Show re COMES a MOMENT by ELINOR MAXWELL 0 0 ARCADIA HOUSE publications SERVICE SYNOPSIS mary loring and her father jim an ineffectual attorney meet a train which brings his wealthy weal Y sister in law unmarried linnie and her friend lelia leila ormsby divorcee v 0 reee tor for a christmas visit waiting is at home lor for them are marys mary mother her h er younger sister ellen her fathers nagging maiden sister aunt blarnie mamie and peter the baby of the family at the 0 depot 1 dr christopher cragg helps the guests with their luggage mary Is secretly in love with doctor cragg in leaving her aunt linnie urges mary to visit her in new york but mary refuses mary works in a rental library where she spends her spare time writing short stories marys father Is let out cra t as railroad attorney the tees fees of which were almost most the sole support of his family to earn money she decides decades to begin writing in earnest mary feels sure that her newest story at sea would please the editors of national weekly alter after finishing r 1 it she calls doctor cragg who comes come to the book store tor for a current novel fallin ang from a ladder while getting his book she regains consciousness to find fand his hi s arms around her he tells her he loves h her e r and then tells her he Is to be married the coming coining month mont it to a girl he has known all his I 1 life ife despondent mary decides to accept her aunt Lt ranies invitation in new york her aunt laughs at her tor for her plans to write and insists that she meet as many eligible men as possible the new week brings two wo letters one from the national weekly with a check tor for her tory story makes her deliriously happy the S other from her sister tells her that financial conditions at home are getting worse orse the next day at a party given by her aunt mary meets distinguished jerome taylor wealthy middle aged man and efrus effusive ive count umberto Ba Bali banci ancl the counts oily manner nauseates her CHAPTER V continued the mulatto woman consulted the names on the envelopes with maddening precision finally extending a letter towards mary just one honey looks like a mans writing too mary caught the letter from the long olive tinted hand 1 I hope its from my father she said almost as if to herself dad had not written to her since her arrival in new york and she was hungry to hear in his own words how he was getting on it was from her father just one pa page ge of his small scholarly handwriting neat modest suppressed like the man himself she read with affectionate eagerness what he nau had to to say my own little girl your money order lor for eighty five dollars came today and it is with inexpressible embarrassment and deep gratitude that I 1 am accepting this loan from you there Is no use trying to conceal from you that I 1 am terribly hard pressed and that your generous offering has arrived as something of a godsend god send but mary I 1 shall pay yo you back I 1 am doing everything I 1 can to make a contact and hope for or something good to break this week dont I 1 beg of 0 you ever mention to your aunt the straitened circumstances in which I 1 through my inadequacy have thrown my family I 1 could not bear the chagrin ot of having your dear mothers sister know the true state of 0 our financial affairs let alone suffer the embarrassment ras of an offer oder of help from her try not to worry about us dear have a good time while you may something I 1 am sure will work out for or me soon mary placed her unfinished piece of toast on the blue butter dish she could not eat any more her ravenous young appetite had deserted her poor dad trying to make a contact at his agel age HO hoping p for something good to break this week begging her never to divulge to aunt linnie who could so very easily spare a thousand or two thousand dollars to relieve at least temporarily the devastating W worry rry that gnawed at his heart and mind no she would not let on 1 by word or act how desperate the hawkinsville Haw kinsville situation was she would never betray dads confidence or do anything to hurt his pride hastily she picked up the breakfast tray with its powder blue dishes and silver coff coffee ee pot and carried it to addle addie who forthwith remonstrated rated with her for doin my work then returning to the sunlit living room she placed the typewriter on the table inserted a sheet of white paper and put on the glasses which euen ellen said made her look typically librarian she had an idea for a plot a simple idea but so had been the idea for at sea mr buchanan had liked that well enough to accept it her story was to concern a little boy whose mother and father were on the brink of a sensational divorce just as things were reaching a crisis he was hit but only slightly injured by an automobile and this near tragedy brought the parents together again the tale concluding in a sane and happy manner for all concerned fifteen liftee n minutes later she was still waiting for an introductory line that would inspire within mr buchanan an avid interest to read the rest of the story but the portentous words were fearfully slow in coming at last her fingers fell upon the keys and sharply tapped out a sentence a sentence that did not