The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-10-18
Two YEARS MASQUERADE
 AS A MAN
(ContInued from Page D

 into a garden.
 In little while was all right again and almost sorry that l had thrown those cigarettes away. l re- gret to confess that I once even bought a pipe because some of my workmates taunted me about being afraid to smoke one, just as they teas ed me at never needing a shave. During my two years as a boy dare say I had about 50 different girls as sweethearts. You see, l had to tiirt' as other boys do. thought the boys with whom l worked might be susptc- ious if 1 did not,
 None of the girls ever guessed the truth. In one case, and in one only, that of a charming girl to whom was a particular friend( did I divulge the whole thing. Our courtship, 50 to speak, lasted six months.
 Now we are just two girl friends The sudden drama of the revelation | made to her was one of the most striking moments of my life.
 I will tell you how the Hove affair" happened. was in the park near my home standing idly swinging my cane in my kid-gloved hands, when pretty girl gave me smile and spoke.
 Too Forward.
 "Doing anything particular tonight Billy?" she asked, and very soon we were in conversation. 1 was rather shy at the beginning, although no doubt I looked like a very fetching young fellow.
 She was not so shy She had fair hair, blue eyes, and saucy little face. She was nicely dressed, too, and about seventeen.
 We just walked around the park, talking a lot of rot about nothing and she asked me to meet her again the next night l didn't like her ways She was far too forward.
 Sometimes two of us-one of my young men workmates and myself would stroll out of an evening looking for a couple of girls.
 Of course. he never knew anythins of the truth. After bit I got SC used to girls ogling me that l yer! often took no notice of them A other times took them for a walk.
 Like the Movies.
 They very often said, Going tt treat us to the cinema tonight, Char lie?" Very often I took them. Two things I found were common o all or almost all the girls witt whom I had my innocent little walk or my visits to the cinema, and bit of fun.
 One was that they all seemed t have a great liking for chocolates ant he other was that they all wanted t' be kissed and cuddled.
 The truth is I got an experienc which falls to the lot of very few il his world. I saw things from bot angles---the boy angle and the gir angle.
 Sometimes I took one of my gir friends to a cinema not far from m home. We always went in the eight penny seats. It did not matter wha sort of show there was on the films there was one sort that all m 'sweethearts' liked the best
 They enjoyed, after a fashion, COW boy scenes and express trains run hing into a pond and cyclists spin ming over a cliff, and all that sort c stuff, but what they really liked wa one of those pretty pretty love storie' used to sit back in the cinema sea and laugh. You could tell whe Rose or Jennie or F'lossy or any the others were particularly thTille by the love story on the films as the sat in the seats, because they pecan go extra affectionate-
 Sometimes it was one of these herr dramas, as I might call them with handsome, strapping young ma with a face chiselled out of narbl and a manner as if he owned u earth, as he rushed up to carry ( the half fainting heroine
 That's you, Charlie" Rose wou say.
 The Greedy One.
 Even in that dreadful moment yea Afterwards when I had to reveal m self to the recruiting officials who h; called me up to be a soldier I b lieve the sense of humor on which have so often been compliment came to my help. In any case I a told that & smile played across r face even then.
 What, ho, here comes one of { b----boys!" was a greeting I recei ed one evening as I was saunteri along It was on a Saturday at t end of a heavy weeks work when had been particularly happy in taxi home a little extra money to I mother.
 It had been particularly comfort to see her pleasure that I was star ing the work so well and was so m ny over it, and that l had not ma the great step for nothing
 dare say I looked pleased as sauntered up the street thinking O all these things, and no doubt, as V very usual, there was a smile on face The smile, my jaunty air . my neat attire with my trousers V creased. and my kid gloves nicely on, probably led to the remark I h; quoted
 At any rate looked up, saw a pr ty girl with dark eyes and hair am sort of little rosebud mouth, and went for Q walk. Whether I e troubled about seeing her again, don't know. but as I was "a vol man." she gently suggested tha might buy her a box of chocola which I did. As she went away thought l saw a glint of greed in eyes which did not appeal to me
 Almost always if we were in a d place wher I lit up a cigarette---f, had to fall in with the cigarette r 1t in the end---the girl would Give me @ flag" or sometimes { were content with puff at mine
 Jealousy.
 I rarely enjoyed anything so m as I did that day when Kitty and ra met. It was in a park Kitty on my arm. The previous { day that position had been adol