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Show t A By P. G. WODEHOUSE A Sprightly Tale of Love and Humor. He wu black but eomely. Obviously Joseph might look at her as If she thA act by this deep and praiseworthy nus and the lighted cross of the Hud- holder who sees a flower emerging ia reduced circumstances, be had never- were a saucerful of tainted milk, but motive. All the unselfishnese and love son shines by night on Washington from the soil in which he has inserted a packet of guaranteed seeds, and you theless contrived to retain a certain he was her eat, and she meant to get of sacrifice innate in good women square. -- waited for will have some faint smartness she a certain air what the him back. She went out and rang the stirred within her. conception of how Ceasing eventually, French call the tournure. Nor had bell of Mr. James Benahaw Boyds of eourse, you mustnt let him to begin. And he did not begin Elisabeth felt as those golden words "Why,' - ' him go. It would mean awful bad not, that ia to say, in ths sense the proceeded from that editors lips. in him the aristocrats apartment. poverty-killet The door was opened by a young luck, instinct of personal cleanliness; for, Into James Boyds apartment she woTd eonveyed to Elizabeth. He spoke d But bow about you!" aa Elizabeth. caugfit.sigbt of him, man. He was by nq mean an unsightly young man. Indeed, of his type '"Never mind about me. Think of all , rough-hairethe the people, who 'are dependent on your tvne-r-h- e square-jawewas a distinctly play being a success. The young man blinked. young man. Even though she was regarding him at the moment "This is overwhelming, he said. purely in the light of a machine for re"I had no notion why you wanted Elizabeth noticed him. He was nothing to me at least, turning strayed cats, that. well, I nothing much that is to She smiled upon him. It jras not the suppose I was rather fond say of him, but of fault this man not was he not at Elizabeth. There was a pause, young his sitting room, window was open, "Vital! while he summed her up.' Then he that or that Joseph was-an- , little That a just the word I wanted. He stalked toward her, and, suddenly low- beast who should haveungrateful no fish that was lust company, you know. "Haven.t youmanv friends! ering his head, drove it vigorously night. "Would you mind letting me have havent any friends. "I against her dress. He permitted her to I she said pleaaantly. my cat, please "You havent any friends! That plek him up and carry him into the hallway, where Francis, the Janitor, stood. eaid Elizabeth, "does "Francis, this cat belong beret" miaa That cats a stray, that . "No, tv.4 eat ia F been trying to locate that i: U ! ., F ' cats owner for days." Ct. Frauds spent his time trying to lo4 cate things. It was the one recreation 1 of his eventless life. Sometimes it "g JM . ' i f v was a noise, sometimes a lost letter, sometimes a piece of. ice which had I.V. gone astray in the dumbwaiter; whatever it was, Francis tried to loe&te it. v. "Has be been around here long, ;1 e en be began to wash himself. At the sound of her step he looked up. He did not move, but there was suspicion in his attitude. The muscles of his back contracted; his eyes glowed like yellow lamps against black velvet; his tail switched a little, warningly. Elizabeth looked at him. He looked 'clean-shaven- d good-lookin- g nice-lookin- g 'tfn -- Fran-ei- Sr i s v tf A. It was Elizabeths first act.eaqh morning, immediately on awakening, to open her front door and gather ia whatever lav outside it. Sometimes there would be mail, and always, un less Francis, as he sometimes did, got , mixed and the morning milk and the morning paper. rsome One mornctwo week after that evening of which she tried not to think, Elizabeth, opening the, door, found immediately outside it a foldgd scrap of paper. She unfolded it. theater. Wont i am just off to the ' you wish me luck! I feel sure it is going to be a hit. Joseph is purring like a dynamo. J. B. B. , oh jeeUtothht, . Jn .ft i i In the !' r i v UAH . 