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Show THAT IMPOSSIBLE TOWN 1 M ARTAN HALL, alias Penelope Warrington, Warring-ton, shattered every ev-ery time-honored, time-worn tradition a3 to the beginner in the theatrical world. There are those on the seamy sjdo and on the painted side of the t eurtaln who will not believe this. H Marian came to tho region of brow n- H stono fronts and white lights with a K determination to shino with the host M of other Incandescent stars. She did H not find It a difficult matter to get her Hl dainty foot on tho first round of the i She did not live in musty hall hed- H Tooms, so dear to the heart of maga- M rlno folks; no eagle-eyed landlady m opened her mail or asked embarrass- H ing questions or sniffed for Btolen gas. H Marian did not fry her breakfast ege ' over a smoky Jet. nor smuggle crack- H erB to her room under hor jacket. Nel- H) ther did she write home for money No managers Insulted her, no atage- i' floor admirers annoyed her; after-the- H ??" 8UPPers wero mysteries somo- H thing as Intangible as highballs. m She never stayed up later than mld- i night, save on occasions of lato rc- ; hearsals, and never, never had a mom- B Sefi 2f tho male Eex' other than the B hell-boy, ever stepped into her 1m- m maculate little room at the Durrant B Hotel. jrcuoiupe pronounced Pe-nel-o-pe, B with emphasis on tho second syllable' H received each Monday night, with H come fifty odd others of tho Laugh- H Ing Prince ss Company, an envelope W containing $25. Five of that went in a letter each week to an impossible Hr town somewhere in Iowa. K' She had 520 remaining. Statisti- W' clan's who search. frantically through C the ages, weigh results by rule of sup- H ply and demand, and who come to life H In the popular magazines concerning M v the Increased cost of living, might havo learned a great deal from Pe-nol-o-pe. K-- v l -" s&nrr. , Aj.,.rjrrjfatil!l Once upon a none too distant time Penelope was known aB Marian, daughter of the general storekeeper In the self-same impossible Iowa town. She now looked upon her 19 years of existence back there as a butterfly might reflect upon lta days in a cof-fln-llke cocoon, Tho very moment she put the Hud-Bon Hud-Bon hehlnd her and stepped aboard a Forty-second street crosstown car she realized the luro of Manhattan. Sho heard the voices in the roaring ",L" trains, in the ceaseless shuffle of numberless num-berless feet and in the rattlo of evor-conBtant evor-conBtant traffic. Thus in the gradual process of evolution evo-lution she became Penelono Warrlnr- ton. The fact was, Dickie suggested it first, and . Dickie? O, Richard Blackdaw was a bright, clean-cut, smooth-faced broker who had an office in Wall street Dickie had a finger in several pies, too, but theBe were never mentioned below Fourteenth street Dickie web everything a gentleman should be, and to Penelope, dazzled by his elegance, he seemed a good fairy dropped from the akles. To other people peo-ple he was other things. Anyhow, on the very day that Marian Ma-rian Hall shyly advanced upon the big. bare stage where a chorus rehearsal was in progress and asked a certain flushed, coat and hatless individual for a position, this latter person took in a deep breath, opened his eyes, and then telephoned Dickie I It is perhaps well to mention right hero that Marian Hall possessed more than ordinary attractiveness. The country sweetness fairly burned In her wide brown eyes and shimmered in tho wealth of braided haiL And when she smiled well, to repeat re-peat that the stage director was amazed amaz-ed is the strongest proof possible to offer, A position? "SVhy, of course. Sho was Just the type they had been searching for. No experience? Well, that didn't matter. Looks were of more Importance. Impor-tance. Girls who could sing and dance were plentiful; but girls of Marian's Ma-rian's Bort were few and far between. Marian Hall was Marian Hail for three days after this; then the change came. Dickie suggested Penelope Warington, and thus it went on tho programs. Dickie did a great deal more than that. Dickie made Penelope move to a hotel. Afford lt7 Why, certainly. A cute little room could bo had for well, It would only cost hor $5 a week. Just a trifle more than she would havo to pay for a cheerless hall room in a brownstone front Anyway, Penelope