Evening star., 1919-04-20
A STORY BY EDNA FERBER

could not trust herself to speak OF 1t
to him. That was the trouble. Had she
spoken of 1t. laughingly or in earnest.
before it became an obsession with
her. that hideous breakfast quarrel,
with it's taunts and revilings. and
open hate, might never have come to
pass.
Orville, you may remember. left at
S:19. The 1923 bore Terry Chicago
ward. She had left the house as it
was--beds unmade. rooms unswept,
breakfast table uncleared. She in
tended never to come back.
In her pocketbook she had a tidy
sum saved out of the housekeeping
money. She was naturally thrifty,
and Orville had never been niggard-
ly. At noon she went into the dining
car and ordered Haunting little re-
past of,chicken salad and asparagus.
and Neapolitan ice cream. The men
in the dining car eyed her specu-
latively and with appreciation. Then
their glance dropped to the third
finger Of her left hand. and wandered
away.
1t was almost o'clock when she
reached Chicago. She felt no uncer-
tain:y or bewilderment. She had been
in Chicago three or four times since
her marriage. She went to a down.
town hotel. When she had tidied her.
self she went out. The things she did
were the childish, aimless things that
one does who finds herself in possess
sion of sudden liberty. She walked up
State street, and stared in the win
dows; came back, turned into Madi-
son. passed a bright little shop in the
window of which taffy-white and
gold-was being wound endlessly
and fascinatingly about double
jolnted machine. She went in and
bought sackful, and wandered on
down the street, munching. She had
supper at one of those white-tiled
sarcophagi that emblazon Chicago's
downtown side streets. After her
supper she went to a picture show.
The next morning Terry found a
fairly comfortable room, more within
her means in the North Side in the
boarding house district. She un-
packed and hung up her clothes and
drifted downtown again, idly. 1t
was noon when she came to the cor
ner of State and Madison streets.
Terry drifted on down the west side
of State street. with the hurrying
crowd. State and Monroe-a sound
came to Terry's ears. A sound famil-
lar, beloved. She looked up. toward
the sound. A great second-story win
dow opened to the street. In it girl
at a piano. and man, red-faced.
singing through megaphone. And
on flaring red and green sign:N
BERNIE GOTTSCHALK.S MUSIC
HOUSE!
Come in Hear Bernie Gott-
schalk's latest hit! The heart
throb song that has got 'em all!
The song that made the kaiser
crawl!
l come from Paris. ILL.,, but.
oh! you Paris, France!
used to wear blue overalls,
but now it's khaki pants!
Come in! Come in!
Terry accepted.
She followed the sound of the music.
Around the corner. Up little hight
of stairs. A red-haired young lady sat
at the piano, whose familiarity with
the piano had bred contempt Nothing
else could have accounted for her
treatment Of it. There were stacks of
on counters, and shelves,
and dangling from overhead wires.
The girl at the piano never ceased
playing. She played mostly by re-
quest. A prospective purchaser would
humble something in the ear of one
of the clerks. The fat man with the
megaphone would bawl out: "'Hicky
Bloo!' Miss Ryan," and Miss Ryan
would oblige..
Terry Joined the crowd about the
counter. The girl at the piano was
not looking at the keys. Her head
was screwed around over her left
shoulder and as she played she was
holding forth animatedly, to a girl
friend who had evidently dropped in
from some store or ONCE during the