched, vulcanized, crocheted or whatever you did to sick umbrellas. So it had to rain today when he had no umbrella. Mr. Dale hadn't the least idea what rage was doing to his features until he caught the girl staring at him with real apprehension. He managed a shamefaced smile which cost him an effort, and felt a totally unexpected thrill of pleasure when she smiled back. . Not bad, Mr. Dale thought, not bad. He was wedged in too tightly to "lift his hat, so he nodded as warmly as he could over the heads; of the people separating them. The girl turned her head to stare out of the window, which pleased Mr. Dale, for the care" he exercised in selecting a roommate was; " thoughtless as a butterfly, on the wind com- pared to the perfection for which he sought in a member of the opposite sex Young so-and-- so's ed - v After a moment he thought with faint annoyance: What on earth could she see out there that's so fascinating? At that moment the train jerked and groaned to a stop and the car in a few seconds was partiaUy emptied. There were seats available, and by dint of nice timing and the adroitness of long practice, Mr. Dale found himself sitting beside the young lady as the train got under way and the dingy lights of the station flashed kaleidoscopically by them. ;J j sJ DZCV.'Za 37, 1953 'aS"! l 1 God-giv- en and opened his mouth. At that precise instant, with a practiced gesture, the girl flipped open her newspaper in such a manner that if it had been made of firmer stuff it might well have spoiled Mr. Dale's best feature, his fine, aristocratic nose. Aijthen,suddenly, he wondered if it had been a rebuff j Perhaps-th- e girl hadn't seen him turn. Perhaps, with the vagueness of most subway travelers, she wasn't even aware that he sat next to her. It could be, thought . Mr. Dale, it could be. He wondered about it all the way to 42nd Street without nerving himself to try again, and when the train stopped he was the first one off, heading for a little-use- d exit which would bringhim to the street. He had passed through the turnstile before something prompted him to turn his head. He felt a, sudden warmth as he saw the girl hurrying after him. Ah, he thought, I was right. She didii'ttettow It came to him that it would be something new in his experience to be the accosted, so he slowed his steps and with magnificent nonchalance proceeded toward the stairway. He heardliejr steps behind him and then her hand was on his arm. He allowed a nice mixtureof surprise and pleasure to meld on his face' as he turned. "Par&on me," she said. "There. must be some mistake" Hum, he thought, her voice is a touch too high ... and only then did he really hear what ": 1 she was sayingj "I think you jhave takeirm umbrella." He looked where she was pointing and saw hanging on hisj arm a black umbrella, not too large, not too small but serviceable like his own. " j" , Without a word Mr. Dale detached the thing from his arm, thrust it at her, and fled. rpHEOUGHOTrr the day at Lacy's Department Store, Mr Dale tried honestly not to abuse his Olympian authority H Section Manager. He found it impossible not to brood on his humiliation of the morning. This caused (some delay in his departure for the day and as a consequence he had to run inadly through the teeming rain in order to collect the seven umbrellas before Mr. Ginsbaum's shop closed its doors. He breasted the wave of steaming humanity in the subway in a condition bordering on ex-- ' . .. . ,1 , I ILLUSTRATED J5Y BARBARA FA.VJIY WEEKLY MAGAZINE H by John Brushingham From the corner of his eye he confirmed his first impression: Excellent taste in hats, a broad high brow, eyes of a mystifying blue, short straight nose, the right shade of lipstick on a mouth, and the whole framed by a wealth of really fine auburn hair. v Excellent, thought Mr. Dale. Taking a deep breath he turned toward her . 12 i JONES i'V- - haustion, severely .handicapped by his umbrellas which persisted in stabbing all who ventured near him. He was thankful to the captious fate which provided him a seat. He had settled back with a sigh of relief when he saw her. For an instant Mr. Dale felt dismayed. His eyes darted from side to side,searching for the seat she might take. Arid then with an abrupt about face he determined to take command of the situation. He got to his feet, his face stern and composed, and with a manly gesture, held the crowd so that she could slip past and take his seat. He accepted her smiling nod of thanks with a small dignified bow and went into a deep perusal of the subway ads along the side of the car. Yet for the life of him he couldn't keep from glancing at her from time to time. Twice she was looking at him. There was a queer expression about her eyes. The third time he could have sworn that she was about to speak to him and he quickly averted his own eyes. The last time he looked, as he was nearing his station, she was smiling a secret smile. He couldn't make it out and it was with a beginning relief that he saw his station swim into view;. As usual he was the first one out and heading for Jhe stairs well ahead of the crowd. s. He'd And then he heard those know them in the midst of a stampede of elephants. Suddenly a great light burst over Mr. Dale. Of course! The girl was coming after him to apologize. He hadn't meant to take her umbrella. She would say she was sorry, and then . . . Mr. Dale felt a slow pleasant warmth begin to creep over him. He would turn to her with a charming smile and say, "If you could only know how glad I am that it all happened." He'd take her arm, not tightly but diffidently. Perhaps after they had walked a block or so he might say, "I know a charming spot in GramercyPark. Perhaps you'd care for a cup of tea?" And then he'd laugh softly, conspira- torialIy,J"Or should I suggest a cocktail?" He let his steps get slower. It seemed to take her an age to; catch up. Then she was walking beside him. He didn't look down, just saun tered on, eyes fixed on nothing. She made a small sound and he risked a quick glance at .her. Her eyes were fixed on the umbrellas under his arm all seven of them, sticking out like a pincushion. She looked up at him and her hand went quickly to her mouth. "Goodness," she said. "You must have had a busy day! . foot-step- 99 |