The Topeka state journal., 1919-12-22
Eoening Story
The jazz Girl.
BY WILL T. AMES.


Gladys Kimball was not, to tell the
truth. having quite> as good time as
she had anticipated. When a girl has
I the satisfaction of feeling herself and
her family to be the distinct superiors
of everybody in a fifty-cottage sum-
mer colony; when she has the finest
clothes and the most expensive canoe
in the place, and when her fiance has
come to visit her and is both good
! looking and very. well-to-do, The stage
would appear to be set for happiness
Jim had arrived in the forenoon, buoy
ant f1atteringly glad to be with her
again, and they had had quite a Won
derful day on the water, and in. it.
Yet now, as they sat on the wide
yerandah of the Kimball cottage, with
. the wide cove stretching far off into
the starlight night and the whippoor-
wills harlmering away at their ever
lasting vocal carpet beating, Gladys
was conscious of being bit bored
rather than exultantly blissful. The
! rhythmic cadences of an orchestra
from the pavilion a furlong away add
/ ed to her restlessness.
Don't you think this is dreadfully
slow? she said. "Just sitting still
and looking at nothing?"
Jim CarruthersI after an early MORN
ing st6ft, q considerable railroad trip
and his outdoor day, hadn't thought
of the occasion as being slow" in the
least He would have been content to
sit there with Gladys a very long time
But he was good tempered. was Jim,
and not little used to aN certain de-
gree of wisely restrained petulence in
his fiancee's makeup. So he only said
in rep reply; aiI what do Won want to fly at
next?"
There's a place over there where
they dance-some of the less par
; ticular of the Vale people and
crowd of all sorts that come out here
from town in the evening. We
wouldn't care to mingle with them,
of course, but we could go over there
and have an ice and look on. The
music isn't so bad
"All right" assented Jim; '1et's
co. He was too tired to dance. any,
, how, so he made no comment on
Gladys's exclusiveness, though he
grinned a bit under cover OF the
darkness.
The pavilion was broad and airy
and flooded with soft light Jim
thought the "all sorts who patron
lied it seemed to be a pretty decent
sort, on the whole. Any way. they
of color and gracious movement
! Gladys chose q table from which there
was a perfect view of the floor and
presently, over their sundaes, both
were lost in the fascination of the
scene.
The music changed. The tremulous,
curving throb of classic waltz gave.
place to a ''Jazz with all the wool on.
Jim exclaimed, mostly to himself.
! From a settee just in front of Jim and
Gladys a man and girl arose, swung
lightly into each others arms and
floated away, into the crowd.
To speak of jaZzers floating" may
/ 11o f1r eli II M n
guage-but not when applied to
i jazzers such as these. A leaf. caught
in the current of a ripping. gurgling-
, dolly little rapid, never swan more
Tightly with all its tremors and rock
/, ings and quiverings.
And it was as a single leaf, thrill
ing with the Joy of its adventure. that
they danced, Jim found himself sud
denly very wide awake as he watched
them. almost breathless in his admira-
ton of the superb performance
He turned suddenly to Gladys Did
ting in front of us. Did you ever see
anything like their dancing?"
You mean that creature in black
with the bobbed blonde hair? Gladys
inquired in turn. That's the trouble
with all such public places as this.
/ They never seem to be able. some
! how, to keen them out A really nice
trail off into nothing.
Jim had a reply on his lips when
there suddenly descended upon Gladys
three extra ordinarily gushing youne
buds named Burton, who had arrived
at their place in the Vale only that
day. The Burtons shared with the
Kimballs the distinction of being the
very nicest' of the Vale colonfsts.
Jim thought the girls rather rude
,, in the manner of their carrying
Gladys off to see their mother. who
was outside in the limousine you
know" If he had been less easy tenn
pered he might have resented the off
hand way in which Gladys, flingipg
him command to stay here. Jimsie' -
disappeared in the direction of the big
doorway. But he didn't appear to
mind.
+ Twenty minutes later Gladys. return
| ing, found another party at the table
and Jim nowhere in sight. The slight
indignation she felt at her fiance's
failure to stay put" flared into wrath
when, searching the pavilion with her
eyes she beheld Jimmy. her own es-
pecial property. jaZzing. actually jazz
ing, and with no one in the world but
the sinuous bob-haired girl with the
astonishing black gown that showed
glimpses of half hose and the girls
own white legs as che danced. Gladys
stared ansrily for an instant. then
turned and hurried to the door in tim e
to get a lift home in the Burton car.
But I know the girl" insisted
Jimmy next morning, land she's real
iy quite superior young woman.
She's a professional dancer, and the
man with her is her partner. They
are employed by the pavilion manage
ment. The partner is married and his
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[atthew Adams 2