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Show QEJfEEM AMfclE'S lift 4 Mrs. Hammel your message, and she will be pleased to see you at eleven. She is of course very much pressed, very much occupied, so I am sure you will understand and make your call brief. At eleven then" "It was Miss Butters," Anne said to herself as she buttoned on her little blue tuilleur and Jammed her small perky blue hat over her curls, "who made up the last part of that message. Mrs. Hammel never said it at all. If she hadn't meant to be kind, she wouldn't have said she'd see me." Anne was right. Mrs. Hammel did mean to be kind. She looked to the bewildered newcomer like a comfortable, com-fortable, middle-aged angel, her wings concealed by her perfect Worth gown of gray crepe de chine, but her halo almost distinguishable above the smooth ripple of her permanent per-manent wave. and return the calls of any 'cave dwellers' who may be receiving Saturday Sat-urday and Sunday. Monday go to all the Supreme court ladies. Tuesday Tues-day of course you'll go to the congressional con-gressional ladies If any have called on you. No? Well, then, that's easy. Wednesday I think, if I were you, I'd go to see Mrs. Standish, the wife of the Secretary of State. She's a perfect dear. Then next Thursday, Thurs-day, If 1 were you, I should receive again myself. And er do It right. After that, you ought to receive and make calls on alternate Thursdays, till you've been the rounds. But this time, I'd er Mrs. Roper and Mrs. Ranger will tell every one they see, of course, about yesterday, and next Thursday your house will be packed with people who've come to see if they told the truth. And my, what a disappointment they'll get." Mrs. Hammel gave vent to hearty laughter. "I'd like to be there myself, my-self, my dear, to see the fun. If I can possibly make it, I shall be." She rose and kissed Anne on the cheek. CHAPTER IX Continued 11 "My own visits?" gasped Anne, thinking of the windows she had washed and the doors she had scrubbed and all the other pushing, push-ing, daily duties which made her press her hands against her temples tem-ples at night, they harried her so. Visits Indeed I "Of course you've called promptly prompt-ly on all your superiors In rank It's so important to do that at once. It creates quite a wrong Impression If you don't. Well, next week we shall expect to see you, dear Mrs. Conrad. We always receive together, togeth-er, we're such friends. Of course, you've heard how intimate we are." They rose, shook hands, and hur- I'll find out what I've got to do, and do It well." "Why.Anne," said Neal, gently, "I'm awfully sorry. I didn't think . . ." Ills own annoyance had vanished Into thin air at the si&ht of her distress, which he did not minimize. mini-mize. He spoke with unaccustomed and unexpected tenderness. "Darling, "Dar-ling, it's all right. You'll get the hang of all this in no time. Anne don't cry." At nine o'clock the next morning, Anne called up the Vice President's house, and' asked for Mrs. Hammel. A smooth purring voice that sounded, somehow, In spits of Its smoothness, as If it might, upon occasion, grow dreadfully hard, answered, an-swered, "Miss Butters speaking." "This Is Mrs. Neal Conrad, Senator Sen-ator Conrad's wife. I asked for Mrs. Hammel.'' "So you're the wife of the new appointee to the senate? Bless me, how young you look I shouldn't wonder If you're the senatorial baby. Your husband's young, too, isn't he? Mr. Hammers been watching his career with interest he believes there's a big future ahead of him yet. And ahead of you, too, of course. I'm pleased you wanted to run in and see me like this. Was there something special ?" Anne went straight to the point. In a few brief sentences she had outlined her background, upbringing, upbring-ing, and previous experience. Then with slightly more detail, she related re-lated the events of the afternoon before. Mrs. Hammel listened attentively. at-tentively. Once or twice the corners cor-ners of her mouth twitched, and when Anne had finished she coughed a little behind a fine cambric handkerchief. "Run along now, and get to work, my dear," she said. "I've lots of confidence con-fidence In you." ' This confidence was not misplaced. mis-placed. Doggedly, even as she had scrubbed floors and taught school