The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1918-02-08
"H0NEY LOVE"
By GILDA ACCORD.
Copyright, 1917, by the Mcclure NeWspa
per Syndicate.)

great gusto. It 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 q few moments of
your timer"
Leone willingly assented, and turned
to the pleasant-faced young represent
ative of the well-known popular song
publishers. She knew him quite well.
He came every week in the same way,
called several tines, and taken her to
the movies several times more. To
gether they checked over the list of
new songs. At last the order was made
out, and Leone returned to the piano
bench. She thought 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. But her
love was classical music. She put aside
Honey Love" and began 20 the Roses
in the Moonlight It was part of her
ethics to let no one know that she
lOathed ragtime and worshiped grand
opera. Because the death of her pa
rents, leaving her penniless, had forced
her to take the first position she could
fId, which happened to be playing
ragtime in Beckley's department store,
there was no reason for her to COM
plain about it.
At 80 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.
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 q
china doll in a gorgeous red satin
dress. The head came off under the
pressure of her eager fingers. Inside
was revealed convenient hollow, from
which she shook out little heap Of
nickels and dimes. She counted them
with fingers trembling with anxiety.
One dollar and half! Yes, there was
enough.
Leone ate supper in q state of pal
pitant expectancy. Afterward she went
downtown again with the Morgan sis
ters, who worked in a large store.
She was going to grand operate
Carmen and she had a seat in the
first row of the balcony. The money
she had saved nickel by nickel from
her lunches and carfares.
A week later Leone was hurrying
home from work in a wild state of
anticipation. Mr.. Wilding had been
there that day, and she had treated
him with iciest GOODNESS. The pros
pect of Carmen made him appear
frightfully cheap and common as he
tried to argue her into ordering more
copies of cts Only Light When You're
in Sight" But he had slipped COM
pletely out of her mind now. She could
hardly finish her supper. Upstairs on
the bed lay her best georgette waist,
freshly pressed for the occasion.
At last Leone was dressed and had
started downtown. She felt almost
too excited to walk to the car with
propriety. The usher showed her to
her Scat-quite the best in the house,
she felt sure
People poured in rapidly below her
men in evening dress and women in
rich furs and jewels. But Leone drew
no comparisons. Her eyes scarcely
left the purple velvet curtains. AT last
the overture began, and with a little
sign of happiness Leone gave herself
up to complete bliss. At the end Of
the first act she became aware that
some one had taken, the seat next to
her. Turning, she looked into the sur
prised eyes of Roy Wilding. They had
not recovered from their mutual
establishment when the curtain went
up for the second act. Leone felt
amazed and uncomfortable. Her pleas
ure was dampened somehow.
When the opera was over Leone rose
slowly, with a quick breath of-wonder.
Roy Vikings face wore very strange
look.
do you really like opera?" he de
handed.
Like? adore it" answered Leone,
resolved to be truthful for once. "Do
youY
''Of courseI But never dreamed
you Leone, 1--we wanted to ask
you something for a long time, but
thought you were crazy about ragtime,
and hate it So / was afraid"
"And I thought you were crazy about
it. I thought"
Lock here" he insisted. ''Pm leav-