Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-08-26
A MANS HEARTH
By ELEANOR N. INGRAM, Author Of "The Twice American" Etc.

an innocent dignity OF cAFrlAso tnet'
Joined with her gravely candid ease.
wa not = little imposing. Moreove!
her pure. bright color and clear eyes
were discbncertingly natural beside
the artificial beauties. Pride Of pos
session tinEled aSreeably througn
him; he had not thought Of this OF
! expected the emotion.
When the two were seatad opposite
one another. the regard they e1-
changed was Of glowing content, Al
Rance ordered supper with the inter
est of appetite and with a. fine knowl-
| edge of her tastes and his own. Then.
at ease, they smiled at zach other:
The extrayasance Of the feast was o.
their daily life made Anthony's salary
more than SUFFICIENT; they already
possessed the resource of q bank ac-
count.
So far there had been no music,
except faint echoes from the room be-
low. Now a tinkle of strings sounded
ed d~elicately, swelling from a single
note into a full. minor waltz melody.
Turning. Elsie saw the musicians.
They were negroes; not a band or an
orchestra. merely a pianist, two men
banjoea, and one who handled with
amazing dexterity a whole set OF
sound producers; a drum. cyrabals.
bells, a gong, even an automobile
horn. From to another instru-
ment, as the character of the piece
demanded, this performers hands and
feet few with accuracy and ludicrous
speed. But the music was more than
good. it was unique. inspired; 1t
shared the feet. and the senses. All
round sounded the scraping Of chairs
-~,,shA k1~ls 1~ ~oN~ ~~A oran W~Co
to answer the call. In n short mo-
ment the place changed from a res
taurant to a ballroom.
1t was such a ballroom as Elsie
Adriance never had Elimpsed in
either her Louisiana or restricted New
York experiences. The women were
costurned in the extreme fashions of a
year when all fashion vas extreme.
AS the dancers swayed past in the
graceful, hesitating steps of the last,
new waltz, there were revelations-of
low-cut dfaperies. Of skirts transpar-
ent to the knees. with ribbon-laced
slippers jewelled at heel and buckle
glancing through the thin veil OF tint
ed chiffon or lace. The scene had an
Oriental frankness without being blat-
n or coarse. At the tables there was
much drinking of wine and liqueurs,
but as yet no apparent, intoxication.
Some of the women who were not
dancing smoked cigarettes as they
chatted with their companions; not a
few Of these had white hair and were
obviously matrons. respected and self
respecting.
What do you think of IT." Adri-
nee inquired. after watching his wife
with mischief in his eyes.
Il don't know" she slowly con
lander: But I am not so stupid as to
misunderstand too badly. These peo-
pie are-sll risht?"
Eyes; most of them. This IL the
after-theater crowd Some are from
the stage, some from the audience.
That lady in green chiffon who looks
as il h had forgotten to put on most
of her clothes is the wife Of one of
my fathers business associates. Did
You see her husband bow t o us as we
came in? The little black-eyed girl
in the black velvet walking-suit, at
the next table. is La TanaEra, who
does classic dances in q yard Of pink
veil. She is a very nice girl, too
OF course. some Of them- He
shrugged.
The music stopped. Through a
press Of laughing, 1ushed people re-
turning to their tables, a waiter
wound a dineult passage with the
first course of the supper Adriance
had ordered.
Guests entered the room in a thin,
constant stream. IS this hour adj
vanced. But there was no sign Of
Masterson. Elsie wondered what he
would say on finding her with An
thony. Would he be angry, indiffer-
ent, disconnected? Perhaps he would
not N alone.
Continued in tonorrow's
Eventn1 H0Aa1A +.