The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1921-01-15
h
The Red Hat
By FREDERICK HART

The hat was red--a particularly dis
tressful shade Of red. Nellie bates
shuddered as she contemplated hersei1
IN the mirror. And the dress-sne
didn't like it at all. Why, oh, why, II
there must be girls on magazine Gov
era. she thought, must they wear such
awful clothes? And yet they uldh
look SO AWFUL when they were trans
ferred to the artists canvas or printed
and smiling from thousands OF news
stands.
But while she didn't at all mino
posing for these saccharine misses, sne
did object to wearing clothes Wnich
AID not harmonic with her appear
ance.
For Nellie knew particularly well
INST what did harmonic. She was
pretty-there was no denying tnal-
and she had studied herself In the
light of the examples she saw around
her every day on Fifth avenue ana
others avenues. She knew-on' sue
knewl :,
Rut money was money, and she mao
not enined her far-famed glory as the
model for all the pretty girls on tne
macazine covers without making artis-
ttc sacrifices that cut her to the core.
She loathed the hats and the gowns.
They were good-looking enough. IN
their place. but their place was as
| tinctly not on Nellie. So she thought
ana her unusually smiling face re-
fiected her thought as she stepped from
the dressing room into the Dig airy
4 studio.
\ Arthur Warren was mixing colors
on his palette when she appeared. ana
he merely looked up with a DrieI
.Sood morning, Miss Bates" as she
entered.
AS impersonal as that! Heavens
thought Nellie, how could ne be any
thing else with that hat in the fore
ground? Anybody would be mperson
] al to hat like that.
OF course she didn't want him moi
Il - be impersonal-cer not! Ht
~ her employer. and she was to posi-
~ MN so that he could make thou
rands and thousands Of dollars by sell
ins her counterfeit presentment to edi
fors for the covers Of their midsum
mer numbers.
- Am he was a gentleman. even 4 d
4; ala have nice eyes. No. that WASH
what she meant; she meant that d
did have nice eyes, even II he was
seffleman. what an awful hat! Sh
, sw6hf to the models stand defiantly
n II was set with tea-wagon on whic
Vas an enhancing outlay Of giitterin
q chm and silver. Tea! It was tn
nh time that week she had pose
/ / 6 q tea-wagon. "n all the tea II
a supposed to have drunk" thought Ne
liz. were laid end to end 1t ,woul
an ne Atlantic ocean and slop owe
On he Rocky mountains!" Froi
j EWhiN It may be deducted that Nellie
tides9 were a trifle mixed.
! ss.s miss Rates." Arthur Wa
II rep0 even voice broke in on her jal
! sIed thoughts, will you please mo,
II ttat 4ea-wagon over toward You II
i lie. Ghere- that's It. Now sit In th'
fhiR &illOw chair and offer me cup
tea. I want to get the position worke
out herei that's goodl Can You no
that for q minuteY'
Ms Bates could and would. 81
heldsfhe tea ont, smiling mechanically
but ker grin was grin Of rage. !,
y6St across the room was an antiq'
pler-glass which had been acquired
Arthur Warren at m auction. Nell
free to let her eyes wander VINE
she would, happened to glance aero
the studio. and for an instant saw ht
self reflected in the depths OF the Gle
mirror. She stared at what she 81
for q. full minute Then suddenly 3
drew back her arm and with q +
sweep sent the cup hurting throu
- air full at the image.
- fragile china struck the mir
d fortunately the tea In Il "
10y Imaginary and smashed u
III II fafllion pieces. Warren looked
Il startled amusement to zee pref
I5silie Bates collapsed IN bundle
efeen dress and red hat on the mod
stand, sObbing a. though her hea
I would break. His wrath at the sma.
ine a one Of his favorite tea CT
- Quickly vanished at sight Of her tea
|s ana BE hastened to Gise her comic
+ Rhy, Miss Batesi What on cart
ia matterf You mustn't break do
NE .thia. Here. herep yours
3 xu6nkx1ev D0nst cry-1Or heave