4 t $ V : ' ti . Vs v the brain works For an instant Elizabeth sluggishly. stood looking at the words uneompre i hendir-1- -: then, with a leaping of the heart, their meaning came home to her. must have left this note at her door He on ths previous night. Tbs plav had been And somewhere in the produced! ; Y n?t ' S . folded interior of that morning paper I at her feet must be ths opinion or One m Authority concerning ft. ,i Dramatic criticisms nave this pern . '4. iv ok liarity if you are looking for them, fS2SSB3K4ff. J they burrow and hide like rabbits. They dodge behind murders; they duck behind baseball scores; they lie up v Ff 5 snugly behind the Wall Street news. H ? It was a full minute before Elizabeth v found what she sought. The first words .iw' , . i read smote her like a blow. C , -- v In that vein of delightful faeetious-neswhich so endears him to all followers and perpetrator of the drama, the (One in Authority rent and tor James Bovd play. He knocked James v a, Bovda play down and kicked it; he jumped on it with large feet; he poured cold water on it; and he chopped it into little bits. He merrily disemboweled James Boyds play. Elizabeth quivered from head, to foot She esught at the door post to steady herself. In a flash all ner resentment had gone, wiped awav and annihilated like a mist oefore the sun. She loved him, and eb knew now that she had always loved him It took her two seconds to realize that the Oiie in Authonty was a miserable incompetent, incapable of recstood before her, but the blackest criminal known to criminologists. ognizing merit when it waa displayed before him. It took her five minutes to dress. It took her a minute to run downstairs and out to the news-stanthing to him insinuated itself So fre- ing woman that, the juvenile somethin I on ths comer of the street. Here, quently into his conversation that it else. For the first time Elizabet I. with a iavisbness that charmed and weighed on Elizabeth s mind like a listened unsympathetically. Ihe proprietor, she. bought The timeeame when burden, and by degrees she found failed exhilarated the other papers that he could supherself giving the play place of honor James Boyd, and he sat speech oack in his all ply. Eagerly she sought the reviews of m her thoughts over and above ber chair, brooding. Elizabeth, cross and the pity. own little venture. wounded, sat in he$, nursing Joseph. Moments of tragedy are best de. At any earlv stage in their friend And so, in a dim 'light, time flowed by. briefly. Each - of the Just how it happened she never scribed ship the young man told her the plot tieed the play. Tnd wbTl '"tkem of the piece; and, if he had not. un- knew. One moment," "peace; the next, ' it with uncompromising hearts fortunately forgotten several impor- chaos. One moment, stillness; the next, damned ness. The criticisms varied only lit tant episodes and had to leap back to Joseph hurtling the air, all claws and tone. relish and One cursed with them across a gulf of one or two acts,! expletives, and herself caught in a another with a certain pity; a and if he had referred to his charac- clasp that shook the breath from her, gusto; with a kind of wounded supeters bv name instead of by such de- and kissed so emphatically that it third his ss of one scriptions as "the fellow whos in love seemed not so much a kbs as a Blaek riority,"to speak of compelled against something unspeakwith the girl not whats his name, but Hand explosion. able; still .another wrote as if he were the other chap, no doubt she would One James's spanking a naughty child; but the have got that mental half Nelson on tram ofcan dimly reconstruct He is in despair; meaning of all was the same James it which is such a help toward the things arethought. poing badly at the theater, Bovds play was a hideous failure. proper understanding of a four-ac- t ltns lost its savor. His eye, life and Back to' the house sped Elizabeth, comedv. As it was, his precis left her as he sits, is caught by Elizabeths leaving the organs of a free people to a little vague; but she saad it was per It is a pretty above all, a be gathered smoothed and replaced profile. feetly splendid, and he said, you soothing profile. An -- almost painful on the standup,bv the now more than think so! I and " zes. she, really sentimentality sweeps over James Bovd. charmed pyoprirtor. Up the atairs she and both were happv. do, she jits, his only friend in this sped, arriving 'breathlessly at Jamess Rehearsals proved on Mr. Bovds There cruel city. If you argue that there is door, and rang the bell. spirits a good deal at least so it no necessity to spring at your only Heavy footsteps came down the seemed to Elizabeth. He attended friend disheartened footsteps, her, you argue -crushed. them with the pathetic regularity of soundly;andthenearly choke point is wll taken. But footsteps, that sent a chill to Elizathe young dramatist, but they ap- James Bovd was bevond the reach of beth heart. The door opened. James