| Show COMES a MOMENTO MOMENT By ELINOR MAXWELL O C ARCADIA HOUSE PUBLICATIONS SERVICE SYNOPSIS effectual Mary Loring and her father Jim an nn In In- attorney meet a n train which brings his wea wealthy sIster unmarrIed married Linnie and her friend Lella LeIJa Ormsby dl di for lor a Christmas visit home Waiting at for them are arc Ma Marys Mary's s mother her younger sIster Ellen her fathers father's nagging maiden sister Aunt Mamie and Peter r the bab baby of the family At the depot Dr Christopher their Cragg helps the guests with luggage Mary Is secretly In love with Doctor Cragg In leavIng her Aunt Linnic urges Mary to vIsit her in New Y York rk but Mary refuses Mary works in ln a rental lJ Ii- where she spends her sPare time writing short stories es Marys Mary's father 1 Is let out rii as railroad a attorney orney the fees rees of or which To were r almost St the sole suPPort of his family earn a n money she decides to begin writt writ writ- Ing 4 In earnest M Mary y feels sure that her newest t story At At Sea would please the ft editors lh of National Weekly After finishing It she calls Doctor J f Cragg who comes to the book store for a 3 current novel Falling from a nf ladder cr whIle getting hIs book book- she regains consciousness TT to find his arms around her lie fie tells her he loves her and then tells her he Sri Is to be married the coming month to a n axi xi girl llie i he has known all hIs life lICe Despondent Mary decides Jl to accept her Aunt Linnies Linnie's Invitation i In New York her aunt laughs at her for her plans to write and Insists that she meet as many eligible men as possible The new week brings two letters One from the he National Weekly with a check for her story makes her deliriously happy The other from her sister tells her that financial finan finan- cial conditions at home are getting worse The next day at a party given b by her aunt Mary meets distinguished Jerome Taylor wealthy middle a aged ed man and effusive Count Umberto The counts count's oily ally manner nauseates her A note from rom her father lather the following day pleads with her not to mention the family's financial financial finan finan- cial plight to her aunt Alter After reading It she forces herself to begin rork ork on her next short story which Is more difficult to write than the first She labors on until her ier aunt Informs her that Count Umberto whom Leila Lella terms a sponger and fortune hunter Is La to take them to dinner that eve eve- ning He lie takes them to a garish restaurant in n Greenwich Village That evening enin Mary sends her story Their Son to the National Na Na- ional Weekly She goes to see sec Phillip Buchanan editor of the National Weekly to whom she has given her last story CHAPTER VI Continued VI-Continued Continued G 6 She smiled at Mr Buchanan Yes I am Mary Loring You took me rather by sur sur- prise Oh Ohl But I thought Miss Hicken- Hicken looper announced me I She did of course I mean that I was hardly prepared for a debu debu- tante At Sea has the wisdom of years in its theme Im two twenty-two Mary fary replied as if that explained everything Phillip Buchanan smiled and his teeth seemed very white because of the contrast they made with the tan of his face All of that Do sit down Miss Loring Im I'm so glad you dropped in Ive I've wanted to tell you how very much we liked At Sea Its It's scheduled for publication tion April fifteenth Mary seated herself in a chair which faced him across the desk he the envelope containing her manuscript manuscript manuscript manu manu- script held tightly beneath her right arm Oh Ohl Not until April Not until April Mr Buchanan repeated Why that's giving your story an early publication I Dont Don't you know that our material material material-at at least concerned is is as far as fiction is planned months in advance In fact act we shelved a story we had arranged to publish on that date in L 1 Doo order to maKe maice room w u. u t the e way have you written anything since you sent us At Sea Mary produced the envelope containing containing con con- taming her precious script and placed it on the desk before him Indeed I have Mr Buchanan and here it is Another short short Phillip Philip Buchanan glanced at it at hl his put it on a pile of papers left and then casually lit his ciga ciga- rette fine Ill I'll turn it over overto to Mr Johnstone today Marys Mary's eyes clouded with She had supposed that would read Mr Buchanan himself the story story perhaps ps this morning while she sat there in his office Mr Johnstone she repeated numbly Yes one of our readers Then evidently sensing her disappointment disappoint disappoint- You all aU ment he explained see material submitted to The National Weekly goes through a regular routine rou- rou tine Mr Johnstone reads it first separates the wheat from the chaff I hands on the possibilities to Mr Arbuckle who in turn does a bit weeding After Alter which whatever whatever whatever what what- more is left goes on to Mr Van ever what he then okays Winkle He needs considers best suited to our and sends it on to me A sort of survival of the fittest as it were were I Heavens what a test I Mary replied replied replied re re- re- re plied that elusive dimple playing atone atone at atone corner of her mouth Im surprised surprised surprised sur