doggedly, Anne set to work to pay her official calls. But Neal came home on the street cars from the senate office building, and the children chil-dren walked home from school, so that she would not have to go for them. It was barely half-past three the next Thursday when, as Mrs. Hammel had predicted, Anne's callers call-ers began to come. The polite ambassadresses am-bassadresses instantly returning their official visit. The Supreme court ladies, whose program was not very full. Mrs. Standish, al- rled away with staccato exclamations exclama-tions about ten more calls to make. The front door closed behind them, but Anne could hear them talking as they went down the steps. "My dear, did you ever? I do believe all those stories about the cow and the washtub and everything every-thing else are true, don't you? No tea and no one to open the door, and those shabby clothes, what did she do in Paris, do you suppose, go to art galleries? And it's evident she doesn't know a thing about what's expected of her. . . . Oh, i Madame Estavi, are you coming to call on Mrs. Conrad, too? Yes, Oh but you see Mrs. Hammel never goes to the telephone, Mrs. Conrad. Couldn't you give me the message? I am her secretary, you know. I take all her messages. Every one who wishes to get in touch with Mrs. Hammel does so through me." Again reproved, again convicted of ignorance! Anne felt herself flushing, alone In the little dark entry where her telephone hung. But she gritted her teeth. "I wonder if she would let me come and see her? Today?" "Well, well," she said, "I don't know when I've been so much interested. in-terested. And you thought of coming com-ing straight to me which I'm very glad you did on account of that article in the Inquirer. Are you on good terms with the press yourself?" your-self?" "I'm afraid not. You see " Anne plunged into that story, too. This time Mrs. Hammel laughed outright. "Yes, I've read some of these ar- ways sweet, efficient ana poisea. The excitement eaters and curiosity seekers regaled by Mrs. Roper and Mrs. Ranger. Miss Sharp and several sev-eral other members of the Woman's National Press club, who had been most agreeably Impressed by Anne when she had come, with Mrs. Hammel, Ham-mel, to their Monday luncheon. . The door was opened for these callers by a wholly correct butler from Rauschers' who was In great we've Just been. Yes, she is In." Another caller was coming up the steps, and Anne saw, with relief, that the new visitor was of a different dif-ferent type was Indeed herself timid and ill at ease, in spite of her pretty clothes and air of unmistakable unmis-takable good breeding. But this ' relief was short-lived. Madame " Estavi, the wife of the third secretary secre-tary of the Peruvian embassy, was tides, and of course I realized they weren't overaccurate, but I didn't know just what lay behind them. Well, my dear, the first thing for you to do is to get a picture of yourself that does you justice several sev-eral of them and then ring up Miss Sharp and ask her to come and have tea and a little chat with you." Mrs. Hammel stirred her cup of chocolate reminiscently. "Today? Really, Mrs. Conrad, l doubt whether that would be pos- 1 sible. Mrs. Hammel would be de-1 lighted to see you of course, but she Is very much engaged. Perhaps next week I could give you an appointment." ap-pointment." "Won't you ask her whether she would see me? It's really urgent." lisl herself a newcomer embarking on her first round of calls. She ac-1 cepted the place by the fire so re-1 cently vacated, and sat holding herself her-self very erect, with painful pauses, 1 which Anne did not know how to fill in, between her civil, stilted little lit-tle sentences. In the midst of one of these pauses, a fearful shriek rent the air; and an Instant later, Nancy, with Junior in hot pursuit, wiifiiu Into the room, tripped "In that case . . . What is your I telephone number, Mrs. Conrad? I will try 'to call you back a little later. But of course I can't promise. prom-ise. Mrs. Hammel always gives up her mornings to her correspondence, correspond-ence, we try not to let anything disturb dis-turb her. There are so many demands de-mands upon her, you see." Anne hung up the receiver, already al-ready regretting her sudden Impulse Im-pulse to appeal to the Vice Presi- "When