The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-12-18
EVENING STORY
Honey Love-"

(By Gilda Aecord.)
Leone banged into the chorus with
great gusto. 1t was her business to
play the latest ragtime hits so that
everyone would want them, and she
meant to earn her salary, The song
ended with a great blare of sound,
and Leone slid it from the rack and
set another in it's place.
The Suave voice of Mr.. Beckley in
tervened. Miss Parker, here is the
representative of Pierce & Ware. VIII
you please give him few moments OF
your time ?''
Leone willingly assented, and turned
to the pleasant-faced young represen-
tative of the well-known popular song
publishers. She knew him quite well.
He came every week in the same way,
to get orders for songs, and he had
called several times, and taken her to
the movies several times more. To-
gether they checked of the list of
new songs. AT last the order was
made out, and Leone returned to the
piano bench. She though Mr.. Wilding
looked as if he had wanted to say
something very particularly, and then
changed his mind. She looked after
his retiring figure dreamily, as she
played mechanically the opening bars
of Honey Love" What a nice young
man he seemed to be. contented to
/ deal with ragtime all his life.
through choice that she had played it
eight hours a day for three years The
sales of the music department had
been enormously increased because of
her playing, and her salary had been
raised twice, but still she hated it.
Leone had been born to higher
things. - From her refined and very
talented parents she >had inherited a
love of music that even three years of
fox trots and jazz pieces could not
a her low for Ia if~al
music. She played Bach and Men
, delssohn, divinely. but of what value
are they in a department store? Mr..
Beckley had undoubtedly never heard
of Beethoven.
Leone put aside Honey Love" and
began 30 the Roses in the Moonlight"
It was part of her ethics to let no one
know that she loathed ragtime and
worshipped grand opera. Because the
death of her parents, leaving her pen
niless, had forced her to take the first
position she could find, which hap
pened to be playing ragtime in Beck
Iey's department store, there was no
reason for her to complain about it.
So nobody, not even the kindly land
lady, who was next to her own mother,
knew about it. Leone maintained in
public a conscious pride which made
people believe she lived only for rag
time and preferred it to all other de-
lectable things of life.
but III nSE OWN room Sne OII6n
flung herself down on the bed, cry
ing out bitterly against the fate that
bound her to Honey Love-" you've
! Got the Bluest Eyes in Town. and 81
Love Lou Truly True" And she hated
Mr.. Wilding, an able-bodied man, who
would deliberately tie. himself up with
ragtime for life. She had almost re-
solved never to go to the movies with
| him again. Leone wanted different
sort of man; one who hated ragtime
as much as she did
At $50 that afternoon Leone slipped
/ off the piano bench and stretched out
| her tired arms. In the locker room
| she got out her new jacket and new
winter hat and put them on before the
/ cracked mirror in the dressing room.
Leone had blonde hair and gray eyes.
/ Her blue velvet hat was very becom-
/ ing, and she smiled at her reflection
| in the glass.
The car was slow and crowded as
usual. but Leone reached the boarding
/ house at last and ran upstairs. She
flung open the door of her room, ran
| to the mantel and reached down a
china doll in a gorgeous red satin
dress. The head came off under the
pressure of her eager fingers Inside