sur- one that anything ever reaches desk I I had supposed your read everything that That I to the office Lord no not I comes couldn't wander through all that rest assured as- as may you However trash the lured story what's Lured that your title tille by the way Their Son Mary replied You may rest assured that Their will be given a sympathetic Son and like style reading We your realistic manner in which you the the thc situations in At Sea handled within has appeared Once an author hes he's given as far ns as pages our place in the sun concerned a were we're second thought Ill I'll probably probably on fl In fact this over to Mr Van turn ably just the mill Winkle not put it through He glanced abruptly at the dull gold watch strapped to his wrist Lord Lordi Its It's nearly one o'clock and I have an engagement with Ford Hansen at two How about having a spot of lunch with me Miss Loring Marys Mary's hands clutched convulsively convulsive convulsive- ly beneath the protection of the coat which lay across her lap and to her embarrassment her face flushed scarlet Phillip Buchanan the in editor of the most popular popular popular lar magazine in the United States was asking her to have a spot of lunch with him I Why thank you she managed to reply That will be fun Buchanan leaped from his chair and went towards a cupboard at the far end of the room AU All right he said Lets go And opening the door he dragged out a camels camel's hair top-coat top and slid into it I want to talk to you about a series of shorts and this is a swell op op- op- op ty I Mary felt dizzy with excitement as she and Phillip Buchanan closeted closet closet- ed in one of the silent elevators of I Yz 1 f Mary Muy felt dizzy with excitement I the building which housed The National National National Na Na- NaI I Weekly descended twenty floors to the lobby Mr Buchanan was taking her to lunch Mr Buchanan Buchanan Buchanan Bu Bu- Bu- Bu chanan wanted to talk to her about a series of shorts for his maga maga- zine She mentally estimated how many words she could write a day how many hours it would take to revise and polish what she had writ writ- ten She must not be hasty or care care- less She should she figured al allow allow allow al- al low herself two mornings for the original composition two additional mornings for revision and a f fifth th sitting perhaps for perfect retyping retyping retyping ing of the script They had reached the lobby now and were heading for the street door I say Mr Buchanan began began began be be- gan you dont don't mind barging all the way down to the Lafayette do you My appointment with Hansens Hansen's in that neighborhood u uL L I ANimal I nave gone 10 w Chinatown or Great Neck or Timbuktu Timbuktu Timbuktu Tim Tim- with him had he suggested one of those spots as a lunching place I I dont don't mind at all she returned Ive wanted to see the Lafayette ever since Greta Garbo appeared in Romance Mr Buchanan looked puzzled Romance Oh yes I remember now All about a young minister who fell in love with an actress I That's right Some of the scenes were supposed to be laid at the La fayette Well Vell I dont don't know that you'll find a great deal of the atmosphere atmosphere atmosphere at at- of the sixties remaining but its it's a good place to eat Come on well we'll hop a taxi Once in the cab he settled himself himself him him- self sell comfortably back against the leather cushions as ns if to snatch a abit abit abit bit of rest while the opportunity offered offered offered of of- lit a cigarette and said Well tell me something about yourself Miss Loring Youre You're from some small town in the West arent aren't you Mary glanced shyly at the clear clear- cut lines of the mans man's profile He looked rather bored No doubt his taking her out to lunch was only a necessary evil as ns far as he was concerned con con- the the courteous gesture made by a publisher to one of his con con- Perhaps he was asking her to talk about herself merely in order to avoid the trouble of making making making mak mak- ing conversation My homes home's in Hawkinsville Iowa she began obediently feeling that at heart he wouldn't care if she hailed from the Fiji Islands Im just visiting my aunt in New York for a while Oh so your aunt lives here Yes my mothers mother's sister But she's going South sometime in March and Ill I'll probably return to Hawkinsville I I-I I I really would like to stay in New York indefinitely Why would you like to stay in New York Mr Buchanan asked I 1 should think it would be easier to write in a country town away awny from all the hurrah Besides youre you're right in touch with a n certain type of life which judging from At Sea youre you're particularly capable of han han- I Hawkinsville is a country town isn't it I suppose that's what you'd call it Mr Buchanan Mary replied hating herself for the resentment that had crept into her voice The populations population's almost ten thousand Then with a chuckle In fact its it's been almost ten thousand for the past fifty years I Most of the boys leave for Saint Louis or Chicago to get positions as soon as they're finished finished finished fin fin- with high school or college Some of the girls marry and go away A few new families dribble into town every year and the men get employment at the leather fac fac- tory