Show i AN ANGEL IN GLASS 88 by HAROLD CARTER service IT LAIR occupied a studio in an j old fashioned district of new ij york at the very top of the lodging house where rooms could be obtained without board for sums varying from two to seven dol i clars lar weekly blair liked the place because it was solitary and had stipulated that his room was not to be cleaned there he established himself with 95 and the nalia of his trade he calculated that the money would last him just long enough for the completion of his great stained glass window for the church of the annunciation the agreement was for payment upon delivery and blair knew that his first commission would lead to many others he had eight weeks in which to complete the i work and he had spent two sketching and pacing the floor smoking innumerable cigarettes while his ideas took form in his mind he could not fix the image of the angel his ideas shadowy at first had gradually crystallized into a womans comans wo mans face that he had never seen sometimes he would wander through the streets looking for her but he never found her however even without this he could produce a satisfactory piece of work he knew that and worked hard his unintentional frown when he met other roomers on the stairs soon taught them to leave him alone ill he e had the reputation of being a crank that was what mrs james the landlady told miss delia dexter im sorry that I 1 must give you the room next to his my dear she said to the girl but as you cant pay more than two the only one I 1 can let you have at the price fT theres heres only his and yours on the top floor but I 1 guess he wont annoy you if you dont mind his frown but delia did mind his frown terribly she had not been long in new york where she supported herself as a stenographer in a law office she was homesick and unhappy and she had no friends at all blair scowled dreadfully when he came to realize that the room next to his was taken and by a woman ille he never looked at miss dexter but hurried by and as time passed her presence only seemed to irritate him the more delias sympathetic heart was touched by blairs beairs appearance she thought he did not have enough to eat cat she did not know that it was overwork oyer overwork work and worry that caused him to get thinner and more hag gard looking as the weeks went by in fact half the allotted time had gone and the masterpiece was hardly begun gradually a thought came into delias head she would help him despite himself he need never dimow who it was that watched over him but lonely herself she would help others as lonely she formed a very daring plan i she had come to know the routine of blairs beairs daily life every evening at six he would lock his door and go out to the cheap restaurant where he ate his supper the rest of his meals he cooked in his studio but the supper hour was anvary unvarying mg As he became used to her presence pres ence he ceased to notice her at all and one evening a long hoped for event happened blair left his door unlocked that was delias opportunity he would not return for an hour softly she crept in armed with a broom and duster she was going to tidy his room for him when she had entered she looked round her in amazement she saw the bed without a sign of linen in in one corner in another a little gas stove and a table with a couple of chairs and the floor was a perfect rubbish heap of broken glass and paints and varnishes she did not know that all these fragments of glass were the portions portio ns of the great window first she sorted out the cans and placed them in orderly array against the wall then she gathered the glass fragments together and put them in a heap upon the floor then taking her duster she mounted a chair and began to wipe the cobwebs from the walls all the while she was listening intently for a step on the stairs yet so busily did she work that she did not know how time tima was passing until the sound of blairs beairs tread two flights down startled her she lost her balance tried to regain it and toppled down with a crash upon the pieces of glass panic stricken she picked herself up and fled leaving the broom and duster behind she ran into her room and locked the door and waited in an agony of suspense to hear blair enter his room she heard the door close heard a loud exclamation heard beard the door fly open and there came a ham bam mering at her own delia waited gal breathless silent ile he would not go away he rapped louder in terron terro she sprang to her feet and opened ope nedi 11 blair was standing outside red with anger in his hands he held the broom and duster 6 are these yours he demanded yes I 1 see they are and I 1 have t to 0 thank you for making a bears garden of my studio and destroying the work of weeks he exclaimed in tones that delia had never heard addressed to her before 1 I 1 I wanted to help you the girl stammered 1 I thought but how could she tell him what she had thought that he was as lonesome as she that he had no one to care for him the tears came into her eyes and finding it impossible to restrain them she put her handkerchief to her face and sobbed already disheveled by her long work in the studio she felt that her hair was loosening and putting her hand to her head to make it secure only bucce succeed edelin edin letting the whole e auburn mass tumble a bout about heri her shoulders there was a long silence delia dared not look up but she dared not go back into her room for she felt that her crime was too deep not to need requital suddenly she felt two hands on her shoulders mr blair haq had actually done that he dared to swing her round so that the light from the hall window fell upon her face you are wonderful he exclaimed mr blair said delia indignantly wonderful you are my angel how dare you say that to me cried delia and then it was blairs beairs turn to be apologetic you dont understand I 1 dont mean that sort of angel he explained pla ined the angel that I 1 was trying to do in glass when you so happily destroyed my efforts now you must sit for me I 1 have still time to do my picture and when he had explained they felt themselves to be fast friends for ever but long before the great window had been completed and brought blair the first of his many triumphs lie he had decided that delia was to be that sort of angel after all and delia thought so too |