was not posted as to rents in Manhattan. Why, her moth- ft'a Vinof rnnm nf irTyi wqo In nut frtf $8 a month! So It cost Penelope $6 a week for room rent. This must be repeated; Penelope paid $5 a week for her little room at the Durant! This Is to allay al-lay any and all suspicions In the minds of certain readers. This room had an Immaculate bath, the daintiest furniture, the softest rugs, and the most restful bod In all the world. Clusters of hidden lights sprang Into life at a touch. A shining button brought either maid or bellboy. A telephone made her a next-door neighbor to all of tho city and beyond. be-yond. She found it cheaper and much more convenient to eat most of her meals in hor room breakfast at 11, dinner at 6. All she had to do was to sign the slip thnt name un nn fh trav. Tho hill settled at the end of each week. . They avoraged B0 cents a meal. Penelope Pe-nelope paid for her meals paid 50 cents I Read that sentence again and strangle any new suspicion! Clothes? Dicklo took her t'o a little place on Fifth avonue where, well, the prices were absurdly low. A moBt delicate del-icate gown could be purchased for ?25 after Dickie had Introduced her to the madam. And a cunning hat came to $15! All the shopkeepers appeared to know Dickie and made him extraordinary extraor-dinary bargains. Penelope's letters home and they were twice weekly contained all tho news, even to the most minute detail. Here was another time-worn tradition shattered. She told her mother everything! every-thing! It scarcely need be mentioned, in this light, that Penelope was a good girl I She waB wraped up in her "art," as all chorus girls should bo, but otherwise oth-erwise ' she was different Penelope vpald $5 for her room. $7 for her meals and tho balance of the $20 went for clothes. She never allowed Dicklo to glvo her a present. In this she was following out the advice given by hor mother and one other. uei wiupauiunti in iuc uiiui 113 3QU1W- tlmes interested her, sometimes amazed hor, and not Infrequently shocked her. She heard many things in the dressing room that were beyond understanding, but fearing to show her Ignorance she did not ask questions. If Dickie took her for an afternoon spin In his big car, which was often, he also took leave of hor in the hotel lobby. Never by word or action had Dickie offended her. Richard Blackdaw waB a broker who bought stocks after a careful and mature ma-ture deliberation, and was content to wait patiently until the market was In a proper shape In orderto dispose of them. Dickie's supreme possession was his patience. . With a certain end in view, and all things running In well-oiled grooves, ue vyub Buuuucu iu jcl mutters complete com-plete their course. Other men might have been dubious, attempted to unload un-load on an unresponsive market thereby ruining everything. Again thoy might have thrown caution to the winds and plunged. With Blackdaw it was a waiting game. He never plunged, no mattor how inviting the water. jjEvery move he made was deliberate and carefully planned in advance. He wbb nothing if not systematic. One night when Penelope came out of the stage door, it was only two blocks from her hotel and sho always walked, Dickie met her, his big car chugged patiently at tho curb. "Why not a little bite to eat to-tonight?" to-tonight?" Dickie aBked. "I'm lonesome! lone-some! Wo can go over to some quiet place. You can be back in the hotel before 1 o'clock. Just this once, please!" Penelope hesitated. It is the sort of hesitation that comes to all of us soon or late. Surely there could bo no harm In dining with a man in a brightly bright-ly lighted cafe. Besides, sho was hungry. Tho machine whirled them through the maze of white lights and cluttored traffic, up a side street, and finally Bioppea Deiore win uuui i a. ullic tiuu. Dickie evidently knew the head waiter, for a cozy table was given them in one corner. The room was alive with murmurs and laughter, the music was a fascinating background for all the light and color. Penelope took in a deep, deep breath and felt tho warm blood throb in either temple. tem-ple. The waiter came and tiptoed away.' Afterward, when she looked down beside be-side tho lighted candles Ponolopo saw a fragile, slim-stemmed glass there, filled with an enchanting, greonlsh-hucd greonlsh-hucd liquid. At tho