Evening star., 1923-03-31

| Keeping from crying.
| Il tell you there's some meaning
TO things" she said almost fiercely.
That I'll never get out Of the life /
| IVe-somethfng quiet but gorgeous
llke-er-like September sunset"
Sptritual.--" muttered Cherry. 1t
was word David Sangree had some
| times used.
| Yes, that's it. tell you. Cherry.
I'm sick of the things I've been doing.
! nothing but eating and jazzing-as If
! human beings were nothing but stom
achs and feet" she finished scorn-
| fully
:, Cherry was silent for d moment. her
| lips curling. And therl--
! Il guess IL you'd been doing what
| l nave you might want little Of
that she said ruefuly
Genie put a hand over hers i'm
J Pu!sively You poor dear. / forgot.
Perhaps I would. But I don't know,
I'm sick of it all--sick OF it. Perhaps
KS because I've had too much. Aunt
Harriet makes me go to everything.
Sne says it's for the honor OF the
| family to be popular. feel AZ
though / were being driven. Lucky
I'm strong. Poor Vi couldn't stand
the pace. l told you they had taken
Ier up INTO the woods, didn't /? And
Jane barley is down with nervous
! nrostration-trained nurse and every
| thlng-and all over nothing-giving
the pest part of our lives TO that
/
! trying to do soInething." She laughed
| oryly. oh. it's all So damned silly"
/ merry made no comment and Genie
zen INTO silence. both absorbed III
lnelr thoughts. But as they ap-
, preached the city Cherry spoke.
Did you really mean what you
sdid about David Sangree?" she asked.
! Why shouldn't I?' replied Genie
caIelessIy, and gave Cherry no further
| satisfaction.
| Cherry I.Ft ,f-.r;o. -,
avenue on the plea of need for the
exercise of the walk across town
) nat she really wanted before she
| MeH' INDOORS was few minutes alone
~ Wnich 70 recapitulate her spiritual
assets and discover how much or how
| Ilttle the detection Of Dicky Wiiber-
,oEce meant TO her. She had never
Deen in the least in love with Dicky.
.y. nut mad been n shock TO discover
whether she wanted him or no.. II had
Deen greater shocl; to learn how
! easily ne had managed to forget her
or nc mad been rather imposing to-
uaI I IN ms SOBER new guise OF fance
! II little that Phoebe had accom-,
| pIlShed his reformation where Cherry
| had failed. Eut then ne WIS -.ath, =
! splendid in his new halo. with the
Iiaaiosonlr Phoebe ready 40 take a
chance Phoebe hadn't wasted a prea.
deal OF time since Cherry had disap
! peared from the social scene
merry had left WethertiTs with a
sense OF relief 1t had been very kind
oi oSIvla TO invite her out with the
! invitation had only impressed more
oeeply on Cherry's mind the differ
ehcfs which now existed between
.heir life and hers She had gone to
the country trying TO forget her fail
ures and had only added more dis
! enlargement to them
Ana Genie. What had Genie meant
.! al! that sentimental stuff about
ndFio Sangree? For a long while
Cherry had been thinking OF Harnesses
as her particular property. her crea
ture' her refuge in time Of need. the
one or al the people that she knew
VINO could be more surely relied upon
TO pull her out of the slough Of de-
spa1r-and here was Genie talking
lightly OF "rnothering" somebody with
serious purposes; in l.fe-preferabIv
cherry friend David. And Genie
was quite capable OF doing anything
! Rameses care for Genie? II SO why
hadn't he said something about it to
I merry Every asSociation-every
.siendship-w excluding her. She
seemed to be as useless in the cosmic
scheme az tea card sent to the
wrong address. Even Bruce Cowau
| VINO had pursued her with such avid
ity IN the days OF her prosperity. had
not been TO the new house. She chose
TO forget his hot-blooded PROPOSAL OF
; marriage and the coolness that fol-
lowed 1.-THE meetings in which he
had laid her on a level with his own
animalisrn. Genie had told her that
ne had given up selling "Magnificent
Motors and was now engaged in the
motion picture business-thouGh what
! his position. she did not know. Genie
had never liked Bruce and Cherry had
been forced to admit that 'Genie's
Odgment OF people was sometime es
better than her own.
Genie and Rameses, That was
funny She would question Ran,eses
about Genie, and Genie about Eame-
ses.
The next mornings household work
seemed TO bring her no nearer to the
solution OF these problems. She
paused for moment after rinsing
out a shirt waist and went to the
open window Of the bathroom, looking
down upon the endless row OF back
yards. the sight Of which her mother
SO greatly disliked. There were peo-
pie moving here and there, slovenly-
looking women in calico. about their
daily tasks. Cherry had never thought
much about her neighbors The diff
ficulties which faced her had been
more than enopgh to fill her mind.
but now in this idle moment of
healthful reaction a phrase Of David's
came to her-"the greatest game in
lHc NoIAu--"H men lne OQCS are against
you-ife itself, She had caught his
meaning vaguely as something diff
ferent from the joys of her careless
youth. Life! 1t had another mean
ing--something hidden deep below the
surface OF illusory pleasures-she
heard it from her small window in
the throb Of the city, the distant tap
ping Of a riveters air hammer. the
roar of the L, the groan of a motor
horn, the complaint of the Changing
bells of the surface cars, and nearer
at hand. in the raSp Of a saw. the rat
tie Of dishes, nasal voices raised in
argument. sounds which indicated
various forms OF activity within a
hundred feet Of her, repeated in di-
minishing notes down all the length
of the block-each house with its own
problems, each family, each unit OF
the family. struggling with the 9TH
ers for existence. This was what Da-
vid had meant when he had spoken Of
the greatest game in the world-hers
now, to play as those others played II,
asking no favors, getting none. There
must be others about her who had
failed as she had failed and yet they
still persisted. they still hoped, still
struggled.
window, a feminine voice, singing
popular air in q thin but not unpleas-
voice, full of the aspirations Of youth
and joy, and somehow it gave Cherry
sense Of confraternity in the great
fellowship Of those who had played
the game.
{To be continued tomorrow