The Washington times., 1922-06-07

Realistic Romance Wherein Poverty
and Millions Walk Side by Side <
in Strange Places.

ohu wi " tHe young Hldn
gentle breathing.
Lorelei carried out her inten-
tion Of telephoning on the follow
ing day, and about the close Of
the show that night Merkle's
card was brought up to her dress
ing-room. A moment later Robert
Wharton s followed, together with
a tremendous box of long stem.
med roses. She went down a
trifle apprehensively, for .by this
time the current tales Of Bob's
drunken freaks had given her
cause to think somewhat serious
ly, and she feared an unpleasant
encounter. More than once she
had witnessed quarrels in the
alleyway behind the Circuit,
where pestiferous youths Of
Wharton's caliber were frequent
visitors
But Mr.. Merkle relieved her
mind by saying. IT sc mt Bob
away on a pretext, although he
swore you had an engagement
with him."
I'm glad you did. I left him
asleep outside my dressing room
last night, and almost hoped
he'd caught pneumonia"
Into the Car.
Beside the curb a heavy tour
ing-car was purring. and into this
Merkle helped his compa MON.
I'm not up on the etiquette of
this sort of thing" he explained,
but I presume the proper pro-
cedure is supper. Where shall 1t
be-Sherry's7"
Lorelei laughed. You are in
experienced. The Johns never
eat on Fifth Avenue. the lights
are too dim. But why supper?
You can't eat"
"a Welsh rarebit would be the
death Of me: Holsters are poison"
he confessed; but I've read that
chorus girls are carnivorous ami
mails and seek their prey at mid
night
Most OF them would prefer
bread and milk; anyhow, would
But I'm not hungry, so let's
ride-we can talk better, and
you're not the sort Of man to be
seen in public with one of Berg
mans show girls"
The banker acquiesced with
alacrity. To his driver he said,
Take the Long Island road"
As the machine glided into
noiseless motion Lorelei noted a
Limousine waiting near by, and
saw a dim figure within. The
dome-light had been turned off,
and she could detect only a white
shirt-front. the blurred outline Of
a face, and the glowing point of a
cigar.
you can follow the mans ex-
ample II you WISH" said she,
"and hide until we're away from
the bright lights"
Merkle answered shortly.
Your reputation may suffer, not
mine" He leaned forward and in.
quired OF the chauffeur. Who's
car is that7"
Mr.. Hammon's. sir. He's
going our way, 20 his man said"
IT thought SO. Wen have COM
pany."
Why do you choose the Long
Island road?" asked Lorelei.
IT'S pleasant" responded
Merkle. II ride nearly every
night, and like the country.
You see, can't sleep unless I'm
in motion. get most of my rest
in a car; there's something about
the movement that soothes me-"
How funnyv'
Peculiar, perhaps, but scarcely
humorous. I'd be dead or insane
without an automobile. You see,
I'm nothing but a rack of bones
strung together with quivering
nerves-always been so, and I'm
getting worse. keep four
French cars in my garage, all
specially built as to spring-sus-
pension and upholstery, and I
spend nearly every night in one
or the other of them. It's sell
dom do less than a hundred
miles between midnight and morn.
ing: sometimes. when I'm bad,
do twice that. So long as
I'm moving fast manage to
snatch a miserable sort OF repose,
but the instant we go slow I
wake up.