The herald. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1905-1953, 1922-12-28
MEET LIEUT.. DORR
BY CHARLOTTE TALlEY


Weston bowed, with her gracious lit
tie smile, and again to Lieutenant
James, whom she had met before.
enjoyed the comedy that | had an
ticipated when / saw Mrs. Weston
emerge from the house. She was a
monomaniac on the subject of social
position and, hoping to better her own
through her daughters marriage, she
fused terribly every time Marie made
a new acquaintance.
Now. who do you suppose that girl
has introduced to Marie?" she ques-
TONED me, throwing out her hands
with a helpless gesture. "You meet all
kinds of people In a boarding house"
You do, indeed" i said to myself.
But aloud, 81 don't know this officer"
adding mentally, $50 a first lieutenant
won't do for Marie" / had heard
that Mrs. Weston was looking for at
least captain.
As we fiocked In to dinner, Lieuten-
ant Dorr was presented to the rest Of
us and, to Mrs. Weston's displeasure,
he had been placed next to Marie.
Marie was not the type / admired,
DECIDED; the black lashes that drooped
80 mOdestly over Marie's blue eyes
exasperated; they looked artificial to
me. / was beginning to suspect my
self OF prejudice when, suddenly, my
eyes encountered the brown ones Of
Lieutenant Dorr, and, confused, I
turned away to converse with Lieuten-
ant James on my right.
He and DOrr were 'baching" II
while DORIS family were away, he in
formed me, and then he launched upon
a eulOgy Of Lieutenant Dorr. He was
as good as his name would have In
dicated If 1t had been written I'm
French. Why, Dorr, he said, had sac
rifced the large income from his bust
mss when he enlisted as soon as war
was declared. So Lieutenant Dorr was
one Of the wealthy and socially promi.
nent DORIS Of Ell Paso! And Mrs.
Weston was trying to signal Marie not
to be so cordial to himl
For reason, which / discovered
later, this managing matron had not
been averse to having her daughter re-
ceive the attentions of blonde, loqua.
cious Lieutenant James. But she had
made mistake about his status, too,
which came to her as a crushing blow
when she heard of 1t. 1t was Jack
who told me about 1t, in his slangy
fashion, es labored over a pile Of
his gaping socks in my bedroom the
following day.
Gee, Sue, you oughta heard that
ole hen bawl Marie out when she
learned that the one gilt bar on Lieu
tenant James shoulder was insignia
Of second lieutenant instead Of q
captain, as she had supposed"
Every evening after this disappoint-
ing discovery Mrs. Weston drew her
daughters arm within her own after
dinner and took her for walk. It was
a week later when she found out her
mistake concerning Lieutenant Dorr.
Miss Smith had Just told her about his
prominence when he, In a long, black,
glossy car, drew up to the door, wear
ing two silver bars on his shoulder in
stead of one, as formerly. Mrs. Weston
made no mistake about insignia now,
and she knew that he had been pro-
NOTED to captaincy.
She was so attentive to him at din
ner that l could see that Marie was
embarrassed. I avoided the gallery
afterward In sheer disgust with my
sex, slipping away to the piano In the
parlor, where began softly to play q
Chopin nocturne. / was feeling more
pain than pleasure from my perform
ance, because the piano was out OF
tune, when turned to face Lieutenant
Dorr, hat in hand, asking Jack and me
to 60 to drive. accepted for us both,
fear with alacrity. My heart beat
to suffocation.
We drove to Yseleta, a picturesque
Mexican village some miles from FL
Paso, but to me 1t seemed more like
driving to Paradise. was In much too
happy a mood on our return to con
denim Mrs. Weston, whom we found
awaiting us, sitting in the couch ham
mock with her feet scarcely touching
the floor. She waddled forward.
"Oh, Captain DOrr, l failed to con-
graduate you on your promotion. Al
low mei'' And she thrust forth q
pudgy hand.
The newiy-made captain took Ii and
murmured his thanks, but as Mrs. Yves
ton turned to me with more illusions
he met the eyes of Lieutenant James
with an Intentional and deliberate
wink of one brown eye.
"Oh, boyw exclaimed Jack, later
"Did you see Captain Dorr wink? Say
/ thought you said 1t was common to
wink, Sue LangdOn."
swell, / suppose 1t depends on the
way it's DONE" / back-watered. III
you can wink like Captain DOrr,"
conceded, ION occasion, you may"
"It's a pity Mrs. Weston spells her
daughters pleasure So" / said insin.
cerely, because for the first time in my
life / was jealous. 'Marie has toe
much pride to make any advances to
an admirer her mother has once
snubbed."
Captain Dorr picked up his guitar
and, with laughing eyes on mine, he
sang, You Mean Somebody, Darling
but You Don't Mean Me-"
-