Show ah irl Z who ho game came back kajack bajack woodford THE STORY I 1 influenced by loneliness in chicago lolita forbes young and pretty yields to the importunities tuni ties of harvey torrence with whom she fancies herself in love she discovers his big true character and leaves him film taking refuge with an acquaintance certrude Gert nid watson lolita Is accosted by the son of the wealthy owner of the apartments fred watterson hr he in insists ests on driving tier her to th store on the street torrence li fr caiti waiting ng lie ile puts the worst construction st on Lo colitas Loll litas tas belne being with W and the two men engage in a battle in which torrence Is in killed lolita spend night of misery in a police ae c cell I 1 she informs her father by wire of her situation but he answers that he never wants to see se her face again next morning the he judge judee at the instigation of a lawyer a stranger et ranger to lillta diml dom leses ses the case the lawyer gives her and an unsigned note informing her that college tuition has been paid tor for a year he refuses to give five the name of her benefactor she takes up short story writing and meets mr air lolita writes a short story which mr air praises highly miss bliss pringle a member of the class harshly criticises criticizes it the story Is sold for miss pringle disclose lollias Loll tas real identity identify CHAPTER V contin continued jed tring not to meet the eyes ot of anyone she rose and fled front from tile the classroom As she went ent donn don tile the hall past abt the registrars billee miss marlon failed called out a cheery giec giesting ting to tier and it II stabbed d her like a knife chii what bliss marion think of her what would all of her newfound new dew found friends think of her and just jus as she had ileen been begun gun to pluck up hope ifie scalding flors rs trickled down her cheeks as she in the elevator A young medical student who was running it IL stopped it bet between Neen floore floor sympathetically and said paid gee ltd kid cant I 1 do anything tor for you somebody gunk dunk you want me to get you a an ell anodyne grateful tor for the stop in between floors lolita fought for composure while the in the car registered the angry calls tor for the elevator upon half bait a dozen floors she wiped her eyes and tried to make herself presentable presently she managed to nod tit at the young man and be started the car down again on tile the main floor boor she hurried flurried out of the lobby dreadfully conscious that she was leaving all this dear and fa millar atmosphere of friendly smells and railings failings rai lings that bore the signs of wear ot of two generations of students for the last lime when the she reached her room slie she dared not stop atop to think one thing beat itself into her consciousness slip she MU must make herself pretty again slip sin could on an longer stand it to see her ugly ensemble to in the glass at least if she had nothing else she had youth end and beauty why not make the most of them standing in the middle of the floor she pulled off her clothes und and slim and pink ran to tile the bath for on an hour she splashed around in the tub a little comforted as long as site she refused to think by the cardes of warm water upon her polly body meticulously she soaked every vestige of lye dye out of tier her hair and then climbed out of the bathtub tier her tillage things had come from the store and she went into the next room and unpacked them it was good to draw on soft filmy under thIngs feel tile the kiss of virgin silk upon her limbs dressing only in the frilly un ler der ga gardenti slie she pirouetted before the long cheval glaso elas on the nick buck of the closet door for several moments in the frothy black silk under thIngs and pink flesh colored stockings she knew perfectly well as she looked in the glass that she looked tremendously sweet if sir mr werrill could see her bowl and yet she him to tie he be really loving tier her it would bp be something else elre like poor Ilar harvey 1 donning the new nev dress she silt sat be tore fore the mirror and carefully massaged applied with restraint rc all of if le i old cosmetics that the she had been eVis tomed to ai a i which she ehe had L ea ince the death of harvey rubbed robbed brilliantine into her air combing P I 1 out and curving it of at the ends in ID front so an atiat a thick curl of it upon each side warmly tickled her cheek check even she was amused amazed at the illie erttis girl who at lost last app ap eLred in ID the mirror wor for severn moments moment she lut 1111 chin ni i 1 knit fingers elbows upon tho aresser top ani herc herself elf site she was pretty startlingly so and de light rightfully fullY young icv am that was all that hint was left to her tier ner father had bad said thai slit sin ight i never come home mr boule probably never flient to hei again it wax was tile the con f her for what ahl mil ad skille she realized now that thai all of tile the gayety gaiety which she had affected while ansing sing had been een put on and now that there was nu no more dressing to 10 he done clouds of mem orles were rolling up upon threatening every maruen to break over her in a storm slie she rrt i a tried to b good imd find tried to start oer as gertrude had suggested LI t hadn haan t worked hy by then go on frying when tit in had done what she had find there was no forgiveness vili alij then try I 1 earn it why not just go on since there was nothing else left to live for defiantly ste ale rose and stood by the win dot do looking out the big white sign oi 01 the montmartre Mont blont marte cult calt slie she cold co ld see front from the back she caught a gluise of tile the red and gold sign full of rippling lights upon the uptown theater a little to th left the alie a sign there was she knew a new cafe over there she had over ove 1 a bun ban dred dollars which she had i from the store stor that afternoon as change from her check the