The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1918-11-26
The Fire Escape Had BIoomed Again.

little defiant perhaps, for her pride
had been hurt, but her heart-Barclay
somehow felt sure that her heart
hadn't been touched.
"And why did you come to New
York; he asked curiously.
"Come on over when I've arranged
my hair and I'll tell you all about it."
she said blithely, backing into the
window and out of sight.
So within three minutes Barclay
was knocking on her door-the door
that had once been Bannerman's.
She was an artist-younger than he
had first thought-and she had come
to New York to succeed where Ban
herman had so far failed.
THAT will be my revenge" she
laughed gayly. II shall make a grand
success and perhaps" she added with
daring, dancing eyes, perhaps 1 shall
marry some perfectly wonderful man
and make Ban furious because 1 for
got him so quickly. He was always
such vain thingl"
] Barclay looked at her sketches and
felt sorry for her. She had talent per-
haps, but little training New York is
| full of them-eager young things with
little or nothing to back them but the
spirit of youth.
Have you any money back of you
at all?" he demanded.
"Oh, yes" she said brightly. 1--WE
twenty-nlne dollars Which Will be n
great plenty until l begin to sell nv
| sketches"
Barclay had seen them before, those
| youthful, valiant things He had seen
them come forth in all the splendor of
their dreams, then droop and fall and
turn backward in their Fighter some
times worse, they fell with broken
wings, and stayed to suffer and pre-
tend they were not hurt And he
looked on the loveliness of this sun
flower with a sullen anger in his
heart.
"You are lovely little fool" said
Barclay, gently brutal. "Take my ad-
vice and go home, while you've got
money enough to go on. Marry the
boy across the street who has job
in the First National bank-and for
get this art bug you've got"
"Why-why-" size said, her blue
eyes wide with perplexed wonder
ment, isn't my stuff good? Haven't
haven't II any talent"
Talent" snarled Barclay, New
York is full of talent. It's the cheap
est thing there is here, and you
haven't even thatl Your stuff is rot
ten, simply rotten! You've no train
ing whatsoever 1t would take you
| three, maybe ten years to begin to
get a start in this town. Go home and
forget it" And he banged the door
on very doubtful young woman.
But with the morning all doubt had
vanished, and the next weeks were
feverish ones for the Sunflower. Fran
tically she worked at her drawing
board in the afternoons, and some
| times far into the night Calamity In
the morning she took her portfolio OF
drawings and trudged from place to
place trying to interest art editors in
her things On the day she was down
to her last dollar she battered up the
stairs as she frequently did and
raped on Barclays door, and as she
entered he Inspected her keenly as he
looked up impatiently from his type
writer
"Any luck?' he asked.
NO" she laughed bravely.
''You look tired"
MY body does get tired some
tines" she admitted, and then she
lifted her dropping head on her slim
white neck-"but my heart-never =!
He ran through her sketches absent
ly, and finally picked one at random
! which he promised to show that after