Bogalusa enterprise and American. (Bogalusa, La.) 1918-19??, 1921-04-07
LUCKY SALLY
BY GERTRUDE CUSHING.

| YOU SUPPOSE III ever SlAS AhO IAiAS
The speaker dropped her chin into
her cupped hands and stared across
the shabby little cafe with gaze OF
almost tragic usefulness.
A few blocks away the great opera
house was once more a silent, dark
ened cavern. In her dressing room the
prima donna whose Butterfly" had
moved eager hundreds to envy, sad
ness or admiFatlOn-Rs the case might
be-was fretfully removing her make
M and thinking Of the check in her
handbag and the delayed dinner which
would be ready In her apartment.
'Un bel di." hummed the girl In the
little cafe. 'fOh! do you think 1t will
ever come TO meT'
Her companion, a big, dark-eyed
girl, set down a cup Of viciously
strong black coffee and grlpped her
fists tensely on the edge Of the table.
'Don't ever give it up. / never viii.
It's worth any struggle-any sacri-
nce."
A little old man sat opposite the
two girls. He was slipping tea. MUNICH
ing a ham sandwich, and around the
side of his newspaper regarded them
with kindly quizzical eyes.
II take it you're music students3"
he advanced. cOurteOusly.
For the first time the girls became
aware Of his presence.
eyes we are"
The old mans face grew genial and
encouraging. The girls responded:
''Did you hear Dorine tonight? Wasn't
she superb?"
Madame Dorlne is a very great art
list. / know her. I have known her
for a great many years. have a
fancy she would like you TO hear her
story. You particularly" He indicated
the dark-eyed girl who had last
spoken.
They bent forward glowing and ex-
pectant. Coffee and ices were forgot
ten.
"She was born in small town out
West. Sally Gerrfsh her name was
Lucky Sally'-that's what they called
her, 1t began when my brother sent
her East to study singing. You see my
niece and she were chums, almost in
separabIe. and there was money in our
family while the Gerrishes were poor,
at least too poor for that sort Of
thing.
swell, they came on here, found q
good teacher and settled down to hard
work. They were as different as any
two girls YOU ever saw. My niece was
a quiet little thing. Took everything
pretty sober and thought a long while
before she made up her mind.
Eat the end Of a year they were
both getting ahead fine, but my niece
had taken up with beau and sheNwas
doing q lot Of thinking about more
things than music. / never saw him.
but I guess he was pretty handsome
looking, and he was rich and sort Of
swell. Well, about this time someone
heard my niece taking her lessons,
and he was crazy about her voice. He
was looking for, soprano for his
church. and he hunted her up and of.
fered her the position.
''I don't know to this day the whole
thing, but Crystals young man had
something to do with Sally's getting
the church. She did get 1t, and the
folks back home said again, 'Sally's
luck, and did anyone ever see any
thing like itP
There's lot of things you can't
see right from distance. Ny niece
was the lucky one that time, though
no one knew It. Her fine beau kinder
drifted away from her, and the next
thing we knew he and Sally sailed for
Europe on the same steamer. My
niece never talked much about it. She
went home and she never came back
to study. She kept on with her sing
ing, and we all think Ia our town that
there never was a voice quite so beau
tiful She's married now to a tip-top
man, and she's got nice home and
three children-splendld youngsters.
The boys named for me.
"Sally never went back home till
last spring. She stayed over In Europe
most Of the time and the newspapers
became her letters. We never heard
much any other way. She kept her
own counsel. The world knows her
as a great singer. She's rich and she's
generous to her people and back home
they still call her Lucky Sally The
man who led the two girls to the turn
ing point of their lives lives in New
York. He's married, too.
LAST spring when Madam -DOrine
went home she stayed three days, and
most Of the time she spent at ray
niece's playing with the children. She
was there when the telegram came
with an offer that took her post haste
to Paris. Ny niece laughed when she
read 1t. You'll always be Lucky Sally
she said to her.
"Sally turned on her like q tigress,
she says. Don't let those words ever
cross your lips again. Lucky Sally!
Oh! the mockery Of itr Those were
Just her words, and for some time she
paced back and forth without speak
ing. Finally she got quiet and babe
my niece good-by. At the door she