dell with beallie be allae back stat she said at las ins aloud to herself she opened the door and parsed 10 all right agreed lolita caring little what happened to her into the hall delerine aed to run away from the storm whose clouds were getting blacker and blacker with each passing As ag she descended the stairs she was vaguely const conscious lous that some one below had find just finished a conversation with mrs airs hardy and wat wa starting up the stairs on the landing she ehe came face to face with sir mr slie she stopped in amazement directly in ills his path Il lardon nic inc lie said but I 1 was in search of miss er I 1 bibes I 1 won der if im hei sister cut in lolita ashes h not up thele I 1 was going to ee tier her myself bill ashes apparently gone out for the evening what flat may I 1 ask if its not d ft holly impertinent question did you want to see her about well noth ing in particular I 1 just wanted to usher asher if certain things were true I 1 guess it mailer though probably not said colliu crisply id have known you were tier her alster eien eed if fr you told tile me on mr air burrill rill lingering ills his hat 01 are exactly IM tier her to ID lots lota of 0 ways but very different to in others ills admiration fairly from hl eyes Some somehow tion tills this revolted tier her without a word slie she hurried flurried on down docu tile the stairs leaving film standing ng there then looking after her sl SI e wits more de than ever now to forget foret all about the filing that oer ger trude had pren drenched ched hut but not practiced pr she want sir mr War rills begird now even though the she could see she he might nave have it it he k worth the having it was only lor for the outside of berthe her the new outside of her ile fie was w just like all other men there was nothing good or fine or worth having in the world outside she turned resolutely with a final mental toss that caused a physical toss togs of the head bead firmly toward the new cafe CHAPTER VI walking along with her head bead down fermind her mind a wild kaleidoscope of scorn and hopelessness lolita suddenly heard a voice close at band I hello lello gir girlie liell 1 sang out a boys boya cheerful voice almost without think in ing she turned and replied Ile hello flo she saw a young fellow of perhaps twenty fie gie at the wheel of a sport coupe evidently he be had seen her from the rond scudded studded along as she walked and taken advantage of tile the arst open parking spice spare along tile the curt burh to drive in wid and call to tier her going any place in particular next asked the youth no no place in particular responded LOMA in a dull tone slie site was thinking idly that he was good looking heppy looking as though he a trouble in the world hop into the car he suggested and well both go no place in particular ti without a word of remon she climbed into the car at once he swung the automobile about and started buck back then he suddenly turned to her the whole trouble with you he now pronounced airily Is that you probably dont drink enough lillta looked t him IL astonishment as he went on yeh that must be it you probably dont drink enough I 1 noticed how d n blue you looked lie ble say I 1 ink plenty and I 1 always feel fine im heading for the goose and gander tind and good for both care what Is the goose gonce and gander asked lolita A road house nine miles out swell place nobody has ever been able to remember what they were blue about aboul tle the minutes after they got inside all right agreed loilta caring little what happened to tier her A after after fter all what difference did anything make she had done her level best to redeem herself rhe fhe had failed to in every particular there was nothing left to do the mistake that slie she find and lade eade would never be forgiven site she had often wondered previous t to milking it why girls who made one false step alwaes kept on going downward it seemed so silly when all that they needed do was to turn to the night flight and start over again now she understood der stood site she was grateful that her companion did nut not speak to her she just wanted to sit und and halt half think about almost nothing and the night and the lights off in the field la in farmhouses farm bouse rush by and hear bear the chorus of tho the crickets so loud that it sounded above the noise that the car made almost she began to feel a little happy presently the car stopped before an old house bouse that looked ae a though it w were ere sadly in need of repairs it was wa perfectly dark but tie ns she looked about she saw that dozens of other cars care with all of their lights out were parked around near the ramshackle old frame building come on prompted her companion utter after he be had found a parking place and 8 wit clied off ills lights she a ata lowed him to assist her from thel they walked up a short flight of ra pa ne opened a rieti rickety ety door and paso pas a darkened hallway her ca led for holding her arm pushed ile h beld in the J another door opened all will be no 0 4 burst of music fairly them a blaze of ligado this play it almost before slie site knew it lillta was dancing with her escort when tile the music stopped and he led her to a I 1 seats seat she be felt almost lighthearted an gay the place inside BUS its a miracle of beauty and perfection completely giving the lie ile to the ext eilor well jolly people were everywhere about laughter and happ happiness iness seemed literally to saturate everything something specified tier her escort alien hen a walter waiter approached that good for the goose gnuse and good for tile the gander gamier the waiter nodded and walked oft off presently he was back with what looked like water in two small glasses hut hul upon sipping it loleta discovered at once that it way wait quite uny anything thing but water it was more mor like ire fire than llian water she coughed cou glied anti and choked her fler escort laughed TO ITO BE BB CONTINI TED |