, 1919-12-25
To Meet
Miss Dale
C. 1919. by Mcclure Newspaper syndicate.>
BY JANE DREW

els, ulSSihS ullSenlly lhtO lie spuShet-
ii kettle with a chain dish cloth. Rot
ten shame, the way your relatives lane
these little jokes on you, anyhow.
Don't they know you're keeping bach
elor's hall here with me?"
"She won't come here. I'm only to
meet her at the train and trot her over
to the Long Island terminal. Mother
says she's blonde and wears a blue
serge suit with a white silk waist and
white hat"
"There1l be 5000 girls dressed just
like that, Tommy, you poor fish, Satur-
day afternoon in the Grand Central. 1
suppose she has a full description of
you, too-slender, distinguished youth
with dark blue serge suit, brown low-
cuts, reddish hair, blue eyes, affable
manner"
"Shut up" growled Tom. perhaps
you'd like to meet her yourself. No
body'd ever trust you to take a young
person under your wing and land her
safely In the bosom of her family"
"Yet I shall go with you, Tommy, to
see that you behave" Powers warned
cheerfully. "Have I ever deserted you
in any emergency? No. sir. Brother
to brother, through thick and thin, I
will stand at a safe distance while you
meet her."
Therefore, promptly at three min
utes before two, there waited at the
lower level gate two anxious young
men, watching for Miss Virginia Dale,
from Tuckahoe, N. Y. But n after
another the arriving passengers dis
persed and there was no young blonde
person clad In blue serge with a white
hat or white silk waist.
ibid we miss herr" asked Tom anx-
iously. "If you'd shut up and not get
me all ratified. Steve, I'd have been
sure"
But Powers failed to respond be-
cause he had been accosted by a young
person. Certainly she was not the n
expected. All in pink she was, short,
rufiy pink skirts above white stock
ings and black patent leather slippers.
Her brown hair was braided in pig
tails with big, bunchy pink bows hiding
her ears and she had blue eyes.
II suppose you're expecting Vir-
ginia." she said, In the friendliest fash
ion possible. "Well, she couldn't come.
She's gone to be bridesmaid up at
Elaine Farrelrs wedding, because
Anne got sick and couldn't. You are
the right ones, aren't your Which is
Tommy I've heard your mother and
your grandmother talk so much about
you. / guess I just know everything
that's ever happened to you ever since
you were born" p" =
. "How did you know about me?"
asked Steve, wistfully. you're leav-
ing me out"
well" she replied as between them
she trlpped to the taxi, virginia
was telling about you. She says she
knew your big brother when he went
to the Jussand Military school up
where we live. That's about five years
ago"
He's my younger brother" said
Steve gravely. I'm twenty-five"
Really? You don't look 1t. yir-
gina's nineteen. I'm thirteen. I'm tall
for my age, don't you think so? Every
body takes me for fifteen. I didn't tell
you my name, did 1? Guessi"
"Gwendolen,' said Tom hopefully.
Agnes, Evangeline, Beatrice, Barbara,
Constance"
"oh, dear, no. It's just Betty" she
chuckled. "Is this our taxi?"
1t was, Steve thought with relief. All
the way to the Pennsylvania she kept
up a running fire of questions, and
finally made them promise on her way
home they would meet her, and give
her n spaghetti dinner.
Fright up in your most special, Sc
cret place." she urged, last of oil.
"Good-by. I'll tell Virginia how nice
you were. She'll want to know which
is the nicer, but I don't know myself.
Good-by.''
"The little flirt," gasped Tom. us
there anything she missedf"
I'm engaged" answered Steve SOL
emily. i've got her silver pencil to
mend and a snapshot of her, and she's
going to send me q box of walnut fudge
every Saturday. l think she's a honey.
You can keep your lofty. golden-haired
yirginias."
Letters came from Betty every other
day, all to Steve. Likewise the box of
fudge. And he answered all loyalty
and sent back huge boxes of marsh
mallow creams and Turkish paste tied
in pink satin ribbon. Also he sent out
his folding kodak that had seen serv-
ice abroad, and various other things.
81 want to-" he said, in answer to
Toms teasing. 81 never had a kid sis
fer. and she's a honey. 1t takes my
mind off my troubles. Let me alone"
Then came a sudden visit from Ted,
the younger brother. Certainly he knew
the Dale family up at Tuckahoe, he
told them, while Steve listened, wide
eyed. Virginia was the finest girl ever
happened.
81 like her sister," said Steve