The patriot. [volume] (Indiana, Pa.) 1914-1955, 1919-04-19
Shirley WilIet,
Actress
By MARION SHAPIRO
Copyright, 1918, by the Mcclure Newspa,
per Syndicate)

tCopyr1ght, 1913, by the Mcclure NeWspa,
per Syndicate)
"And after had so set my heart on
1t, here am like a helpless baby.
was crazy over my part, and Mr.. CrOs-
by said l was doing 1t just right. If II
had been anything but my ankle. Now,
suppose, I'll have to settle down and
sit peacefully knitting again, when
wanted to be doing something active"
So did Shirley Willet pour out her
tale of woe to her "big" brother, who
had just donned the naval aviator's
uniform. The younger members Of the
set had planned to give several enter
tainments at the various camps and
training stations. This, the second Of
the series, was In the form Of play,
In which Shirley was taking the lead.
"Well, sis, It's too badl You GER
tainly did well at that last rehearsal.
Dick O'Connor thought you were just
suited for that part-a sort Of spirit
Of the air, you know-and he ought
to know"
Dick Connor! She had so set her
heart In showing him what she could
do, and she had succeeded very well
in the knitting part Of it; and now,
Just when she wanted to do something
In the way Of entertainment for the
''boys," here she was. Dick, previous
to his enlisting In the aviation corps,
had been connected with a settlement
house, where he had coached drama
tics, and even now, when the boys
were off duty, he often entertained
them with his clever impersOnatiOns.
Shirley knew this, and wanted to
show him that she, too, was interested
in dramatics.
When Francis Willet had enlisted,
ne was Immediately attracted to this
young officer, and they formed one
of those wonderful friendships pecu-
liar to young men. On his visits home
Shirley had heard her brother speak
SO enthusiastically Of Dick that she
had asked to have him invited TO
dinner one evening. She found him TO
be all her brother had Sald-a fine,
handsome, manly chap, heart and soul
in the war, and, In fact, very much
in it.
Since that day he had come down
several times, and her admiration OF
him had turned to something more
than mere admiration. Now was the
time that she was going to show him
that she, too, was capable of doing
something, and In the midst Of all her
triumph she had sprained her ankle.
+ did Dick COnnor say that, Frank?"
she asked, picking up the trend of his
last remark. "Well, I suppose they've
got some substitute, and 1 do hope
she won't murder the part. She prob
ably won't do It as well as T." she add
ed, with little vanity, because Mr..
Crosby said nobody could" Then she
said, by way of explanation, and show
ing the better side of her, "Of course,
have had more time on It."
Jaw come now, sis, now you are
getting to be just like girl. OF
course It's shame that you can't do
It. but then, these things will happen"
And so it happened that on the night |
of the performance, instead Of being |
the performer, Shirley was the audi
ence. There she sat, poor little thing,
between her brother and Dick, suffer
ing with her sore ankle but wearing a
smile at the thought that the boys
were having a good time. Once or
twice Dick looked down at her, and he
thought he saw tears in her eyes, but
he wasn't sure. Poor little thing
How she must be sufferingl Anybody
who knew Dick would, on looking at
his face at that moment, have said
that he was deciding something.
When he took Shirley home that
evening; Dick had evidently made up
his mind Shirley" he said, gently,
'what made you cry tonight?" Shir-
ley's tell-tale face told the story. "Tell
me, dear" he urged, gently. The tone
of Dicks voice started involuntary
tears in Shirley's eyes, and she made
as If to brush them away, when she
felt a pair of strong arms around her,
and heard the gentle voice again.
SHIRLEY, little girl, do you care,
dear?"
He sounded and looked so big; he
was such a wonderful example of the
young manhood now fighting for our
mutual Uncle Sammy. that it would
have been quite inhuman to refuse his
earnest appeal, and Shirley was quite
human.