Gilpin observer., 1916-02-03
CHAPTER XIV.


The Message From New York.
1t was good to be home! Gail won
dered that she could ever have peen
content away from the loving shelter
OF her many. many friends She had
grown world weary in all the raise
gayety Of New York! She was dis
illusioned! She was blase. She was
tired Of frivolity; and she immedi.
ately planned or enthusiast stically
agreed to take part in series of gay
eties which would have made an aver.
age hard-working man anticipate them
with an already broken constitution.
The house was full Of them, morn
ing. noon and night; young girls, se-
date and jolly. and all of them excit-
ediy glad that Gail was among them
again; and young men. in all the de-
grees from social butterflies to plod-
ding business pluggers. equally glad.
Good. comfortable home folks these,
who were deliciously nice to the rfate-
iy. black-haired Arly, and voted her
tremendous beauty. and stood slight
ly In awe Of her. The half cynical
Arly. viewing them critically, found in
them one note Of interesting novelty
certain general clean-hearted whole.
someness, and. being a seeker after
the unusual. and vastly appreciative,
she deliberately cultivated them; fiat.
tering the boys, but not 80 much as to
make the other girls haze her. To
the girls she made herself even more
attractive. because she liked them
better. She complimented them indi-
vidually on the point of perfection for
which each girl most prided herself;
she told them that they were infinitely
more clever than the women of New
York. and better looking, in general:
FOR the New York women were mostly
clothes and makeup; and. above all,
she envied them their truer lives!
No group OF young people could re-
sist such careful work as that, espe.
cialiy when performed by young
woman SO adroit and SO attractive.
and SO well gowned; so they lost their
sawkwardness with her, which removed
any sense Of discomfort Gail might
have felt. which was the aim to be &C.
complished. In those first few days
Gail was the happiest Of all creatures,
In spite Of the fact that the local ma.
pers had carried a politer echo of that
despicable slave story. At nights,
however beginning with the second
one, when the girls had retired to the
""'"al runway Of their adjoining
'.,i,o. .hn ,r~>rsation would turn
something like this: b.
Lets see, this Is the seventeenth,
isn't TT" thus Arly.
"Yes; Tuesday" concentratedly Sc.
lecting a chocolate. the box OF which
bore New York name.
MRS. Matson's ice skating ball is
tonight" A sidelong glance at the
busy Gail. "She always has such orig.
inal affairs"
Doesn't she!" Gail draws her san.
daled feet up under her and stretches
down her pink negligee. 30 that she
looks like stir statue In tinted
ivory.
And such interesting people. That
new artist is certain to be there
What's his name? oh. yes. vlodow
could adore him."
You're q mere verbal adorer,"
laughs Gail. studying anxiously over
the problem OF whether she wants
another piece Of chocolate or not. Al
lison had sent such good ones. "Vlo
dow eats garlic"
That's why ! adore him, from q
distance. or course all the nice regu
lar fellows will be there-Dick, Rod
ley and Ted. and Houston. and oh
oh! forgot to write Gerald" and with
q swift passing kiss somewhere be
tween Calls ear and her chin, she hur
ries into her own dressing room. will
. backward glance to make sure tina
Gail is staring, with softened brow
eyes. down into her chocolate box. an,
seeing there amid the connections. tn
laughing. swirling skaters In Mrs
Matson's glistening ballroom. Their
were some who would not be Mt tina
ball-Allison. and Rev. Smith Boyt
and-Arlene has plenty OF time I
write her formally dutiful letter with
out disturbance.
Gail has letters. too. as the day
wear on. She scarcely has time 10
them amid all the impromptu gayetiei
nut she d ,es find a chance to rea
than: some Of them twice. II she