peared to bring him little balm. .In Much rehearsing had Bovd stood before her, heavy-eyeand the evening Elizabeth generally found sound argument. his nerves to ribbons One may haggard. In his eves was despair, and him steeped in gloom, and then she frayed that-he was blue not his on his chin the "growth of beard responsible for would postpone the recital, to which say actions. of the man from whom the mailed fist she had been looking forward,, of case is the Elizafor James. Tht of fate has smitten the energy to perwhatever little triumph ehe might hat-waa not in a position form his morning shave. beth, naturally, to and devote herself to win, happened a wide and understanding view Behind him, littering the floor, were to the fask of cheering him up. If of take All sho knew was that James the morning papehs. At sight of them women were wonderful in no other had it. played her false, abused her trust Elizabeth broke down. way, they would be wonderful for their in him. For a moment, such was the she cried, Oh, Jimmy, darling, genius for listening to shop instead of snock of the surprise, she was not con- and the next moment she wa in. his talking it. of indignation or, indeed, of arms. And for a space time stood stilt Elizabeth was feeling more than a scioussensation How long afterward it was she aever except the purely physilittle proud of the way In which her any cal one of semistrangulation. James Boyd Then, knew, but eventually judgment of this young man was be- flushed and more bitterly angry than spoke. ing justified. Life in Bohemian New she eould evef have imagined herself If marry me, 'he said York had left her decidedly warv of of being, she began to struggle. hoarsely,youll I don 't Icare a hang. strange young men, not formallv in- capable She tore herself away from him. domsaid Elizabeth, "Jimmv, darling, troduced. But their relations, she told ing on top of her grievance, this thing of course, I will. herself, were so splendidlv unsentimen- filled her with a sudden vivid Past them as they stood there a very tal! There was no need for that silent hatred of James. At the back of her blaek streak shot eifently and disapdefensiveness which had (Tome to seem anger, feeding it, was the humiliating peared out of the door. Joseph wa almost an inevitable accompaniment to that it was all her own fault, leaving the sinking ship. thought with sex. James dealings that her there she had "Let him go, the fraud, said ElizaBovd, she felt, she eoulh- trust Ind it itmtedby this. presence beth bitterly. "F shall never beheve was wonderful how soothing the reflecShe groped her way to the door. in blaek eats again. tion was. Something was writhing and But James was ,not of thia opinion. .And that was whv, when the thing inside her, blinding her eves struggling and rob"Joseph has brought me all the luek so shocked it and happened, She was con- I, need. fright- bing her of speech. ened her. of a desire, to be scious only to "But the play meant everything to It had been one of their qnit eve- be back. safe and alone, in alone, her own you. nings. Of late they had fallen into the home. She was ware that he. was did then." , "It habit of sitting for long periods to- speaking, but the words did not reaeh Elizabeth hesitated. gether without speaking. But it had her. She fou-nthe door and pulled it "Jimmy, dear, its all right, yon differed from other quiet evenings open. She felt a hand dn her arm, but know. I know you will make a fortune through the fact that Elizabeths si- she shook it off. And then she was out of votir next play, and Ive heaps lence hid a slight but feel- back behind her own door alone and for ns both to live on till you make ing of injury. Usually she sat happy at liberty to contemplate at leisure the goixj. 'We can ' manage splendidly on with her thoughts, but tonight she was ruins of that little temple of friendship mv salary from the Evening Chroniruffled. She had a grievance. winch she had built up so cle. That afternoon the editor of an eve- Snd in which. she had been so carefully, "iWbat! Have vou got a job on "a happy. had her informed The broad fact that she would never New ning paper definitely Yorkpaper! man who the had eondueted was him the that, for a while her only Jforgive Yea I told you about it. I am do"Advice to the Lovelorn column hav- coherent thought. To this succeeded ing Heiois Milton. Why, whats the ing resigned, the post of "Heloise Mil-to- the determination that she would never matter! official adviser to readers trou- forgive herself.