The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1920-03-01
Eoenh1g Story
Cinderella Stuff.
By L. NJ. HARRISON.

yellow balloons floated aloft in a haze
: of azure carleton. Huge jack-inthe
boxes and humpty dumptys stood
tauntingly about and man-sized
Noah peeped Unexpectedly out from.
beside squat trees in green boxes. The
spring masquerade of the Art Acad-
envy, this time toy ball, was in full
swing.
time of their liVes-all but one who
was on the point of entering. Miss
Dearborn-that was the only name her
fellow students knew, not caring what
! the d, which preceded the Dearborn
! on her drawings stood for-Miss Dear
born pulled one reluctant foot after
the other into the /gayety.
! She was dressed like Cinderella go
ing to the princes ball. Her dress had
/ been made not by the magic of fairy
godmother. but by her own fingers in
the small hours of the night before out
of her gold tissue curtains.
| Her shyness made her decide in
s:antly to keep on the black mask she
was wearing. altho she noticed that
no one else was wearing one. Live
! dolls of all sorts and sizes. teddy bears
and all the other animals of the nur-
sery danced by her, footing horns.
blowing whistles, cracking whips and
making noises with other Internal ma
chimes above which. the orchestra
| bIared it's fox trots and its waltzes.
door before which she still stood when
deep voice at her elbow asked,
Won't you dance this with me?'
Miss Dearborn swung herself into
! easy step without answering BY more
than a nod. She realized that her
| light on his feet. Instead Of toy
costume he wore evening clothes.
Thru the small space her mask al
lowed her she could see that he was
easily thirty five, so. of course not one
of the students; that he had frienoly
| face and was not handsome, all OF.
which observations treasured her.
You're determined to keep your IN
copnito. are YOU? Won't even give
Yourself away by speaking?" ne asked
after little. Its intriguing for your
fellow students. admit, but you don't
need to keep it up with me- L don
know many of you. I'm Charlotte
Buffem's uncle. NCame along to get a
bothersome law case out of my head
Charlotte Buffem's uncle, Char
1otte Buffem's uncle" Miss Dearborn
repeated to herself, still too shy to
speak. The most gorgeous, most
popular girl in the academy. That
settled it. She would never tell who
she was. She had been fool to
well said Charlotte Buffena's
uncle again. aren't you ever going to
say word ~
mo" and Miss Dearborn smiled
tantalizingly up at him, I'm doll
and dolls can't talk. They can listen,
tho" she added, land they have to
pretty much of the time in between
long periodsg of neglect"
"If that's the way you feel, III
talk Charlotte's uncle began to get
the situation.
They danced most OF the dances to-
gether after that. Others came up for
a dance, but after one hilarious youth
tried to lift her mask Miss Dearborn
was afraid to dance with the students
again
At supper-she had made him
promise that they would eat alone
Charlotte waved to them across the
room. Miss Dearborn knew that peo-
pie were wondering about her, asking
each other who she was and in the
supper room where they had moth
. ing to do E3s1t talk and look at each
other she was afraid they would find
her out. When Mr.. Thurston-she
had discovered that his name vas
John Thurston-left her to find cof-
| fee, and she thought Charlotte and
the hilarious youth were coming over
to her, she rose quickly and slipped
away. It was a rude trick to play on
Mr.. Thurston, she knew, but ! 2 o'clock
was late enough TO go home alone and
that hour was Just striking.
Back in her room the thought of
Mr.. Thurston coming back and not
/ finding her drove sleep away. What
mad she gone 10 the party for, she
wondered. =
She was older than the rest of the
students'and worked harder, fulfilling
an old dream that had been impossi-
bic before. She vas used to working
shyly in a. corner, and eating her
lunch alone. For a silly within, be-
cause she had been christened Dora
and been always called Dolly, she had
decided to go TO the dolls ball.
Next day she was back in her cor
ner at the academy trying hard with
an aching head. to make the inside
of a church look like the inside of a
church instead of like toy ball All
around her the others talked of their
fun of the night before. There was
much Specializing on the masked doll
who had fled away at 12-Cinderel1a
stuff. the hilarious youth said. At 1
o'clock as she was packing up her
paints she beard Charlotte shout,
There's Uncle John. Wen make him
take us TO lunch
Miss Dearborn blushed and then
turned pale, forgetting that Mr..
Thurston could not recognize her. She
left her corner. hurried by the long
way round SO that she would not have
to cut across the room in the direct
I Hne OF VISION. she was out on the
street SOON breathing-har
Mr.. ThuRston, however, was aware
of the slim figure. gliding along the
wall. 1t reminded him of his masked
partner 'of the night before. When
he could interrupt Charlotte he said:
who sits over in that corner by the
disco bolus?"
oh" said Charlotte uninterestedly.
that's Miss Dearborn. She was here
q minute ago. Why? You needn't
, think she was your Cinderella. She's
not young or pretty. She's-she's just
Miss Dearborn. You'll have to look
further. Uncle Jack"
Uncle Jack thought he knew bet
Ser. but he skept his knowledge to
himself He told Charlotte he would
meet her in the lobby. but by the time
he reached there no Miss Dearborn
was to be seen there or hurrying up
the street.
Better luck next time!" said Uncle
Jack to himself