please her in the least but which would simply have to do for the time being she would have to get on she sit there all day waiting to begin paragraph after paragraph slowly ly but surely stretched themselves over the pages but the story unrolled with painful effort ive waited too long since the last one my thoughts simply cant get down to business too many things have happened to me since I 1 wrote at sea if only id begun another story the very day after I 1 finished I 1 suppose your minds just like any other kind of machinery youve got to keep it working au all the time or the wheels get rusty and are hard to start up again mary worked on their son again the next morning rewriting whole sentences transcribing phrases deleting words that appeared unnecessary but the conformation remained the same and slie she could see no way in which to improve it she was not satisfied with what she had done the story lacked something at one she put it aside telling herself grimly im so saturated with the thing that I 1 can no longer look at it from an unbiased standpoint ill go out for a walk maybe the fresh air will drive the cobwebs out of my brain and I 1 can get to work on it again tonight with a fresh outlook then she suddenly remembered that aunt linnie had made an engagement for the evening with umberto Bali anci and with ith a a sigh she resigned herself to 47 fa I 1 f she settled herself in an armchair and began to read waiting until the following borni morning I 1 ng to work on the script again Bali anci called for them at seven just shortly after lelia had ensconced herself comfortably in bed WI with ith somerset Maug hams new book at her side and a tray of delectable food over her knees well thank heavens im not going out with you and linnie tonight she said with a mischievous grin aunt linnie said to wear a street dress mary remarked lelia yawned dawned luxuriously oh of course with Bali anci footing th the bwl he will no doubt treat you to an eighty five cent table chote in some wretched place in the village and smugly feel that you and linnie are in his debt for the rest of the winter hes so accustomed to having somebody else pay the check that when he does come across with an invitation he damn well sees to it that his output of cash is of the smallest possible denomination hes a sponger darling looking for a rich wife and nobody on earth can make me believe anything to the contrary mary pulled on her lapin coat and caught her gloves up from the dressing table you do look cozy lelia she said and heaven knows I 1 wish I 1 were staying at home tonight instead of going out into that horrid raw weather id have liked to work on my story the afternoon paper says well have a regular blizzard by morning lelia announced crunching a julienne potato with tantalizing enjoyment joy ment thanks be to allah for my bed and boardl board see you later my dear unless you get lost in a snowdrift I 1 doubt if Bali anci has the price of a Bali anci had the price of a taxi or else had decided to spread himself for the evening for upon descending to the street he ordered the doo doorman aman to whistle for a cab C cor or li anis he told the driver in the village A startled look sprang into linnies eyes but was quickly diplomatically mati cally succeeded by a smile Corl ianis Bali anci she inquired brightly Is that a new place Bali anci ancl plumped himself down on one of the small side seats and lighted a cigarette it is a place I 1 have but recently discovered miss Cot corswell swell and the food is most excellent cooked as only the chefs of my country can cook I 1 thought per haps miss loring would like a bit of atmosphere something different from what she has been accustomed to scein seeing g and doing since she has been in new york Corl ianis was crowded garish and shabby and the bare wooden tables were set so closely together that it was almost impossible to wedge a way through them sputtering candles set in wine bottles furnished the only illumination and the tha air was heavy with the stale accumulated smell of 0 garlic and cigarette smoke mary wondered during the long spasmodic serving of the meal tf if they were going some place later late r on but her speculations as to that were soon brought to an end by Bali ancis ls saying a tentative tone in his voice the weather it is execrable ec rable should we not be happier to remain here for the evening miss corswell Cot swell who had scarcely touched her food replied that perhaps they would lit a cigarette and sat back resignedly in her chair after which Bali anci divided his attention and his eyes equally between the tawdry floor show and mary once during the evening he put his hand over marys as it lay on the table caught it to his lips and murmured A hand so beautiful it needs no jewels mary hastily withdrew her hand and the corners of her boudi mouth twitched with amusement as she thought just as well since I 1 you are so right beautiful lady Bali anci continued his voice voice reminding mary of the purr of a large maltese cat the lily should never be gilded miss corswell Cot swell caught Bali Bal ancis lancis eye at this moment and neatly conveyed to him by her expression that his remarks were not altogether to her liking eventually