- - And, having thus He groaned hollowly. bled with affairs ofvthe heart, was placed, beyond the pak4iie only two And I was that you would hers. Imagine how Napoleon felt after friends she had in New York, she was come back to thinking with me! Chicago Austerlitz, picture Mile. S. Lenglen, free to devote herself without hindrance But I will. Of course, I will. What after defeating Mrs. M. Mallory at ten- to the task of feeling thoroughly lone- did vou think I meant to do! nis, try to visualize a suburban house- - ly and wretched. "What! Give up a real job in New r i earl-morn- ing .,M T rr n -- 5 T y . ' a -- - t. r, IA,',. Elizabeth realized the truth. "He baa, gone into vour sitting window.' zero. "May I ask how long you have had your Beginald!" "Since four oclock this afternoon." "Did he come ia through the window! "Whv, yes, now you mention it, he did. must ask yeu to be good- - enough to give me back mr eat, said Elizabeth icily. He regarded her defensively. he said, "purely for Assuming, the purposes of academiie argument, that , your Joseph is my Beginald. couldnt we come to an agreement of some sort! Let me buy you another eat a dozen cate. ' I don t want a dozen rats. I want Joseph. "Fine, fat, soft eats," he went en persuasively. ."Lovely, affectionate Persians and Angoras and "Of course, if you intend to steal Joseph Those are harsh words. Any lawyer will tell you that there are special statutes regarding cats. To retain a stray cat is not a tort for a malfeasance. In the celebrated test case of Wiggins versus Bluebody it waa established "Will you please give me back my "I j She stood facing him, her cMn in the air and her eyes shining, and the young man suddenly fell a victim to v conscience. "Look here," he said, "Ill throw myself on your mercy. I admit the cat is your cat and that I have no right to it, and that I am just a common sneak thief. But consider: I had just come back from the first rehearsal of my first play: and, as I walked in at the door that eat walked in at . the window. Im superstitious, and I felt that to give him up would be equivalent to killing the play before ever it was produced. Ytfu'bave not idiotic superstitions. You are sane and practical. But, in the circumstances, if you could see your way to waiving your Before the wistfulness of his eye Elizabeth capitulated, llow she had misjudgod him! She had taken him for an ordinary soulless purloiner of of cats at random cats, a snapper-uand without reason; and all the time he had been reluctantly compelled to p it You 'must take him back." couldnt think of it. "But, good gracious', Jiow do vou should feel, knowing that suppose you were all alone and that I had sneaked your your as it were! "And how do vou suppose I should room settles through the He looked faintly surprised. "Your cat! x "My black eat. Joseph. He is in yOur sitting room. come to the "Im 'afraid you have left Ive just my sitting WTong place. room, and the only cat there is my black cat, Beginald. "But 1 saw Joaeph go in only a minute ago. "That waa Beginald. For the first time, a one who, examining a fair shrub abruptly discovers that it is poison ivy, Elizabeth realized the trutn. This was no innocent young man who stood before her, but the blackest criminal known to criminologists a stealew of other peocats. Her manner shot down to ple cat! This waa no innocent young man who "I ewe-lam- feel if your play failed simply for lack of a black cat! He started, and ran hia fingers through his rough hair in an overwrought manner. "Solomon couldnt have solved this problem, he said. "How would it be it seems the only possible way out if you were to retain a sort of managerial right, in him! Couldnt you sometimes step across and chat with him and me, incidentally over here! Im very nearly aa lonesome as you are. Chicago is my home. I hardly know a soui in New York. Her solitary life in the big oitv had forced uxn Elizabeth the ability to form instantaneous judgments on the men she mat. She flashed a glance at the young man, and decided m his favor. she said. very kind of you, I should lovs to. I want to hear all about your play. I write myself in a small way, so a successful playwright ia somebody to me. "I wish I were a. successful playwright. "Well, you are having the first play you have ever written produced on Broadway. Thats pretty wonderful Hm yes, gaid the young man. It seemed to Elizabeth that he spoke doubtfully, and this modesty Consolidated the favorable impression shq had "Its