People die babies are born but the population remains the same The man finally looked at her interesting he commented comment comment- ed and the faint lines around his mouth crinkled with amusement Tell What the the en ah me are en entertainments What do people do doall doall doall all the time Well Mary replied warming under his half smile theres the little country club three miles from town and set high UD un on the bluffs over overlooking the Mississippi The Themen Themen 1 men and some of the women play golf gol there during the summer and every Saturday night theres there's a dinner dinner dinner din din- ner dance with Swansons Swanson's orchestra from Burlington to furnish the music music music mu mu- sic and even though Art Swanson could never in anyone's wildest moments moments moments mo mo- ments be termed a second Paul Whiteman the music is good Really Really Really Real Real- ly it is I Then there are two movie houses and often we get pictures that haven't even been released in Saint Louis yet And of course the churches are very active and there are any number of church dinners during the winter with the women of the guild cooking and serving the food themselves And darned good food I bet it itis itis itis is I Oh is it Fried chicken and cream gravy and corn on the cob in the summer with great slabs of chocolate cake and made home-made ice ice- cream And in the winter luscious ham all coated with crisp brown sugar and baked in wine Boston baked beans and loads and loads of tiny biscuits fresh from the oven Stop I Youre You're making my mouth water Lord LordI The people in those small towns know how to live I In more In more ways than one Mary said tensely her thoughts flashing back to her father and mother a sudden wave of homesickness and pity assailing her At least they know what Life is all about They're closer to it somehow than people in the cities Closer to Life Life and and Death Death closer closer to each other Sometimes Sometimes Sometimes Some Some- times you get annoyed because everybody everybody ev ev- in town seems to know your innermost secrets yet secrets yet on the other hand you know that those very same people care care and and care terribly when youre you're sick or dying or in trouble Their cab was drawing up before the Lafayette and Phillip Buchanan turned abruptly and faced her That is the kind of people you must write about he said the life you know You were born to it You were raised in it Youve You've been steeped in that atmosphere Now write about it And with an energetic jerk he tugged open the thedoor thedoor thedoor door of the taxi The Lafayette was seething with activity Smartly groomed women were lunching at tables for two with smartly groomed men Larger Larg Larg- er Cr tables surrounded by males only buzzed with laughter and conversa conversa- tion At first Mary thought perhaps perhaps perhaps per per- haps she and Mr Buchanan would have to find another place for their spot of lunch but the captain miraculously located a small table for them decorated by three yellow yellow yellow yel yel- yel- yel low jonquils in a bud vase and plumped against a window 1 What sort of cocktail would you like Miss Loring Phillip Philip Buchanan Buchan Buchan- an asked almost before he had succeeded succeeded suc sue in getting his long legs beneath beneath beneath be be- neath the snowy cloth None thank you Mary re re- re- re turned You see see Fine Finel the man replied Well you dont don't mind watching me drink do you Have you decided what you'd like to eat Mary glanced at the menu in her hand An Egg Benedict I think and endive salad Egg Benedict and endive salad Alphonse for Miss Loring and Ill I'll have fillet mignon with sauce men- men Coffee later He glanced at his watch again His life thought I Mary seemed to be run on sched sched- ule He had consulted that timepiece timepiece timepiece time time- piece exactly five times in the past hour Its a quarter after one he announced Id better tell you what we have in mind for you Miss Loring Both Mr Van Winkle and andI I are enthusiastic about At Sea The plot of course is not particularly new but then after all no plot is You attacked it from a fresh viewpoint however and we liked the manner in which you handled it Now we feel that a series of i shorts done in the same style might be used by The National Weekly over a period of several months Say one every other week And in time if they prove satisfactory satisfactory satisfactory tory and click with our public we will of course gradually increase the pay Ill do my best Mr Buchanan she said breathlessly Ill start in tomorrow I I-I I I think I have a plot in mind right now And then of course you have Their Son Yes Van Winkle will give that thata a reading within a few days if pos pos- sible Were We're practically deluged with scripts right now but many of them are unsolicited and Im I'm sure hell he'll give Their Son some preference as far as the time element element element ele ele- ele- ele ment is concerned Is there any particular treatment you Simply stick to writing about the type of life you know Buchanan replied cutting short her question He then attacked his steak and for the next few minutes completely completely completely com com- ignored her existence Still resentful she adhered to her vow of |