at eleven she rose we must be getting home she said tersely Bali anci managed to squeeze into the same seat with the women on the homeward trip in the taxi and to take advantage of the closeness of the quarters by pressing his shoulder rather too tenderly against marys he cant be doing it on purpose mary told herself its simply that this seat is so narrow miss corswell Cot swell turned abruptly just as they reached the elevator in her apartment house and extended her hand to Bali anci ancl in in an undeniable farewell later in the privacy of her apartment she said to her niece umberto was loping right along with us into the lift no doubt he intended to come up for a nightcap but I 1 stand another moment of his company dreadful evening it mary warming her chilled fingers before the dying fire on the hearth smiled maybe it was for you aunt linnie youre so accustomed to nightingales knees on toast that I 1 can imagine how low life you consider a place like Corl ianis As for me however it was rather fun remember hot chocolate and salted crackers at bowens drug store have been the high points in my night life for years id never tasted real italian food before and I 1 was even intrigued with some of the rather strange looking creatures that practically sat in our laps i for some inexplicable reason mary woke at six the next morning lelia and miss corswell Cot swell were of course still asleep and even addie could not be heard stirring about the script of their son which she had tucked away in the bottom drawer of her bureau the day before sprang to her mind and with a sudden spurt of energy she decided that now in the early hours of this cold morning with not one sign of life to disturb the calm was the time to read it over she could look at it from a fresh viewpoint and no doubt discern in its structure glaring flaws which she had been too weary to notice the day before A second later she settled herself in an armchair before the living room window and began to read their son it really went rather smoothly she told herself the phraseology was perfect her choice of words beyond criticism 1 I shant do another thing to it she decided its as good as ever be and it may be far better than I 1 think im going to submit it to mr buchanan today and its it got to sink or swim with eager fingers she slipped it into a large manila envelope and securing aunt Lin linnies nales fountain pen from the tray of odds and ends on the desk wrote across its front in large letters mr phillip buchanan the national weekly ill take it to him myself in she thought and it if hes not there just leave it with his secretary I 1 wish it were later I 1 dont suppose these editors ever think of rolling into their offices until at least ten well ill just have to take a long bath eat a long breakfast and spend an hour getting dressed maybe thavil consume the time between now and theril lf CHAPTER VI it was half past ten and mary sat with flushed face and icy hands in the reception room of the national weekly she had arrived exactly at the stroke of ten and after giving her name to the efficient receptionist had been told that mr buchanan was in that he was occupied at the moment and to sit down please two other persons had now entered the reception room a good looking young man with an intense air a swarthy girl of twenty y five or so but ill be next mary told herself excitedly her hands like blocks of ice beneath their tan sue suede de gloves the other callers had disappeared through mysterious doors and miss the secretary was now speaking through one of the telephones in response to a buzz that had re sounded throughout the reception room all right miss loring she said your turn now mary jumped to her feet drop ping her purse as she did so miss is raised a supercilious eyebrow your purse miss loring she said coldly and better take your coat with you hateful mary thought her face suffusing with a deep red she probably knows im excited to the right please miss en was saying office at the end of the corridor thank you mary said coldly and elevating her chin ever so slightly stepped through the door that led into the working quarters of the national weekly offices opened off to the right and left of the long narrow hall but with eyes straight ahead she made for the one at the end the sanctus sanctorum of the lot the office of phillip buchanan she stood in the doorway an instant before the man at the desk became aware of her presence he was scanning a typed letter and a deep frown made a furrow between his eyebrows he looked austere and mary none too assured at best felt increasingly nervous he was younger than she had expected to find him perhaps thirty five and his hair looked sunburned as S I 1 it if he had just returned from a fishing fishing ing g tri trip pin in florida which indeed he had a suddenly he glanced up and seeing her standing there rose hastily from his chair a puzzled expression on his face he was taller ohp than one would have judged seeing him sitting down glaring at that letter he was as tau tall as chris Is this miss loring Lc aring he asked and the fear that he had inspired in her was instantly dispelled his voice was kind young with the faintest trace of a harvard accent TO BE CONTINUED |