formed. The gods are just. For (every ill they inflict they also supply a compensation. It seems good to them that individuals in big cities shall be lonely, but they have so arranged that if one of these individuals does at least contrive to seek out and form a friendship with another, that friendship shall grow, more swiftly than the tepid acquaintanceships of those on whom the iev touch of loneliness has never fallen. Within a week Elizabeth was feeling that she had known this James Benshaw Boyd all her life. And yet there. was a tantalizing inabout hia personal remicompleteness niscences. - Elizabeth was one of those persons who like to begin a friendship with a full statement of their position, their previous life, and the causes which led up to their being in this particular spot at this' particular time. At their next meeting, before he had time to say much oa his own account, she told him of the small Illinois town where she passed the early part of her hfe; of the rich and unexpected aunt who sent her to college for no particular reason that, anyone could ascertain except that she enjoyed being unexpected; of the legacy from this same aunt, far smaller than might have been hoped for, but sufficient to send a grateful Elizibeth to New York to try her luck there; of editors, magazine, manuscripts refused or accepted, plots for stones; of hfe in general as lived down where'the arch spans 1ifth ave- which s d J "-D- passage- e ite well-define- -- . . . its tr the firm I put it to dad straight. I said, Give me a chance, one good, square chance, to see if the divine firs is really there, or if somebody has just turned in the alarm aa a practical . joke. "And we mad a bargain. I had written thiaplay, and we made it a test ease. We fixed it up that dad should put up the money to give it a Tf it succeeded, Broadway production. all right. Im the young Gus Thomas, and mav go ahead in the literary game. If it a a foozle, off goes mv font, and I abandon of literary triumphs and start in. as the guy who put the Co. in Bovd k Co. "Well, events have proved that I am the guv, and now Im going to keep my part of the bargain Just as squarely a dad kept his. I know quite well that if I refused to play fair and chose to stick on here in New; .York and try again dad would go on stak- me. Thats the sort of dad he is. ing But I wouldnt do it for a million . Broadway successes. Ive had my chance, and Ive foozled; and now Im going back to make him happy by being a real, live member of the firm. And the queer thing about it is that last night I hated the idea, and this . mo'rning, now that Ive got you, I almost look forward to it. He gave a little shiver. "And yet I dog 4 j know. There to my something rather grewsome,-stil- l t soul in the idea of living in luxury on murdered biggies. Have you ever seen them persuading a pig to play the stellar role in a Bovd Premier Breakfast BapSage! Its pretty ghaatlv. They string them up by L their hind legs, , "Never mind, said Elizabeth soothingly, "Perhaps they dont mind it x absent-minded- J? . ts "I way. i open-bande- d e 'wyn' ywpw,1 " , s said Elizabeth. 8he was feeling that morning that a little luck would be a pleasing nov. elty. Things had not been going well with her of late. It was not so much that the usual proportion of her manuscripts had come berk with editorial compliments from the magazines to which they had been sent she accepted that as part of the game; what rite did consider scurvy treatment at the bands of fats was the fact that her own "pet" magazine, the one to which she had been accustomed to fly for refuge, almost sure of a welcome when coldly treated by all the others, had suddenly expired with a low gurgle for want of public support. . It was like losing a kind and relative, and it made the addition of a black eat to the household almost a necessity. In ber apartment, the door closed, sue watched her new ally with some anxiety. .He "hairbehaved admirably on the journey upstairs, but she would not have been surprised, though it would bave pained her,- if ne had now the proceeded to try to escape throughHow-eveceiling. Cats were so emotional. he remained calm, and after pad ding silently about the room for a while raised his head and uttered a crooning cry. "Thats right," said Elizabeth cordially. "If you dont see what you want, ask for it. The' place is yours. She went to the and produced milk and sardines. There was or affected about her nothing finicky guest. He concentrated himself on the restoration of his