The Washington herald., 1922-09-05
The Beautiful
And Damned
By F. Scott Fitzgerald.


him come now-she no longer feared
that. only she must FIRST reach the
station. because that was part Of
the game She was happy. Her hat.
snatched OF. was clutched tightly in
her hand, and her short curled hair
bobbed up and down about her ears.
She had thought she would never
feel so young again, but this was
her night. her world. Triumphant
iy she laughed as she left the plank.
and reaching the wooden platform
nunz herself down happily beside
an iron roof-post.
Here ] amy' she called. gay as
the dawn In her elation. Here
am. Anthony, derr-old, worried
Anthony"
"Gloriaw He reached the plat
form, ran toward her. "Are you all
right?" Coming up he knelt and
took her In his arms.
Yes"
what was the matter? Why did
you leave?' he queried anxiously.
'I had to-there was something"
she paused and a flicker of un-
easiness lashed at her mind-"there
was something sitting on me
here" She put her hand on her
breast. II had to go out and get
away from it,
What do you mean by some
thing'y
Il don't know-that man Hull
Did he bother you?"
He came to my door. drunk.
think I'd gotten sort of crazy by
that time"
Gloria, dearest"
wearily she laid her head upon
his shoulder.
Let's go back" he suggested.
She shivered.
'Uh, No, 1 couldn't. It'd come
and sit on me again" Her voice
rose to a cry that hung plaintive
on the darkness. That thing
''There-there. he soothed her.
Pulling her close to him. We won't
do anything you don't want to DO.
What do you want to do? Just sit
here?"
Il want-I want to go away"
"where?"
"Oh-anywhere."
BY golly. Gloria" he cried,
you're still tightr'
NO, I'm not. I haven't been. all
evening. I went upstairs about.
oh. don't know, about half an
hour after dinner -. Ouch!"
He had Inadvertently touched her
right shoulder.
TT hurts me. hurt II some way.
don't know-somebody picked me
up and dropped me-"
Gloria, come home. It's late and
damp"
'I can't" she walled. "oh An
thony, don't ask me to- I will to-
morrow. You go home and I'll walt
here for a train. I'll go to a
hotel
I'll go with you"
NO. don't want you with me.
want to be alone. want to sleep
oh. want to sleep. And then to-
morrow, when you've got all the
smell Of whisky and cigarettes out
OF the house. and everything
straight, and Hull is gone, then I'll
come home. II 1 went now, that
thing-oh-,r' She covered her eyes
tility of trying to persuade her.
Il was all sober when you left" ,"
he said. Dick was asleep on the
ing a discussion. That fellow Hull
had wandered of somewhere. Then
i began to realize hadn't seen you
for several hours, so I went up
stairs"
He broke of as a salutary Hello.
therer' doomed suddenly out of the
darkness. Gloria sprang to her feet
and he did likewise.
It's Maury's voice" she cried ex-
citedly. IF it's Hull with him, keep
them away. keep them awayr"
Who's there?" Anthony called.
Just Dick and Maury." returned
two voices reassuringly.
Where's Hull?'
Hes In bed. Passed out"
Their figures appeared dimly on
the platform.
What the devil are you and
Gloria doing here" inquired Rich
ard Caramel with sleepy bewilder-
ment.
what are you two doing hereT'
Maury laughed.
Damned II know. We followed
you, and had the deuce of a time
doing II. / heard you out on the
porch yelling for Gloria, so 1 woke
up the Caramel here and got il
through his head, with some diff
Guilty. that IL there was a search
party we'd better he on il. He
slowed me up sitting down in the
road at intervals and asking me
what IL was all about. We tracked
you by the pleasant scent of Cana
dian Club
There was a rattle Of nervous
laughter under the low train shed.
How did you track US, really?"
We'll. we followed along down
the road and then we suddenly lost
you. Seems you turned off at a
wagon trail. After a while some
body hailed US and asked us il we
were looking for a young girl. Well,
We came up and found it was a little
shivering old man sitting on a
fallen tree like somebody in a fairy
tale. She turned down here. he
said. and most steppud on me, goin'
somewhere in an awful hustle and
then a fella IN short golfin' pants
come runnin' along and went after
her. He throwed me this The old
fellow had a dollar bill he was way-
ing around"
"Oh. the poor old man" ejacu-
lated Gloria. moved.
II threw him another and we
went on. though he asked us to
stay and tell him what It was all
about"
Poor old man." repeated Gloria
dismally.
Dick SAT down sleeniIv on a hoy