Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1921-02-25
LADYFLNGERS
By JACKSON GREGORY
1881, BY Charles sortoney.s Sons

knew his to be, mean a word OF itf
The gates Of a penitentiary were yawn.
Ing for him and Polly, knowing Il, felt
that Aehe must be as poignsntly aware
OF II as himself.
"Bobbie Ashe," she said very 90.
oerly, you've got to cut out this
funny business and come alive. They're
after you and they mean business {bis
time. II II was just Ambrose I wouldn't
DC scared; guess you can be one
too much for him most any time he
stacks up against you single handed.
But papa's In cahoots with him, and Joe
lie Brun never went after a man yet
he didn't get"
Her. words Jared against the light.
ness OF Ashes mood. He frowned, then
laughed carelessly.
her with youthful assurance. III your
worthy father gets obstreperous I've
got certain magic word to whisper
into his ear and he'll drop the business
Ike hot brick. AS for Ambrose ."
lie lifted his shoulders In a contemp-
tuous shrug. ''I've been playing tns
with him for half a year"
Polly, while openly admiring, shook
her head. Maybe Asbe knew what he
was talking about with just Joe lie
Brun and Ambrose opposing him Polly
doubted It, for no one knew better than
she the resourcefulness and stubborn
ness Of her father when once he sought
TO run down man. But there was
tho third person, the goggled stranger,
the Unknown Quantity, clothed with
real terror to her chiefly because he
elected to be cloaked In mystery. Polly
had come to speak of him, to tell Ashs
what she knew and what she feared,
Der suspicious that he was the envoy Of
a, powerful enemy or perhaps some
highup OF the secret service. She knew
enough to sense a frame. up" And
her experience and observation were
large enough to tell her that frame
up, into which police officer, O
gangster and an Unknown Quantity
entered was a terrible thing with
which TO cope.
All Of this and more was at the tip
OF her tongue when Ashe quite mad
vertently opened new vista for con
sideration and 50 sealed for himself
one avenue Of escape.
"You are a good kid, Polly" he
said. Polly caught hungrily at the
words, her heartbeat quickening. But
the heartbeats came only the slower
with the realization that while sincerity
lay back Of the words, there was utter
ly lacking that deeper emotion which,
had 1t prompted the speech, would
have made her heart leap with the
great joy.
Il always seem to take your kind.
nesses to me sort Of as matter Of
, course, I'm afraid" he smiled at her.
II believe that forgot half Of the time
that Joe lie Brun Is your father, that
his fortunes are yours, that you are
doing a wonderfully unsolfsh thing In
siding with me. I don't know that
ought to let you come to me this way.
! One Of these days It's going to make
positive trouble between you and your
father"
Polly's hard little laugh startled
him.
Trouble, did you say? 1t busted
wide open last night. Papa and Am :
/ brose and the other guy were cooking
, up their dirty moss and it's Polly to
3 take chance on getting wised up.
g Ambrose's big ears wouldn't miss the
r noise the fog makes scraping along the
r alley walls; he ynnks the door open and
there's me, looking fused and getting
G red. Hey, Joe,' he sneers, dragging
r me in. Here's Polly getting thirsty
!! again. And before we're through
slap Ambrose's face so my hand hurts
A and papa gets fresh and slap his face
Q I was for yanking of No Names gog-
E giles in the miI-up, to get better
squint at him when they throw me on
stage and shut the door and don't tals
e 30 loud" =.
5 II didn't want It to come to this,
: said Ashe grsvely. II didn't want you
D to quarrel with lie Brun. Nor with
Ambrose. You must make up with them
7 some way, Polly
s Make up?" she fared out angrily
"I'll see the whole crowd in hell first
II they think I'm going to stand by and
She broke of abruptly, biting her
lips. Her breast was suddenly tumultu- =
GUS with her quick eathing.
As Ashe looked wonderingly at her
she stared back In a queer sort OF de.
fance, stared until her two cheeks went
as red as red blood could make them,
until she dashed her hand across her
, eyes as she grew hot with new sort
OF shame and a fierce anger at him, at
herself, at the world in general.
Z God knows Polly lie Brun was no
prude; conventions were for hsr in
, significant obstacles which might clattsr
the path for another but which she
, thrust aside with an impatient foot.
, But deep down where the real Polly lie
Brun existed, deep down under. the
badness Of her and the boldness OF her
was the pure womanliness when,
stung suddenly, writhed under that look
in Ashes eyes. And Bobbie Ashe, pro-
, fessional thief. gifted none the less with
that wonderful quality. q rare, innate
q delicacy drawn from his fathers blood,
r sucked from his mothers milk, In:
, stilled in an infancy in which body and
brain and soul expand so swiftly, absorb
!, so Intimately, understood. Understood,
almost clearly, that which Polly her
/ selP could but grope after blindly. His
finer nature saw the beauty Of the in
; stinctiye emotion which had set the
girl trembling. Even while he was
, painfully at loss for the thing TO say or
= do he knew that the poems in his books
D we're not 80 fine as the love in the soul
l Of poor little Polly lie Brun.
I Polly" he said softly. polly
h I'm a crazy little fool" she cried,
5 dabbing angrily at her eyes. "I-Oh.
G I'm fool"
e "Polly," he said.
|. Again she flung up her head defantly.
s But in her eyes was something more
= than challenge. There was hunger vn
n hidden, yearning, not to be disguised
!, no matter how bravely Polly struggled
d with It. And, 80 many things ma,
= crowd into one swift, tragic look, there
c was something there probing deep, seek
!. ing eagerly, striving to find that sh'
d need not be ashamed OF her shame. Ant
G in the end she laughed u trife uncer'
d tainly and hysterically and dabbed 4
It her eyes again and turned away.
n "You'ye ALWAYS been mighty good u