The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-05-13
EVENING STORY
Do Dreams Come True?
BY YINCENT d. PERRY.

BY VINCENT G. PERRY
Marcia Herns picked up the silk
gown before her and gazed at it long
ingly before she folded it and put 1t in
the delivery box. Would such a gown
ever be hers? Not for long, long
| time, If ever-the thought caused her
OF sigh wistfully. Would any Of her
dreams ever come true? She had
dreamed of so many things and had
had so many Castles in the-A but
none of them had come true. She won
| dere- whether such a gown would be-
come her? To make sure. she removed
it from the box and held it to her
shoulders. She was still admiring it
| when a step behind her caused her to
look up. 1t was Madame Wanda. the
proprietress of the establishment.
You will please put that gown in
| its box and deliver 1t at once, Miss
Herns," Madame Wanda said icily.
1T was such pretty gown. 1 could
not help admiring it," Marcia apollo
gized. She noticed the address on the
box an smiled family. There was
] long walk before her, but it would be
a welcome change from the close con-
| finement OF the modiste's shop. AS she
was passing out, Marcia could not help
glancins in this long mirror. She was
shabby-she could not but admit it,
still her rosy cheeks, pretty mouth,
large eyes. and dark curls, that peeped
from under her turban. gave her an
how she felt, despite her position in
| life.
| TIL show her some day." she
breathed to herself, she saw her
| employer glazing at her.
1t happened so suddenly that Marcia
hardly knew just what had happened.
She was walking with the box and its
precious burden under her arm. pre-
tending that she was one of the grand
ladies who patronized Madame Wan
da's, taking her own dress home to be
admired by the handsome young hus
band who had so willingly made out a
check for the enormous sum that it
had cost. He would be a handsome
or of course. She would be the may
or's wife, the handsome young may or
who had just been elected, and whose
picture had appeared in-every maya :
zine and paper. But did the mayor
have wife? 1t didn't really matter.
probably she thought, a handsome
man like him would certainly have
a wife. Then it happened. The box
was snatched from under her arm.
She caught glimpse of a big mar
jumping into an automobile and hid
ing his face behind her box. She was
SO dismayed that she did not notice
the crowd of people until they closed
in on her and then she was pushed
on with them. They were nearly all
laughing ana shouting, but she could
, not understand what had caused it all.
When she managed to break away
from them, over a block from where
the parcel had been snatched, this
automobile had disappeared. She die
not know what to do at first, but then
decided to return and have Madame
notify the police.
No sooner had Madame Wanda
heard her story than she flew into a
1 txuk
/ you little thief" she shrieked. 81
will have you arrested. Who will be.
lieve your story? it ridiculous!
You were contemplating stealing that
gown before you went out, and ]
! caught you at it. Two hundred dol
lars is lost by your treachery."
Il Marcia's avowal of innocence was
: of no avail. Events happened with
such a whirl after that that she hard
! 1y knew what was happening, until
l cell. At first she could not under
stand The seriousness of the position
7 in which she had been placed. When
she did realize it, however, she did
not feel depressed. What was the
D best thing to do, she wondered. Why
: hadn't she called a policeman when
the robbery had been committed? II
r it had not been for the crowd she
would nave thought of that. What
t was the crowd doing there there al
3 just in front of the civic buildings
t and that was the day the mayor was
s to take his oath of office. That wal
1.-THE crowd was waiting for the
mayor to appear. How foolish she
had been not tc have realized it be-
forei
What # the mayor had been look
, ing from a window and seen the mar
snatch the box from under her arm
Wouldn't It be splendid to have him
r come TO her rescue and tell Madame
d Wanda and the policemen that the
8 story she had told them was true
i The slight prospect of such an un.
likely thing comforted her. At ever,
ID new arrival in the corridor she looked
I up to see if it was he. When evening
came ard he had not appeared, hel
e spirits still kept up. She was JUS
: doing off to sleep when she hear6
3 Madame Wanda's voice. There was
. mans voice, too. AS they drew neal
the ma yor come? But it was not thu
: mayor. 1t was just the night ser.
Il grant VINO unlocked the door and told
her she was free.
1T is in the paper Madame Wan
, | do started to explain. THE man whit
q snatched your parcel was none Other
!, than the mayor, trying to hide hi
! face from the eager camera men
- Here is The picture of it."
Marcia grabbed the paper from hel
y hands and looked at the picture OF
the front page. Mayor Eludes Cam
= era Men" was the heading. There hi
was just getting into the automobile
with the box hiding his face, ant
n there she was standing on the side.
walk with look on her face that re.
minded her of the way she felt wher