Show FALSE FACES ILL and I 1 rill bill barross BILL across the road from us had been reading bentley burrows or the skeleton fland a tale of ghosts and bandits rod and general horror borror continued from week to week in the saturday night a literary journal which our hired man bought every week at coles drug store in town shivering with fear I 1 was just finishing the last chapter in the dusk of a dull november evening when I 1 heard beard a knock at the door I 1 called come in as was wa the polite custom la in our community and to my horror borror a real bandit entered leather leggins legel ns all big revolver bristling moustache and all I 1 was frightened tor for a moment and then I 1 caught sight of a lock of curly red hair sticking out through a hole in the sombrero and a freckled ear protruding it was only rill withers wearing a false face and trying to fool roe I 1 have had the experience often since I 1 was at a party a few nights ago where here on the surface everything was wag hilarious through the dim light however boweter I 1 could see that all the fellows were wearing false laces faces above the din of the ragtime sounded out from the long suffering piano I 1 could detect the hollow unnatural voices issuing through the masks that the men were wearing I 1 watched mary gay cay rosy cheeked checked and bright eyed and I 1 thought I 1 had never seen a happier and a more ant aal bitted face site she was smiling on every one and showing a vivacity and an interest mat held a pleased crowd about her A few minutes later I 1 came upon her unobserved as she was standing before the mirror in the hallway surreptitiously adjusting her false face and I 1 could see how pitifully bored and tired she lo looked olied I 1 ran onto jim burton one sunday this ibis summer at church with his parents lie he was looking pious attentive and alto altogether gether unsophisticated As he leaned ove over r to pick a hymn hook book from the floor I 1 could cold see how crudely he had adjusted his false face for underneath he was the same irreligious fri Il lr ir re rever ont irresponsible youth whom I 1 had bad known at college the false faces which we wear or tee bee every day seldom deceive si anyone lynne they tire are jike rouge or oleomargarine or hair dye or face powder no one ever thinks them real we put them on to make ourselves beautiful or it am to our teachers or our sweethearts or the tax collector or the home folks or the minister or our creator lot but more often cillen than otherwise the lock of red hair escapes or the freckled ear sucks sticks out and gives elvea us away |