The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-01-18
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WOMAN's RELIEF CORPS
BY LOUISE OLIVER.

Dear CONNIE. i.
Can you come to dinner Friday!
l have an extra girl. and as usual l
need a man, Connie, dear, DON
think I'm asking you for the tentn
time this season just because l am
SO fond of you; such of course we all
are. But it is because you are sucn a
darling to fill in. What would we 90
without you?
Faithfully yours.
Belle"
"P. 8. Don't tell the story about
the haminEo. simply can't laugh az
It again. / can say It backward IN
my sleep Hunt up . new supply.
"well. I like that" laughed Connie
Collins good naturally As he laid aside
the note and resumed his grapefruit.
"One thing about Belle-she's candid.
He sighed. 80 I'm to supply again!
It seems to me I've developed into
regular married woman's relief corps"
He finished his coffee and went to
the once where he called up his pro-
spective hostess for Friday.
Hello. Belle! got your note.
Count on me. Yes, sure. No, I'll not
tell the fiamingo story another-what's
that? Oh, she's pretty, is she? That's
encouraging. Say, Belle, have some
of that crab meat again, will you? All
right-good for you! I'll be there
sure"
When Friday night came and Con-
ME was presented to the young per-
son he was to take in to dinner, his
first impulse was to hunt up his hos
tess and weep tears of joy and thank
fulness upon her shoulder. Miss May
well-such was her name-was a
vision of sweet delight.
At dinner his hostess kept nodding
and smiling at him as much as to say,
TITS your reward, Connie, for long
period of martyrdom"
Then gradually-so imperceptibly
that no one noticed it for while
the air, heavy with the scent of Amer
lean Beauty roses, became pungent,
blue haze began to fill the room and
finally an eddy of smoke trailed across
the low circle of light thrown by the
| candles.
Fire." woman breathed con-
vulsively and the guests sprang to
their feet Bellies husband. Max
Wells. threw open the door into the
hall. There was a solid wall of white
smoke.
Dorothy MAXWELL laid hand on
Comics arm. do you think it's up
stairs?" she whispered. 1--we got
to go up and get some things II it
is"
you mustn't think of that" he in
sisted kindly. Lives first, you know"
He laid his hand reassuringly over
the one resting nervously on his arm.
But I've got to- Doesn't anyone
know where it is?"
Then, before he realized what she
was doing. she dashed glass of wa
ter over a napkin, caught it up to her
face and was out of the door, through
the wall of smoke and tearing up the
stairs.
Connie was at her heels, but he
could not stop her. There had been
no time for him to protect himself
and the smoke in his eyes and lungs
strangled him, but he kept on.
Upstairs the smoke was less dense
Dorothy ran along the hall and into a
room at the right.
"You can't come in" she called
But Connie, with eyes alert for flames
paid no attention.
Hurry" he urged. Get what you
want. But for heavens sake hurry!'
She flew to bureau, opened q
small top drawer, got something that
looked like card. slid it into the
front Of her gown and faced him. Il
I'm ready" she choked.
Comics eyes were smarting so hi
could scarcely see. But they gropet
their way along the hall, keeping a.
close to the floor as possible. They
almost fell down the stairs. In an
other instant they were outside OF
the porch just as the firemen arrived
The men rushed into the smoke
filled house. upstairs, down cellar
garretward-yet there we're no flames
only a dense. acrid smoke.
mo fire in the house at ALL" yellet
someone. ITS all coming out of tn,
registers. Something wrong with tn,
furnace"
So to the cellar they went and foun,
a piece of damp carpet smolderin,
in disused furnace.
Open windows soon cleared tn
house sufficiently for the guests to re
turn to their coffee.
AS Connie placed Dorothy's chat
for her, he noticed white square O,
the floor. He picked it up and saw
his own photograph, with somethin
written on the back! In an instan
it was in his pocket. In some wa,
he knew it was what Dorothy ha
been so frantic to rescue. 1t was YER
pulling, Instinct told him, too, tina
she must never know he had disco,
cred it.
This was what was written on tn
photograph, and what Connie felt h
was entitled to read before he nut
match to it at bedtime:
Il love his eyes. love the way tn
hair waves over his left temple.
love the cleft in his chin. and his firm
strong mouth. I wonder il | shar
ever know him."
Connie went to bed too happy I
sleep. After ALL" he reflected
there's some advantage in being
supply. But I'm afraid Belle will hav