Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1922-05-14

the craftsmanship of another age
than ours
isn't it a perfect beauty she
cried"
The phrase reminded Wilbur unhap-
PLY Of the salesman's remark about
| the Smithson twin-two. He hoped his
unhappiness didn't show in his face.
Anita had turned round to look at the
other girandole.
"Of course, she explained. they
don't show OF properly with this fur
niture of ours and in this little room
and not properly hung. But you wait!
They'll be the keynote"
"Keynote?' said Wilbur stupidity
"Of course" said Anita. That's the
! way a decorator works. He takes
some one perfect thing as a start and
then builds around it-gets every
thing to go with II. These girandoles
are the perfect thing. the true Vic
torian keynote. Oh. Wilbur. we'll just
have to have, that lovely tilt-top
table"
II thought it cost 5000"
only two hundred and ninety-ive."
said Anita. But IT'S the perfect
thing. with these girandoles at
either end Of tse living room and that
tilt-top tablet was a big table, you
know-and that English sofa Why
we'll hardly need another thing"
The check he had given the sales
man Of the Smithson car would just
about pay for the tilt-top table and
sofa Anita wanted, but It did not seem
to Wilbur a good time to say so.
+ *x
WILBUR spent most of his lunch
w hours looking at the perfect pieces
Of furniture Anita discovered in her
shopping tours. Sometimes he got up
sufficient courage to shake his head du-
biously over Anita's enthusiasm Of the
moment: more often he didn't. The
only way to still her excitement over
the house she was going to have would
be to tell her about the car. He couldn't
do that. Every time he thought about
/ It he dubbed himself a selfish hound.
in the street he automatically stopped
to admire it-unless he was with Anita.
He had q sandwich and a glass Of milk
for lunch whenever he was alone, and
took q surprising comfort in the 70
or so cents he saved thereby.
The last day of February came;
s o'clock Of the last day of Febru-
airy came: at one minute after the
young man from the treasurer's office
came to Wilbur's desk with the en-
velope containing Wilbur's check.
Wilbur thrust the envelope casually
into, his pocket. The moment the
young man had passed on Wilbur tore
open the envelope. The check was
tho same as usual. His increase had
not yet appeared.
Wilbur ran blind ad the next day
in the want columns Of an afternoon
paper. Offering to sell his contract
for Smithson. He got a dozen Of
! fers, but the best Of them involved
a loss of $3.50 Of his original $500.
Wilbur pinned his hope on the en-
velope he would open March 81. and
when March 81 brought the same old
| check Wilbur went into executive
session with himself. He decided that
II he did not have a bigger check on
April 80 he would speak to the presir
dent. 1t was not good psychology to
raise the question with the president,
| 1t was much better for the president
to speak first. But IL the president
continued to be dumb. Wilbur. would
!! simply have to act.
They moved to scarborough on the
18th Of April. When Wilbur got
| back to his Office on the 18th he had
a letter from the Smithson sales
man notifying him that his car was
| ready and would be delivered on ply
ment Of another nye hundred in cash
and Ave notes for s1o4 each. Wilbur
had q crazy impulse to draw the
check and Egn the notes and drive
the new oar out to scarborough Per-
haps II Anita saw It in all its brand
newness-the perfect thing-she
would ;; forgive him. He wondered
how much money they had spent on
furniture. He avoided keeping track
Of 1t on purpose. and the bills hadn't
come in yet. He had an awful feel
ing that IL might run over two thou
sand. And he would have to pay II
all within two months-three at the
MOST Wilbur did not draw the
check for the second five hundred
Instead he bought gardsnias for
Anita. -
Sunday proved one of those har-
tbfneers OF summer that arc more
lovely than summsP ever In Wilbur
Gnd Anita tsek . long walk In u,
tsf6asaesA Sxpiof1nx marlborough, szl