The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-01-29
CREED FOR
MONEY To
BLAME
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its cushioned seat was threadbare
but it was gaudy, too, in a kind Of
sickly, cheapish way.
The lights were meant to b.
rose color, but they were simply
plain red, and even the uniform Of
the elevator boy was smart with g
kind of tawdry spotted smart.
ness.
Very affable, the elevator boy
and chatty, in a sort Of excitable
neurotic way.
Had Snow Party" Eyes.
Something about the CLEAN in his
strange eyes made me wonder If he
had ever heard of a "snow party
himself.
Eyes, she's home" he said.
miss Marie is. She don't never
git out much befo' evenin'.
Mighty nice young lady, Miss
Marie. Yes'm, she shorely is"
And he limited that he would be
: delighted to see me on my way
down and I thought his palm had
m expectant look.
: He was truly q prophet, for
Marie was, as he had said. at home.
Such a strange little exotic crea-
ture, so frail and so delicate that
she looked as if a puff Of wind
= would blow her away. Her soft
hair was in q fluff around her
pale face and her big eyes were
brilliant with cocaine.
UnIa VOC ho hoA
a sniff-couldn't get along without
1T.
Harry. he leaves me just 30
much coke and so much 'morph'
every day. I've promised him I'd
taper off-it's awfully hard-I don't
know whether I'll make it or not"
and the girl laughed a high fal.
setto laugh that had something
Asiatic about 1t.
Began When Sixteen.
"I don't know how I'd get along
without the stuff" she said.
- st began it when I was sixteen.
, came out Of the orphan asylum
then and got a job with q milliner;
and one of the girls there, she had
neuralgia an awful lot, and some
- body told her to sniff coke for It..
and she did, and one day ! had q
headache, and she gave me a sniff,
and I got the habit. I didn't last
very long at my job-couldn't make
money enough.
"It wasn't long before I was
taking both coke and 'morph,' and
you have to have money to keep
on that stuff, and 50 L"
From an orphan asylum, so that's
where she came from. poor frail
mother who bore her died when
she was born, or if she just went
away and left her, as some OF these
unnatural mothers do.
'I often wonder about it," said
Marie. ST suppose it's kind Of
nutty to care. but I'd kinda like
to know who I am and what my
eure-enough name is.
Feels Sort-a Lost.
sometimes I feel 50 sort-a lost
somehow, and so little and all
The big eyes lit with something
almost like natural Joy.
"Say," she said, II had a birth.
day yesterday, what do you know
about that?
"Of course, 1t wasn't q regular
birthday. 1 don't even know where
] was born, let alone when-but
thought I'd have birthday just for
fun, anyhow.
"And a lot of the girls came in
and we had q party-no. not a snow
party, or a hop party, either-Just
regular party, with the cake ana
candles and things. And what dye
think? One of the girls gave me
something! Guess what? never
hA
8ore-guess"
70 What a child she looked, with her
eager little face and thin, girlish
shoulders. and her fluff Of soft hair.
"a ring" I said. Some earrings
beads, maybe?
At every guess the girl shook her
head violently like a mischevious
child.
Cotton Dresser Cover.
"Say," she said, "ain't tellin'
you a girl gave it to me? I've had
lots of presents from men-they al
ways give you beads, or rings, or
something like that; but this was a
regular girl-present, like a nice girl
might give her married sister, may
be, or perhaps her little sister, going
away to boarding school-look. here
it is on the b1 u."
And there, Ier the gaudy mir
ror, on the p. gaudy dressing
table, among cheap perfume bot
ties and rouge powder boxes
It was-the VIC full present.
A cheap, clea tie machine en-
broidered, VIII cotton dresser
cover, such as can buy in any
department stoi half a dollar
at amt silk how" she said.
cor satin, like Ways had. It's
Just clean and and you can
wash it and iro |urself. Don't
you think 1t md look kind OF
homelike in here
eff 1 hadn't b orphan, I'll
bet I'd a had ono like that on
my bureau at hon Z you?
II wonder il Nther -''
What a torrent of tile Marie
what a torrent, bout a so
cent dresser scar lade your
tawdry little plac bmelike ro
you.
And bar mama rio af all