Evening star., 1918-06-09
spread over. and boxes of "chorklut

0pA S6o OVS&a dHW UOAVS 0k SAVA AAVt
pepmunts."
At the end of the week she found
that her wealth was not so elastic as
her appetite She had no money to
pay the small bill for her laundry
when the stage door man brought it..
She had nothing to pawn and she was
forced to borrow from another swal-
low against pay day.
She did not dare buy herself a sup
per that night. She smiled invitingiy
at Krug. but he was nursing a grudge
and did not take the hint. She lay
old.
lows nested in Red Bank The lonely
krus. watching the infuriatingly elu-
siye Silver, was startled to realize
how pretty she was. He had under
stood the secret of the curves in her
neither members: they had been
st,tehed @ in with results that might
have bewildered an anatomist But
those pipestem bare arms of hers had
grown actually round and full Those
dangerous elbow spikes were blunter
His experienced arms tested her
weight when the signal came to hoist
Yes. she was heavier. And so was his
heart. He approached her again with
a supper invitation. She accepted
sraciously with a round checked
smile that made him gasp. Her ap-
petite was undiminished.
On the way home he said:
Say. grille. you're not so skinny as
you was, are you?"
$50 the other goils was tellin' me :"
she said. Yesterday a hadda let out
me skoit at the waist, and tonight 1
left off me plumpers."
You're sure one armful now" he
said, and made bold to prove it. She
gave him her elbow in the solar
plexus. and when he began breathing
again he realized that she had not
improved SO much as he thought.
Silver grew prettier as she grew.
plumper. and krug began to feel an
awe of her. as if little tight
clenched bud were blooming into a
young rose before him. He began to
plead humbly for her affection; he
taiked OF the Joys of marriage. Two
OF the swallows were married and one
had left child at her mothers. But
Silver laughed him to scorn She was
as fleet and airy minded as a swal-
low when the mating season is farth-
est away
Krug grew more lorn as she grew
more luscious in his sight. But he
grow tiresome to her. His compli-
ments bored her. She was getting
them from all sides. She was over
nearing people in the audience refer
to her as that pretty one on the
left" She knew that she was grow
ing beautiful because the other swal-
lows were more and more unpleasant
to her. Life was one long festival;
her Appetite grew almost lyrical
She kept candy in her makeup box
and in her bedroom.
And SO she romped across the
weeks without a thought of trouble
IN her world Then one evening she
neard two men IN stage box dis
cusslng the swallows. Sheheard her
self referred to as 'the fat one on
the left" She mistrusted her ears.
She gulped her supper in haste and
hurried to her room to study herself
in the mirror. The conlcave of her
cheeks was convex now. Beneath her
OF a second one. Her throat was full.
her shoulders soft and padded She
had difficulty in unlocking her
dress. Her arms were roly-poly; there
was a swaddle of fat at her hips: her
thighs were arched and her calves
bulged
Silver felt a knife of terror in her
heart. She resolved that she needed
more exercise. After breakfast she
took a long walk. She tired quickly
and her breath was gone so soon that
she had to pause for an ice cream
soda She invested penny in a
weighing machine. Her ninety pounds
were lis! The traditional limit of
weight for a swallow was 100 pounds
That night she noted that the other
swallows were kinder to her than for
a week past. This was alarming
Krug resumed his old insolence and
patronage. This was convinving.
He invited her to supper. and some
how she dared not refuse. When he
asked what she wanted she said;
Go easy on the heavy stuff. grille.
Take it from me. it's easier putting
on weight than pushin' it off"
She ate heavily to prove that he
could not coerce her with his advice
AS they walked to her boarding house
his arm slid round her waist and she
had hard fight to tear 1t away.
Stop it," she gasped, breathlessly.
II hate it. and hate you"
That goes double. then. grille" he
answered. truculently. Il guess
wont trouble you long"
show" she said. ali too hopefully
Me! 1t amt met" he laughed
you amt de first swaller dat's been
crowded out because she weighed in
too heavy. I've saw more'n a dozen
of youse livin' skeletons swell out
into fat ladies and then blow. 1 been
doin' overtime histin' you. and sayin
nuttin' to nobuddy. But it don't get
me nowhere. and I'm goin' to lay
down. It's me duty to me boss to
wise him up to de strain you're put
tim on his tackle. O. course, IL you
was pals wit me. might go troo wit
1t. but-well. sleep on 1t, kiddo. and
gimme your answer tomorra. A void
to de wise is ofiicious."
Silver slept on it that night. but she
slept ill. Her brain was a paddock of
Nightmares; one of her recurrent tor
ments was a vision of herself as a
fat woman in a museum. a billowy,
pillowy freak. She woke again and
a ga in In cold SUea q of horror