Evening star., 1922-07-16


often sends a girl candy just to be-
pleasant"
1T suppose so," Bob admitted in
differently. removing the top layer to
see IL anything more interesting lay
| beneath.
30 that was how matters stood! No
| wonder Bob had been SO acquiescent.
Well. she knew how to make the
rivalry progress!
CHE chose her birthday. which hap
pened to come the next week. as
an excellent opportunity to open
Bob's eyes, to start the progress 1t
was an excellent idea she had, but,
as a matter OF fact. it started no
progress at all. There never was.
during the entire rivalry of Mr.. Law
renee Ballard Flint, any real step
by-step progress 1t swung in one
wild leap from an almost dead stand
still straight into the climax.
! During an idle half hour at the
| office the morning of her birthday,
when she and Lockwood had leaned
back in their swivel chairs and
munched salted peanuts bought from
a boy who came through the build
ing. Janice had asked:
what kind Of flowers do you think
Lawrence Ballard Flint would be
most likely to send to a girl on her
birthday"
| "w-e-l-l-" Lockwood paused,
giving the matter due thought. Il
should think orchids would be rather
his style But IL you're the girl. of
course. orchids wouldn't fit"
what kind would he send me?"
Again the editor considered at
length.
Sweet peas. I should think" he
said finally, "or lilies of the valley, or
little yellow roses"
At noontime she stopped at the
florists. recklessly sacrificing money
she was saving toward her fall suit,
and left an order for the flowers to
be delivered to herself before 9
o'clock that evening. She slipped
Lawrence Ballard Flint's card into
the little white envelope. The price
was exorbitant, but she knew that
Lawrence Ballard Flint would pa
tronixe only smart florist.
The candy Bob had passed over
carelessly, but he could not do that
with these flowers eFor Flint to
know and remember her birthday
would place him as an unmistakable.
: purely personal rival. II Bob did not
turn jealous at this. she would know
! there was something wrong. His
matter of fact air, the feeling of
something lacking. the lifting of the
rosy gossamer between them, would
then be real and she would know it.
She pushed the large bill across
the florists desk with royal reckless
ness. The amount seemed suddenly
insignificant. Perhaps with it she
was buying ardor, eaeerness. 1t was
expensive for flowers. but cheap for
romance.
x**
1.-THE twosome dinner with which she
and Bob were to celebrate her
birthday was set for s O'Clock, out
of difference to the hot August day.
So Janice had plenty of time to
change after the feminine fashion
from the blue tailored young busi-
ness woman of the Footlight office
to primrose organdy butterfly be-
fitting the Rensselaer, Roof.
1t was Bob who had chosen the
Rensselaer, Roof. His Instructive Sc
lection of such places as were smart.
expensive. exclusive was a quality
which had made him fit SO well
among Aunt wilma's friends.
At the Rensselaer, Roof the food
was delicious, the linen fine, the
china thin; the walters were soft
footed and dexterous. One paid for
all this, of course, in his bill. but
after DAY in a busy Office. walking
over crossings SO hot that ones feet
indented the asphalt. the Rensselaer,
Roof was breezy, sweet-melodied. cpl
curean-as sense-satisfying as a Mo-
Ihammedan heaven.
| Janice paused at the entrance while
Bob conferred with the head waiter
looking about her with the half-awed
delicious pleasure in such places
which a year in New York had not
even dimmed. She wondered IL she
looked well enough to pass muster
among the pretty, smart women who
sat at these little tables. In the half
shadowed mirror OF the closed eie.
vator door she could see her crisp or
CANDY rufffes. She missed something
Of the dash. the sureness of line
which these other women had. She
could not see her face shadowed by
her lace-trimmed hat. Even IL she
had, she would not have recognized
the something there that most OF
these others had lost-a shy eager
ness, an unquenchable youngness
After a year in New York. year on
the Footlight. Janice was still like
dewy bouquet, fresh from her moth
er's garden in Farwell. !.
At that moment among the many
unfamiliar diners, Janice recognized
two about to seat themselves at a
table near the railing, Bea Pertwee
and her brother. With a sudden sink
Ing of the heart. she foped that Bob
would not see them. But he did: she
saw him crossing the roof. smiling
his hand outstretched. There was a
| moments consultation with the wait
er: table for four was quickly sub
stituted for the small ore beside the
railing, and Bob was coming back fol-
her 1t was evident that he was
pleased to have met the Pertwees
that he thought a foursome would bs
gayer than a twosome.
Bea's attention was all for Bob
with an occasional word thrown te