Evening star., 1919-03-30


story), are familiar with the
fecian known as the Loop. For those
others Of you to whom Chicago is a
transfer point between New York and
San Francisco there is presented this
brief explanation;
The Loop Is a clamorous, smoke-in-
Tested district, embraced by the iron
arms of the elevated tracks. In city
boasting fewer millions 1t would be
known familiarly as downtown. From
Congress to Lake street. from Wabash
almost to the river. those thunderous
tracks make a complete circle, or loop.
Within it lie"tiIo retail shops, the com-
mercial hotels, the theaters, the res'
taurants. It is the 9Th avenue (di-
luted) and the Broadway (deleted) OK
Chicago. And he who frequents II py
night in search Of amusement ana
cheer Is known, vulgarly. as a Loop
hound. -
10 Hertz was a Loop hound. On the
occasion OF those sparse first nights
granted the metropolis of the middls
west he was always present, thlrd
row, aisle, left. When a new Loop
tafe was opened JOS table always
commanded an unobstructed view of
anything worth viewing. On enter.
ing he was wont to say: Hello, u.s.
with careless cordiality to the head
walter the while his eye roved ex-
pertly from table to table as ne re-
moved his gloves.
That was Jo--a plump and lonely
bachelor of fifty. A plethoric, rowing
eyed and kindly man, clutching vainly
at the garments Of a youth that hao
long slipped past him.
Tho gay-dog business was late
phase in the life of 10 Hertz. He had
been quite different sort of canine:
The staid and harnessed brother of
three unwed and selfish sisters Is an
under dog.
At twenty-seven 10 had been the
dutiful. hard-working son in the
wholesale harness business) of
widowed and gummidging mother.
VINO called him Joey. If you had look
ed close you would have seen that
would appear between JOS eyes-a
wrinkle that had no business there at
twenty-seven. Then JOS mother died,
leaving him handicapped by death.
bed promise. the three sisters and q
unet avenue. JOS wrinkle became
FIXTURE,
Death-bed promises should be
broken as lightly as they are seriously
made. The dead have no right !hd ,,o,,4 TO- lay
Joey" she said. in her high. thin
voice, take care of the girls.'
II will, ma" 10 had choked.
Joey" and the voice was weaker.
Joe had hesitated. appalled,: "Joey, it's
my dying wish. PROMISE"
II promise, ma" he had said 49,
Whereupon his mother had died,
Fnr rtoh hiy,,y with q
tletely ruined life.
They We're not bad-looking girls,
and they had certain style, too. That
is, Stell and Eva had. Carrie, the mid
west side. In those days It took her
almost two hours each way. She said
the kind of costume she required
should have been corrugated steel.
worn. and they. wore it--or fairly
faithful copies of it. Eva. the house
keeping sister, had needle knack.
She could skim the State street WIN
dows and come away with mental
hem, yoke and ribbon. Heads Of de-
partments showed her the things they
kept in drawers, and she went homo
and reproduced them with the aid of
J. two-dollar-a-day seamstress. Stell,
talled her Babe. She wasn't really
beauty, but some one had once told
her that she looked like Janice Mere
lith Git was when that work of fiction
was at the height Of its popularity.
For years. afterward, whenever she
went to parties. she affected a single,
fat curl over her right shoulder, with
4 rose stuck through 1t.
Twenty-three years ago ones sisters
fid not strain at the household leash,
Aor crave a career. Carrie taught
school and hated It, Eva kept house
expertly and complainingly. Babes
profession was being the family
beauty, and 1t took all her spare time.
Eva always let her sleep until 10.
This was JOS household, and he was
the nominal head of 1t. But 1t was an
empty title.
Most men of Joe's age were standing
before their mirror of a Saturday
flight. whistling blithely and abstract
edly while they discarded q blue
bolka-dot for maroon tie, whipped
Off the maroon for a shot-silk. and at
the last moment decided against the
Hhot-silk in favor Of a plain black
Rnd-white. because she had once said
Hhe preferred quiet ties. Joe. when he
should have been Dreening his feath-
krs for conquest, was saying:
swell. my God. I am hurrying! Give
\ man time, can't you? I just got
Home; You girls have been laying
around the house all day. No wonder
You're ready"
/ On those rare occasions when his
business necessitated an out town
"Trip he would spend half q day found