Arizona republican., 1911-06-09
.POLLY0OLY AND THE LUMP
 By Edgar Jepson.
Copyright, 1909. by the Pearson Pub
 fishing Company.

South America for months; and there is no bread-and-butter in South Amer ica, so I can't get it too thick"
 Good heavens," said the Honor. able John Rufin. Do not tell me that there is no grilled bacon there either"
 There certainly isn't" said the Els meralda.
 What a country" said the Honor. able John Rufin.
 "oh. it is!" said the Esmeralda with conviction.
 Pollyooly went to make some fresh tea. When she returned, the Esmer. aida was saying with her eager ani- nation, "No, no: the men are worse The food and the insects were bad enough; but the men were worse perfectly etestable-horrors."
 How very unfortunate!" said the Honorable John Ruffin in a tone of profound commiseration. And l was under the impression that they were charming-full of fire and passion and Southern romance"
 "I shouldn't wonder if it was that that made them so detestable," saio the Esmeralda Jhoughtfully. Tt was a perfect persecution"
 "I cannot greatly wonder at it." said the Honorable John Ruifin, look ing at her with some earnestness.
 The Esmeralda smiled at him. and turned 10 the question Of Pollyooly. The rehearsals were in the morning; and it was arranged that PollyoOly should take the Lump with her to them. But that during the perform. ance in the evening he should be left in charge of Mrs. Brown, the police mans wife, who lived in Pollyooly' s old lodgings.
 These details settled, the Esmeralda took her departure; and the Honor able John Rufin accompanied her to her motor brougham. On his return he said to Pollyooly, who was clear. ing away the tea: Its amazing how everybody seems to want you. Polly poly. No sooner did Vance see you dancing than he wanted to draw you {; and no sooner did the Esmeralda see you drawn than she wanted you to dance Yet not one of them has grasped the great. essential fact of your nature, that you grill bacon bet ter than anyone in England"
 "Yes, sir" said Pollyooly.
 At halfpast eleven next morning Pollyooly and the Lump came to Els meralda's fiat in the Savoy Hotel. She welcomed them with hugs and kisses {; and then drove them 10 the Varolium in her motor brougham. Poolyooly held the Lump very tight as they went through the long passages of the great building; and she held him tighter still when they came on to the big stage.
 A whirling week followed. There were rehearsals every morning, re. hearsals during which the Esmeralda bullied or cajoled the band to the highest pitch of excellence; there were visits to the costumer where Pollyooly was decked out in the most beautiful fairy robes. There were lunches al wonderful restaurants where she and the Lump ate strange and delicious food.
 The Esmeralda had been right in her choice of Pollyooly: she learned to do all that was required of her in three rehearsals. She had but little dancing to do: she was little more than a decoration. a charming foil to the Esmeralda's dark beauty. On the night Of the first performance Polly ooly was much the less nervous of the two, for she hardly gave a thought to the audience; she was only intent on doing her part properly; and she did her simple business as well as it could be done. She only became really aware of the audience when she stood hand in hand with the Esmeralda lowing to the storm of applause.
 The Esmeralda was a prodigious success; and Pollyooly found her pound a week assured for many weeks At first the Esmeralda was very care ful to drive Pollyooly back to the Temple immediately after the per formance Then she fell into the way ot taking her with her to supper. Some times one of her admirers had pressed her for an introduction 10 Pollyooly; sometimes she did not care to sup alone with one of them; and she would say to Pollyooly, ''I want you to come and play little red gooseberry to, night"
 At these suppers Pollyooly became acquainted with some of the most or namental members of the British peer age, men whose ancestors had fought at Agincourt and Flodden or brewed beer for nearly two generations. She was too young to appreciate her great privilege: and she very much pre- ferred the suppers at which the Hon orable John Ruffin (between whom and a Peerage stood as many as nine lives; or, as he himself preferred to express it, @ cat) was host, because there was so much more laughter at them.
 There are reasons for believing that the Esmeralda preferred them too: if not, why was he her most frequent host? And why did her eyes shine so much more brightly and her smiles follow one another so much more quickly when she supped with him? Moreover, it was after a talk with Pollyooly "about the cold resolution with which he combatted his creditors that the Esmeralda proclaimed 1t her fancy to sup in a little cafe in Soho rather than in the shinier and more expensive restaurants in Piccadilly, and made this their practice.
 But one evening he met them at the