bottom lay an olive. "Don't be afraid," Dickie waB saying say-ing "It Is the UBUal thing and . . ." Penelope's pulses wore pounding in her ears like minute drums. Her hands of the liquid over them. With a quick laugh she reached into her bag for a handkerchief. In doing so hor fingers touohed and fumbled at an oval framo. It came out with the bit of linen. Dickie saw tho picture it enclosed. "Who is that?" he asked sharply. It'B it's the man back home," sho faltered: and then, suddenly, her voice tremulous: "PleaBe I don't want to stay here any longer!" For the first time slnco their meet- ; ing Penelope saw Dickie's mouth tighten. For the first time since their s ,1, xta-vi'-- L . ';rr. --. meeting she felt afraid. A vague, intangible in-tangible something came between them. Back In her little room at the hotel Penelope took tho picture of Jim Parker Par-ker and set It before hor on the dressing dress-ing table. Jim was the dark-eyed fellow who had carried her books In tho school days; who had danced with her at tho parties: who kissed her that day when she left the little red station for New-York. New-York. He would always wait on her. With the approach of warmer weather weath-er the audiences who paid real money to witness the ''Laughing Princess"" dwindled away. The notice followed. ann men tne closing. Somehow Penelope had not prepared herself for this ordeal. She had Imagined Im-agined tho "Laughing Princess" merrily mer-rily wending hor way forever. When she loft the stage door for the last time she had just $40 saved This she tucked reflectively back Into her mT.and 8tarled engagement hunting There were several summer revinwB opening Some 6f the girls had mentioned men-tioned this, and bo sho promptly made application for a position. Strang n3 It may appear, these quests were fruitless. fruit-less. There woro a dozen girls for every opening. ftGS a Ck of th,B pe!opo had 35 and a bad case of blues One day on Broadway she'met a former for-mer Principal of the "Laughing Princess." Prin-cess." During the course of their otde- waiK conversation Penelope mentioned her lack of position Tho principal wbb plainly surprised. "But Mr. Blackdaw you haven'f SMS you' yu d " "Yes." Ponelope nodded "Well, I ahould think he'd fix you "f w,tb m of the summer "howa then," the other resumed ' "Fix me up?" Penelope venture curiously. "Why, how could he b?' sides. I wouldn't think of askinl 5m Buch a favor," she added S blm "A favor? Whv 1f" ,..i isn't it. that you-'' J?eratQod. Please," Penelope Interrupted, her jKFi cheeks coloring. "I think you musf be iBP mistaken about Mr. Blackdaw and my- iBsti self. He has been very kind to me, fEp that is all. And as for doing anything llMcoi for me why, that is entirely out of jlA tho question!" ili Tho other woman laughed quite llpoi frankly. "My dear little girl, I wasn't J prr born yesterday. You live at the Dur- j rant, don't you? And that gown you ? ! have on came from Luclle's. didn't it? I MSS I vo bought gowns there and I know. g? ?iooT" hav cost a cent undor IBS Somehow and in some unknown ISBfe manner Penelonp loff Via ., a .-J1-il"T had walked dazedly up Broadway to JR Forty-eighth street before being In full control of her senses. Hor quick W breath seemed to hurt her throat Aft- m er a struggle she turned and walked ', pack to her croBs-atreet, then on into ' the hotel. At the desk, observing a new clerk I I on duty, a sudden determination gripped her heart She asked for her I 3f I H , 7?ha ls tbo beat rate vou can nmka II a mend of mine for a room similar to ii a?, J haver ShQ scarcely recog- ! alzed his voice. m "By the week?" ft Yes. By the week!" RH hA Je?iy dollars ,s th0 rogular rate." U& the clerk answered without hesitation. ??0jr w DelJ)Q a'eadied herself by hold- '&trfc desk. l0 edea of th0 lona taSHJi vnnr6vh!re ,s no Iower rater iFlN one whatever!" fifi edA1Lth, nfternon Penelope remain- ' 1' whnr, t0T Toom' Toward evening : Wu, shi ,! b,,cam9 d into the lebbj ', SvS1, case SJ? 2niy the 1Ittle 9habb7 uI1 ?, orv?h?b b,ad brouSht from home. Ev- tfij handed tl8e sbe left In tb om. Shi fift stenpri k the, key t0 the clerk and JaJ&C ClSo&?7 2ut lnt0 tbe twilight - hoK aeve?lfhhdJn her cold flnrs -eri vg several banknotes. They totaled $2& tatfi to thI??JUBt fvnougb t0 Wt her bacf Jim? lmDosaIbl town in Iowa-anl , A . Ugd |