The Washington times., 1921-12-25
Miss Shipman in the Identical
$4,000 Mink Coat That. Van
ished and Came Back to Her
So Strangely.

q ONE. philosopher said that when
ever he stood at a high window and
looked down upon big city around
Midnight he was always oppressed with
curious awe. He couldn't help thinking of
the multitudes Of brains spread around
world in miniature. he thought: and when
he considered further the changes in the
human lives those brains were going to
make that next day, his awe deepened.
A big hotel is just the same, only on a
smaller scale. And the Hotel Thorndyke.
up near Central Park, New York City. rs
no exception. In Suite No, As lived
young. blonde lady who answered to the
name of Mrs. Chester" She was quite
pretty. When she had first come to the
hotel in the Fall she had been accompanied
by young man who had registered for
{ them, III Chester and wife, Brooklyn"
The young man had left after few
days and Mrs. Chester had explained that
he was on the vaudeville stage. She would
wait she said, at the hotel until he sum-
moned her to join him. And wait she did,
for days, and then weeks, growing always
little shabbier and shabbier. but paying
her weekly bills promptly.
Next door to Mrs. Chester was Suite No.
A.. One day, the door, being ajar. Mrs.
Chester watched with interest procession
maid, followed by porter and bell-boys
bearing luggage. Then came nice looking,
motherly woman. After her tripped along
an extremely attractive girl with brown
Pomeranian under one arm and a huge
golden vanity case under the other. On
her bobbed brown curls perched brown
velvet hat with big plume and she was
swathed from neck to heels in coat OF
shining mink. The collar was as large as
a shawl and came down to her waist II
was love of a coat, and the eyes of Mrs
Chester took i'm It's beauties covetOusly.
The young lady who wore. it was Miss
Helen Shipman, musical comedy prima
donna.
Mrs. Chester, with the vision Of the mink
coat and all those clothes before her,
closed her own door and sat down to con-
slider matters. Hers was one of those
brains with problems that the philosopher
sensed when he looked over the city, and
It was a very peculiar problem. For Mrs.
Chester wasn't at all what she seemed.
In the first place she was only about
eighteen years old. II was the experiences
she had had in those years that made her
look and seem older. She knew very well
that "Mr. Chester" wasn't coming back and
that she wasn't likely ever TO hear from
him again. Besides that of Mrs. Chester
she had another name-Violet Loring.
But her real name was Jean Shea. and
under that name she had been committed
wears before to a New England reform
school. AT that time she had been getting
shabby and needed new clothes. She stole
them. After while she was paroled In
custody of Massachusetts, family who
liked her quiet ways and pretty face.
There had been. too pretty clothes among
the daughters of that family. She had
broken her parole, stolen them and disap-
peaxed.
There was nothing in the little reform
school girls manner to give hint of such
a past. Outwardly she Lad all the manner
isms- and graces Of wellibred young ma
tron. There wasn't the faintest reason Tor
the HOTEL people to suspect her.
Nevertheless. that-and more-had been
her past And as Jean sat there In
her suite she knew that she simply had to
have some pretty clothes again. There
was a reason. Her situation was becoming
precarious. Her very existence depended