I first came here, she said, "I thought I didn't want to have anything to do with the newspaper news-paper women. Miss Sharp wrote me and asked me for an interview and I declined to give it to her. Her reply was a masterpiece. She told me that her bread and butter depended de-pended on getting something about me, but that, after all, was beyond the point. If her newspaper "And of Course You Must Star Right In Making Calls." . over the rug, and fell sprawling on the floor between the two ladies. The astonished caller rose, looking look-ing very much startled. "I'm dreadfully sorry," Anne said wretchedly. "Really, they don't often act like this. Junior, go upstairs up-stairs and wash that that whatever what-ever It is off your face and hands. And stay there until I send for you. Please, Madame Estavi" But Madame Mad-ame Estavi had quietly and effectively effec-tively vanished, and there were more callers coming up the steps. Before the riotous and untidy children chil-dren could be eliminated, these callers call-ers were upon Anne. THE STORY FROM THE BEGINNING A visitor In the community, Neal Conrad, young: lawyer is the "sensa remorse oyer his neglect Their son u dot Hathaway, now in a daughter is born to Anne, a"d ier Dea uiy hes Neal for allowing; diplomat 0 post 'n.,rd1S'JttB Neal' and Anne take a holiday, with him. Anne to "tnate Bt.ejUvenated. physically and sartorlally. In France. ,1"" d, ,deavor. to win her from Neal, wlth-Hathaway. wlth-Hathaway. long ""etly amor ' offers Nea, tne appointment of out success. The g-oyrnor or n At WashlngtoIli a junior sen. ator's'vX Anne" finds her troubles begin with the selection of a home. demand for "at homes." Anne stood in front of a bright little fire, which glowed, under a mantel banked with flowers, to receive her guests, her golden hair wound like a coronet about the curls which framed her rosy face, her slim figure supple and graceful under Its sheath of rose-colored rose-colored satin. Neal, scintillating with cordiality, sartorlally perfect in gray trousers and cut-away, stood beside her. An Immaculate maid, the stiff, embroidered bretelles of her apron snowy against her black silk uniform, was hovering over a tea table, on which silver dishes containing tomato jelly sandwiches, dent's wife. As she lay In bed the evening before, miserably wakeful, she had remembered a "feature story" that she had read about Mrs. Hammel in the Inquirer the Sunday Sun-day before. This article was accompanied ac-companied by a picture of the lady herself, smiling, plump, bejeweled and bewaved. But there was a look of real human kindness In the gentle eyes and soft mouth and there was a paragraph In the ar- couldn't secure a real interview with me, it would fake one. If she didn't write that article false or true some one else would. If I would co-operate with the newspa per women, give, them what they had a recognized right to ask me, as Vice President's wife, I'd never regret it. If I told them anything in confidence that confidence would be respected. In short, that they were prepared to help me in every way they could if I would only let them. If I wouldn't, all sorts of false and sensational reports would inevitably nppear about me. I sent for Miss Sharp and had a frank talk with her. We've been the best of friends The dreadful afternoon wore on. Anne, nervously keeping her eyes from the clock, was nevertheless aware that Neal would be expecting expect-ing her, would be waiting for her, and yet she could not escape and go to him. At last the telephone rang sharply. "Neal dear," she whispered Into the transmitter, "I can't come for ' you I'm sorry. No, I can't speak ! any' louder, there are people here, ! they'll bear me. No, I can't explain. ex-plain. No, I'm not sick. No, the 1 children aren't either." She returned to the drawing room certain that she had been over-i over-i heard Well, that was bad enough, but at least it meant that these in-" in-" truding strangers would KO-vonU leave her in peace. But it did not. ! Sensing that something was amiss, and efger to know what it was, - they lingered to find out. , Neal let himself in with his latch-1 latch-1 -v nnnrin the door after him, and angel food, tiny frosted cakes, and . tinier biscuits stuffed with chicken salad, were scattered over an embroidered em-broidered