The Owosso times., 1922-01-27

seconds. "D' you mean thatr she
asked breathlessly.
"Sure," said Jimmy. And Mamie
knew he did.
Now, reader. meet Miss Gertie
Shane, who lives across the corridor
from the Hall family, third floor back,
south. Miss Shane is but little pleased
at the news Of the Halpin-Hall engage
ment. Consequently she Is more In
timately sweet TO Mamie than hereto
fore.
Meet also Father Hall, given name
Edward, who carries life insurance,
and Mother Hall, name of Caroline,
an Indifferent person. George, one
year junior to Mamie, completes the
Hall family.
For a month Mamie Hall was the
happiest girl on the East side. Every
evening was Jimmy's evening now, ex-
cept the stenography evenings, and
those were partly his, for he met her
at the union and walked home with
her. Then came an evening when
Jimmy didn't appear at the union and
very strange and lonesome. Mamie
was in no mood for frivolous converse
with mere girls when she found Gertie
| Shane standing at the street door Of
| the tenement house, and would have
| passed on with perfunctOry Hello.
Cert" If Cert had permitted it. But
Gertie, effusively friendly, put her
arm around Mamie's waist and
| climbed the first flight of stairs by her
side. At the head Of the stairs she
suddenly oh, very suddenly - be-
thought herself Of something.
"Oh, Name" she said, "come along
to the back window and see what's
doing" And willy-nilly Mamie had
to go along.
From just that one window, out Of
all the windows In the big barracks
Of tenement, one could look square
ly into the Young America clubrOom,
which was at the rear Of the cigar
store downstairs. That Is, one could,
II the curtain were up; and tonight
the curtain had been forgotten.
There was a long table. and half a
dozen of the sporty boys of the club
were gathered about 1t. And In the
very middle Of the picture stood jim
my Halpin, with broad grin on his
broad face, rolling 'em and swapping
his fingers, and gathering up the dimes
and quarters as enthusiastically as II
there were no such thing as girl or
promise in the world. Mamie
watched the spectacle for the space
Of three long breaths the while Gertie
Shane watched her with an evil joy.
"Pooh |" remarked Mamie. "Tm 60
ing along up. Good night !" And in
her own tiny coop Of room she cried
herself to sleep.
1t was the very next night that Jimmy
got his. He called with a proposition
having to do with the movie theatre
around the corner. Mamie, bit pale
and quite scornful, spoke plainly.
"Tm off you for good, Jimmy" she
said. There amt any use talking.
You been telling me you just dropped
in down there in the clubroOm and
looked on now and then. But | seen
you myself-seen you shooting and
seen you taking in the coin. You
and me is all through" Mamie's
grammar might have grown even
worse If she had talked any longer.
But she didn't. She shut the door in
Jimmy's face.
Ensued four wretched days-four
empty, dreary days for Mamie: four
gloomy. somber days for Jimmy four
days in which young George Hall
looked askance many times at the
pale, stricken face Of his sister. Then
George lay for Mamie down at the
front door after supper.
"Lookit, SIS" he said, "you got jim
my wrong"
"Shut upw exclaimed Mamie, whose
nerves were at the breaking point.
"Aint l got eyes?'
"Yes-and you've got ears, too, and
you're going to listen. Here's what
happens. l get to rolling 'em and
Jimmy looking on. l lose my couple
of bucks and then I-well, / begins
to dig into the twenty-five that the
old gent give me to hand to Saunders,
the insurance man, to pay for his In
surance. And the first thing l know
|. It's all gone but single bone. He
I grabs the dollar and he shOves me out
and he says, Lemme shoot 'em for
you! And he shoots natural, and
from that he goes on up till he's got
the old mans twenty-five back and
he hands It to me and tells me he'll
break my jaw If he finds me rolling
'em again. He saved my neck, that's
what he did-and you're bum sport.
Name, If you can him for that"
"Gosh!" exclaimed Mamie. "Why
didn't he tell me sO?"
"Aw, can't you see anything? How
could he?"