The evening leader. (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) 191?-19??, 1916-07-05

LIE II v Elm
your own" carelessly replied Adoree;
then she voiced very tame and wom-
anly oath as a marshmallow dripped
into the. flames. pickles! 1 spoiled
that one.'
But the cabochon rubies are real"
''Sure. So is the square toe who
brings 'em and takes 'em away; so is
the bond that covers 'em. Lordy, but
they are prettyw
''Then the king didn't give them to
you?"
"My dear, never saw king-out-
side of a pinochle deck. If lost one
of those rubies the Maiden Lane Shy
lock who owns them would tear
enough curled hair out of his beard to
fill a mattress. You never really be-
lieved that king stuff, did your"
"Why, yes"
81 had no idea it worked so WE'LL"
Again Miss Demorest smiled crookedly.
me wonder you didn't want to go to
the Waldorf with me; wonder you
consented to come here"
"Your advance work is great"
81 knew the public swallowed it; but
I supposed the profession knew press
stuff when they saw it. l sang and
danced for ten years in this country
and never got better time than the
schuetzen parks and airdomes. l was
Agnes Smith then. Somehow l got the
price of ticket to England, and 1
pulled the airdome stuff that had
scored in Little Rock and Michigan
City, and it got by somehow. My
mother was a Canuck, so l knew some
French. and eventually l reached the
continent. There l met the Old Nick.
You may think the devil is what he
looks like on the ham cans; but, in
a tenor voice, and he eats cloves. His
name is Aubrey Lane. He was in
Paris selling patent carriers at the time
He saw me work at cabaret and told
me l was good, but not good enough.
I'd known that for years, so he didn't
hurt my feelings. He confessed that
he was tired of working and intended
to have me make a lot of money for
him, but warned me that he had ex-
pensive tastes and I'd have to pay well
for the privilege. He was right; did.
But here l am in electric lights on
Broadway while he is exercising a
wheeled chair at Atlantic City,"
Hes your managerT
Hes that very little thing. He of
fered to make me star if I'd allow him
to hitch his chariot to neon a share
of the gross. There was one trif1ing sac
rifice l had to make in the nature of
He began by tying a can to the agnes
Smith, and handed me 'Adoree Demo-
rest instead; then he went to work.
He really did work, too, although it
nearly killed him, and he's never done
anything since. The king fable is
joke on the other side, but New York
swallowed it clear up to the sinker,
and Aubrey gated the Palace Garden
management for a three years con-
tract. Of course, my advertised SAL
airy is phony, just like the rubies and
the wrecked throne and that gilded
bandwagon with the poodles and the
stuffed supers on the box. Aubrey
owns them all except the rubies, which
che rents. I'm billed as the most no.
torious woman in America, and the
shred of reputation 1 have left
wouldn't make a necktie for a gnat,
whereas in reality I love marshmal-
lows and tea much more than men
But I'm star, at the head of my own
company, and playing to sidewalk
prices. Do you think it was a good
bargain?"
Lorelei had listened with breathless
interest. Now she burst out impul-
sively:
You poor dear"
Miss Smith smiled, but her eyes
were tragic.
Sometimes l cry when 1 think
about it. cry good DEAL" said
she. II didn't realize until too late
what it meant, but, you see, l was
tired of working, tired of ambition,
and l wanted to come home Thank
God, have no people! l save all the
money 1 can, and when / get enough
I'm going to take Agnes Smith out
of the moth-balls, dust her off tenderly,
and go to raising ducks"
Ducks? What do you mean?"
what say. That has always been
my ambition
why not quit now?"
whats the use?- I'm half way