tissues with the purposeful air of one whose last meal is a dim memory. Elizabeth, brooding over him like a Providence, wrinkled her forehead in thought. "Joseph, she 'said at last, brightening, " thats your name. Now settle down and start being a mascot. Joseph settled down amazingly. By the end of the second day he was conveying the impression that be was the owner of the apartment. Like most of bis species, he was an autocrat. He waited a aay to ascertain which was Elizabeths favorite chair; then he appropriated it for his own. If Elizabeth closed a door while he was in a room be wanted it opened so that he might go out; if she closed it while he was outside he wanted it opened so (that he might come in: if she left it open he fussed about the draft. But the best bf us have our faults, and Elizabeth adored him in spite of his. It was astonishing what a difference he made in her life. She was a friendly soul and, until Josephs arrival, she had to depend for company mainly on the footsteps of the man m the apartment across the wav. , Moreover, the building was an old one and it creaked at night There was a loose board in .the passage which made burglar-noise- s in the - dark . behind you - when you stepped on it on the way tp bed, and there were funny scratching sounds which made you jump and hold your breath. Joseph soon put a stop, to aU that. With Joseph' around a loose board became a loose board nothing more and a scratching noise just a plain scratching noise. And then one afternoon he disappeared. Having searched the apartment the cat, Elizabeth , without finding , went to the window, with the intention of making a birds-eysurvey of the street. She was not hopeful for she had just come from the street, and there had been no sign of him then. Outside the window was a broad ledge, ruining the width of the building. It terminated on the left in a shallow balcony belonging to the apartment whose front door faced her the apartment of the young man whose riie heard. She sometimes footsteps knew he waa a young man, because Francis had told her so. Hia name, James Benshaw Boyd, she had learned from the same source. On this shallow balcony, licking his fur with the tip of a crimson tongue and generally behaving as if he were In his own back yard, sat Joseph. "Jo-seph- ! cried Elizabeth, surprise, and reproach combining to give joy ner voice an aljnost melodramatic quiver. He looked at her coldly. Worse, he looked at her as if she were an utter stranger. Bulging with her meat and drink, he cut her dead; and, having done so, he turned and walked into the next apartment. Elizabeth was a girl of spirit. ice-bo- x TVW'tr IvVc sententiously. ""I certainly shsn t net -- about consid- "Blaek cate bring luek," said . t then! "I seen him snooping erable time. "I shall keep him." walked, Stepping on fleecy clouds, to tell him the great news. She told hun the great news. He said, Ah! are tnanv ways .of saying r There You can put joy, amazement, Ah! rapture into it; vou can also make it sound as if it were a replv to ff remark oo the weather. James Bovd made it sound just like that. Hia hair was rumpled, his brow contracted, his manner "absent. TBe impression he gave Elizabeth was that he barelv heard tier. moment he was deep in a The of the recrtal of the misdemeanors com actors now rehearsing his four-act- , edy. The star had done this, ths lead- - briefly of college, still more briefly of Chicago, which city he appeared to regard with distaste that made Lots attitude toward the Cities of the Flam almost kindly by comparison. Then, as if be .had fulfilled the demands of the most exacting inquisitor in the matter of personal reminiscence, he began to speak of the play. The only facts concerning blm1 to which Elizabeth could really have sworn with a clear conscience at the end of the second week of their acquaintance were that he was very poor and that this play meant everything to him. The statement that it .meant every- - etc. York! He blinked, "This isnt really happening. Im dreaming. "But, Jimmy, are you sure you can get work in Chicago! Wouldnt it be better to stay on here .where all the managers are, and ""He shook his head. think time I Fold you about mvself,! he said. "Am I sure I can work in Chicago I am, worse luck. Darling, have you in your more material moments ever toyed with a Bovds Premier Breakfast Sausage or kept body and soul together with a slice off a Bovd Excelsior- - Home-Cure- d Ham! My father makes them. and the tragedv of my life is that he