The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1921-03-04
LUCKY SALLY



her ruppel hands aud stared across
the shabby little cafe with gaze of
almost tragic wlstfnness.
A few blocks away the great opera
house was once more silent. dark.
cned cavern In her dressing room the
nrlmu donna whose Butterfly" had
moved eager hundreds TO envy. sad
Hess or admIratlon-as the ease might
he--was frelfully removing her mike
NJ aud thinking Of the cheek In her
handbag and the delayed dinner which
Would be ready In her apartment.
TIN bel d." hummed the girl In the
little cafe. "oh, do you think II will
ever come to mcY'
Her companion. n big. dark.eycd
girl. set ddwn cup Of yicIousIy
slrong black coffee and grIpped her
fists iensely on the edge OF The table.
Don't ever give II up. never will.
lis worth any struggle-any sacrI.
fee"
\ little old man sat opposite the
two girls. lie was slipping ten. mmcb-
ing u liam sandwich. and around the
.lde-m his newspaper regarded ti,cm
wlthfsindly quizzical eyes.
u take II you're music studcnisY"
he advanced. courteously.
For the first time the girls became
aware OF his presence.
Yes. we are"
The old mans face grew genial and
encouraging The girls responded
"nid you hear Dorlne tonight Wasn't
she superbi'
Madame Dorinc Is n very great art.
list. know her. | have known her
for a great many years. have
fancy She would like you TO hear her
story. You particularly" He indicated /
tile dark-eyed girl who had last
spoken.
They bent forward glowing aud ex.
necIaut. Coffee aud lees were forgot
ten.
''Sie was born In n small town ont
West. Sally Gerrish her name was
Lucky Sally'-that's what they called
her. II began when my brother sent
her East to study singing. You see my
niece and she were chums. almost In
separable. and there was money In our
family while the Gerrishes were poor.
nj least ton poor for that sort OF
thing.
We'll, they came on here. found n
good teacher and settled down to hard
work. They were as different as any
two girls Xou ever saw. My niece was
a quiet little thing. I'oek everything
pretty sober and thought long while
before she made up her mind.
"At the end of year they were
both getting ahead fine, but my niece
had taken up with beau and she was
doing 4 lot Of thinking about more
things than music. l never saw him,
but | 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 a soprano for his
church, and he hunted her up and Of.
fered her the position.
II don't know to this day the whole
thing. hut Crystals young man had =
to do with Sally's getting
the church. She did get IT, and the
folks back home said again, 'Sally's
luck, and did anyone ever see any
thing like it?'
There's a lot Of things you can't
see right from a distance MY 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. Ny
niece never talked much about it. She
went home and she never came back
10 study. she kept on with her sing
ng. and we all think In our town that
here never was Il voice quite so heau-
-iful. She's married now to Il Upton
nan, and she's got a nice home and
hree splendid youngsters.
rhc boys named for me.
sally never went back home til
asst 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
'wn counsel. The world knows her
IS great singer She's rich and she's
to her people and back home
hey still call her Lucky Sally The
nan who led the two girls to the turn
nc point of their lives lives in New
'ork. He's married, too.
Last spring. when Madam Dorine
rent home she stayed three days, and
lost of the time she spent at my
ieces playing with the children. She :
as there when the telegram came
18th an offer that took her post haste
} Paris. My niece laughed when she
cad it. You'll always be Lucky Sally |
he said to her. !;
sally turned on her like tigress. !:
he says. Don't let those words ever
ross your lips again. Lucky Sally! .
il, the m0ckery of itr Those were :
lst her words, and for some time she
aced back and forth without speak .
lg. Finally she got quiet and babe +.
y niece good-by. At the door she .
lrneil and said: Crystal you've got .
vo things I'd give all have in the
orld to own Then she pointed to
le plain ring on my niece's left hand
al tn tho bnhv in hiS nralla .