The Topeka state journal., 1919-07-15
EVENING STORY
Show Me, Angela!
BY BARBARA KERR.


beautifully marcelled-not that she
had spent twenty-five perfectly good
dollars and had the job done, that is
permanently waved at one sitting, but
she was a twice-a-week customer at
Nine. Periwig's, and as this was one
of the bi-weekly days she knew that
it was thoroly and efficiently done.
She knew that the two curly little
horns, one over each ear, were just
SO, and were skewered into place with
innumerable invisible hairpins; that
her hair was reached back with a
most bewitching "cowlick" at the
most becoming angle of her forehead,
and that her widows peak" was
pointed precisely Nover the left eye
brow. Therefore by and because of
all these signs her colt was the last
word.
Her complexion was arrived at by
the same benzoic method. 1t was now
seven months and twenty-one days
since water had touched her face. Her
makeup box took up the whole end
of clothes closet, and her bills for
cosmetics, creams and other beauti-
fiers were greater than those Of her
father for clothes.
But her devoted parents had no
fault to find with Angela's tout en-
semble, nor the cost thereof, for she
was vastly easy for all to look upon,
and a finished feast for the tired eyes
OF ln0ulgenI parents.
And to all this Angela Burton was
wise. She had capitalized her ap-
pearance and knew it. More than once
II had brought her what she desired.
But now. and 1t was a fearful, almost
terrifying moment, Tommy Hampton,
her old sweetheart, who had always
stood so in awe of her, was returned
from France, and in their first min
utes he was saying to her:
mo use. Angiei You've got to show
me something besides good looks
You're a peacherino, all right, all
right, but I've been around some
I've seen all kinds of girls-and the
girl that interests me now is the girl
with the geods-and not dry goods,
either"
"oh. suppose that Lieutenant
Hampton is going to marry money!"
retorted Angela scornfully.
mol" thundered Tommy, "but II
you don't, you'll soon be short of
grease to run that complexion of
yours"
She sprang to her feet in a rage.
Now that was pretty coarse work,
Angie, but it's the honest-to-God truth
didn't start out to be a beast. L was
only going to tell you that my ideas
have changed. We've fought this war
on what was inside our heads and not
what we were painted up to look like
I've seen girls, ragged, uncombed-yes,
us to the gates of hell and kiss us, and
cry over us when We came back And
they looked good deal more like
angels to me than you do. Angie, you
ing for a mate, not a piece of bric-a-
brac for corner whatnot. You won't
do, Ann. You're just scenery"
Clapping her hands over her ears
Angela sped up the stairs and Tommy
took his hat and left
She was too angry for words. No
one in the world had ever before told
her she was utterly useless. In order
to revive her self-respect and dry her
| tears with bits of absorbent cotton,
she sat down before her mirror. Then
her vitalizing sense of hunor came to
her rescue.
$50 you're scenery, Ann?" she MINI
ieked to her reflection. ''Well, he
scenery-oh, no, but he said a lott"
Gazing at herself intently and after a
moments thought, mo. we'll not de-
face the scenery-it's all I'm travelling
Hampton"
Angela was nobody's fool. There
were as many convolutions in the
| brain inside of her marcelled head as
! Thoughtfully, preoccup!edly, she went
thru her closet, took down an old blue
linen. put It on; then laid out on the
bed a clean white collar and cuff set
put on big apron and hurried to
Yes. dad; I've some extra time on
my hands, and If you want to bring out
an old friend to dinner Wen set him up
a nifty little handout. Any one you
bring is all right" she assured her
| father. Then she repaired to the
kitchen and told her mother what she
had done. adding. but it wouldn't be
any more trouble to fix for two than
one; Let's have Uncle Joab, too"
| i'm l. a.
lighted
Angela was more to him than
merely an only sisters child. She was
the charming replica OF his mother,
So when Angie got him off by himself
| and haltingly proposed to rent his
farm he chuckled and with a wise little
! wink he asked:
there a partner in the background 20
| NOW, Unke, haven't 1 been out
| there enough with you to know a lot
| about farming? Anyway, no one ever
said couldn't learn" Then, demure-
~, or course, might take on a part
| ner. later. Who knows?"
And the doting uncle agreed that
she couldn't do worse than some of
the tenants he'd had, and she might
try as the present renter was leaving.
And. continued Angie, patting his
cheek and Strengthening his tie, "I'll
| nave SOAHc liT8l class aQV1Ce tap
| all the time, for / shall keep one room
Just for you, and whenever the side
walks begin to hurt your feet you'll
have place in the country where you
can come and hibernate. Oh, we'll
have loads of fun. Nunkie, see IL we
| don't"
| But it's hard life-country life
| is-for a woman" DISCOURAGED her
uncle wistfuliy. You'll have to part
with some of your style and good
| looks"
| We'll. even at that I'll not part
with more than some of the girls who
are living in flats. half starved, with
out chick or ehild-no room for even
a pet cat. And those boarding house
women-why can spot them as far
as / can see them I've thought 1t all
out carefully. Uncle Joao. and want
to try-and you know grandmother
| lived there and she was the prettiest
| woman in this country when she died.
I knew you'd let me-"
When everything was planned and