wants me to help him at it. This was my position. I loathed the family business as much ns dad loved it. T had a notion a fool notion, as it has turned gut that I could make good in the literary line. Ive scribbled m a sort of way ever since I waa in college. "When the time came for me to join Tbs shadows deepened. Across the street a sort of bubbling explosion, followed by a j$ky glare that shot athwart the room, announced the lighting ef the big arc lamp on the opposite sidewalk. She resented it, being in the mood foe ijpdiluted gloom; but she had not the energy to pull down the shade and shut it out, Shs sat where she was,ih inking thoughts that hurt. The door of the apartment opposite There was a single ring at opened. her bell. She did not answer it. There came another. She sat where she was, motionless. The door closed again. The days dragged by. Elizabeth lost count of time.. Each day had its duties, which ended when you went to bed; ,thj; was all she knew except that life had become very gray and very lonely, far lonelier than in the time when James Boyd was nothing to he? but an occasional sound o footsteps. Of James she saw nothing. It is not difticult to avoid anyone in New ork, even when vou live just across the 1 j . "Thro Men and a Maid, Author of "Archie, 3 v pipe-dream- s near-artis- and-brrr- really."-- - ' , "Well, I dont know,", tid James Boyd doubtfully. "I'vo witched them at it. and Im bound tg svthey didnt seem-antoo well plcad. "TTv'not to think bf y it "V ery well, said James diltifullv. There came a sudden shout from the, floor above, and on the heels of it a shock-haireyouth In pajamas burst into the apartment "Now what! asked James. "By the way: Miss Herrold, mv fiancee Mr. Briggs Paul Axworthy Briggs, known as the Bov Novelist Whats troubling you, Paul! Mr. Briggs was stammering with excitement. "Jimmy, what do yoii think has happened! A black cat has just come into mv apartment. I heard him mewing outside the door, and opened it, and he streaked in. And I started my new novel last night! Think of it, Jimmy! Yeu do believe in black eats bringing luek, don't you! "Luek! Mv lad, grapple that cat to your soul with hoops of steel. Hes the greatest little ia New York.. He was boarding with me till this morning. "Then by Jove, I forgot to ask your plav was a hit! I havent seen the papers vet. , "Well, when you see them, dont read the notices. , It wa's the worst frost Broadway has seen since Columbuss time. "But I dont understand. "Thats all right. You dont have to. Go back and fill that cal with fish, or hell be leaving you. I suppose you left the door open! The Boy Novelist vanished with a passionate ery. "Do vou think Joseph will bring him luck! said Elizabeth thoughtfully. " It depends oa what sort .of luck you mean. Joseph seems to" work in devious ways. If I know Joseph's methods, Briggss novel wjll be refused by every publisher in the city; end then, when he is sitting in his apartment wondering which of, his razors to end himself with, there will be a ring at the bell and in will come the most beautiful girl in the world. And then well, then, take it from me, he will be all right. He wont mind about the novel!" exist for him. "It won't "Not even if its failure means that he will have to .go away and kill pigs and things! James Boyd regarded her a little seriously. "You mustnt let your mind dwell on that pig killing business, dear. I v noticed a slight tendenev in you to let yourself get rather morbid about it. I know they string them up bv the hind legs, and all that sort of thing; but you must remember that a pig looks at these things from a different standpoint. My belief is that the pigs like it. Trv not to think of it. said Elizabeth dutiVery well, fully. " luek-bring- 1 V All rights reserved. (Copyright, Printed by arrangement with the Metropolitan Newspaper Service, New , . York.) WINNER, OR LOSER. The young man arrived at the party and made his way to the hostees, greeting her and apologizing lor his late- nese. ' Awfully-glato Mr. Jones,' aid the hostess,, So good of you to come. But where is your brother,?' "He was unable to icom. You eee, w are so busy just now, that It waa impossible for both vf. us to get away, and so e toeeed up to ee which of us should come. How nice'- - And you, won' No, replied the youA man. absentNathionai Republican. ly, i lost. pee-'yo- -- A PENALTY OF PROGRESS. When we get telephones that can he seen through, every r,mn will have o look into the mirror before ihe a calk Exchange, , i |