tablecloth. And, pouring the tea, bland, and benign above the silver service, sat Mrs. Hammel. Ham-mel. The "leader" in the society section sec-tion of the Inquirer on the following follow-ing Sunday was written by Miss Sharp. A picture of Anne surmounted sur-mounted It. This picture left nothing noth-ing to be desired ; neither did the headline "Vice President's wife pours for Mrs. Conrad." Neither did the text which accompanied these. tide which had arrested An.e attention especially, and which seemed burned on her memory. Mrs. Hammel before her marriage mar-riage was a Miss Sarah Gown, a school teacher In the great western state which her distinguished hus- band has so rapidly -put on the I map When they first met he was I a cattle herder. The early days of ever since. And she's kept her word absolutely." "Oh, thanks." began Anne, "I'll" Mrs. Hammel Interrupted. "She belongs to a rather interesting inter-esting organization the Woman's National Press club. All the society soci-ety editors do. I'm going to one of their Monday luncheons jolly, Informal In-formal affairs a3 guest of honor next week. I wonder would you like to come with me? It could be very easily arranged. You'd have a good time, and well, I think it would be a good plan all around." Anne's quick gratitude was so real that Mrs. Hammel was more touched than she betrayed. "And of course you must start right In making calls. Today. Diplomatic Dip-lomatic day. You'll find a lis! of the embassies in your copy of the Congressional Con-gressional directory. If your hus- "Mrs. Neal Conrad, whose husband's hus-band's recent appointment to the senate sen-ate has been a matter of national Interest, made her bow to official society In Washington last Thursday, Thurs-day, at the delightful reception which she gave-in the charming residence res-idence on New Hampshire avenue which she and Senator Conrad have leased for the winter. Mrs. Conrad Con-rad was charmingly gowned In a Lanvin confection of pink, one of the many beautiful dresses which she brought home with her from Paris, where she and Senator Conrad Con-rad spent the summer. Mrs. Hammel, Ham-mel, who has been one of the first to welcome Mrs. Conrad, with whom she has many tastes In common, to Washington, presided at the perfectly per-fectly appointed te& table. Among the many distinguished guests were noticed . . shouting to her from the hall. "Why did't you tell me you were going to have company?" 1 roared, "I waited, and waited . . Neither of them ever referred a.ain to the next few minutes. He strode into the little parlor, halted and became dumb. Introductions lere mumbled, but afterwards he Tilence deepened. One by one, dis- their marriage were spent uu , ranch, sixty miles from the nearest villa-e. Mrs. Hammel of course did a her own work, and, in the. evenings, eve-nings, taught her husband, who had had fewer educational opportunities than herself, from the shabby textbooks text-books which she had taken away from the mountain school There were other paragraphs after aft-er that, describing the rise In the Hanime fortunes, both political and financial. But they did not matter muc What mattered was that Mrs. Hammel had once been a little conn-y conn-y school teacher, like Anne her self had suffered far more In her hridnl davs, and she had married a Acuity ; .nd hej . me out InSteaVan"h S adyl You e"d0fWrm Sng o get all this morrow I m B' one wh0 SwmUfmeadaboutl, Tnanwho possessed far fewer auw-.les auw-.les of every kind, than Neal. And 'hf und won through. But she must bne . , in ,porn too; and per-KS per-KS 2 rred how bitterly SeX" But-,i-i,,T fl-tin her voice 27nerMn g Conrad ... 1 band hasn't brought yours up from the office he's been very remiss. Kverv senator's wife has one, with her name stamped neatly in the lower low-er right-hand corner. 'Mrs. Neal Conrad' will look very nice, you'll sec. Only the ambassadresses, remember. re-member. The ministers' wives come first to you. Then go through the cards that were left you yesterday, There was more, a great deal more. I'ut that was all that mattered. mat-tered. The first hard w;eeks had been lived through, the first dreadful dread-ful mistakes lived down, the "features" "fea-tures" about tiie washtub and the cow fo-gotten. Ar.ae had beun to "arrive." (TO BE Cu.NTl.VlED.) |