The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1923-01-26

to be fashionable been so busy
studying over all this so-and-so, de-
clare never noticed you till this min
ute! My, but you are all dressed upl
What's goin' on? What's it about;
you so all dressed up, and flowers in
the parlor and everything2"
| Don't you see, papa2 It's in
honor of your coming downstairs
again, Of course"
ooh, so that's it," he said. Il never
would a thought Of that. I guess"
But Walter looked -siaelong at his
father, and save forth his sly and
knowing laugh. Neither would II"
he said
Adams lifted his eyebrows loosely.
You're jealous, are you, sonny? You
don't want the old man to think our
young lady'd make SO much fuss over
him, do your"
Go on thinkin' it's over you" wal
ter retorted, amused. Go on and
think it. TIN do you good"
of course I'll think IT," Adams
said. 1T isn't anybody's birthday.
Certainly the decorations are on ac-
count of me coming downstairs,
Didn't you hear Alice say so?"
Sure. I heard her say So"
! We'll, then"
Walter interrupted him with little
music. Looking shrewdly at Alice, he
sang:
I was walkin' out on Monday with
my sweet thing.
She's my neat thing,
/ My sweet thing:
III go round on Tuesday night to see
her.
Oh. how we'll spoon"
"Walteri' his mother cried. "Where
do you learn such vulgar songs?"
/ However. she seemed not greatly dis
pleased with him, and laughed as she
spoke.
so that's It, AHce!" said Adams.
Playing the hypocrite with your old
man, are your It's some new beau,
is it?"
Il only wish it were" she cried,
calmly. NO. It's just what 1 said:
it's all for you. dear"
Don't let her con you" Walter ad-
vised his father. She's got expec-
tations. You hang around downstairs
/ a while after dinner and you'll see"
But the prophecy failed, though
Adams went to his own room with
out waiting to test it. No one came
Alice stayed in the "uving-roOm"
until half past nine, when she went
slowly upstairs. Her mother, almost
fearful, met her at the top, and whis
pered, You mustn't mind. dearie
Mustn't mind what?" Alice asked
and then, as she went on her way.
laughed scornfully. What utter non
|senseH' she said.
Next day she cut the stems Of the
rather scant show of carnations and
refreshed them with new water. At
. dinner, her father, still I'm high spirits
observed that she had again dressed
up in honour Of his second descent
Of the stairs; and Walter repeated his
fragment Of Objectionable song: but
these tocularities We're rendered point
less by the eventless evening that fol
lowed: and in the morning the car
nations began to appear furnished ana
faced. Alice gave them a long look.
then threw them away; and neither
/ Walter nor her father was inspired 40
any rallying by her plain costume for
that evening. Mrs. Adams was visibly
depressed.
When Alice finished helping her
mother with the dishes, she went out
doors and sat upon the steps of the
little front veranda- The night, gentle
with warm air from the South. sur
rounded her pleasantly, and the per
petual smoke was thinner, Now that
the furnaces of dwelling houses were
no longer fired, life in that city had
begun to be less like life in q railway
tunnel; people were aware of summer
in the air, and in the thickened fol
iage of the shade trees, and in the sky.
Stars were unveiled by the passing
Of the denser smoke fogs, and tonight
they could be seen clearly; they looked
warm and near. Other girls sat upon
verandas and stoops in Alice's street,
cheerful as young fishermen along the
banks OF a stream.
Alice could hear them from time to
time; thin sopranos persistent in
laughter that fell dismally upon her
ears, She had set no lines or nets
herself, and what she had of Tex
pectations," as Waltz called them.
were vanished For Alice was ex-
perienced; and one of the conclusions
she drew from her experience was
that when a man says, I'D take you
for anything you wanted me to-" he
may mean it or he may not but, if he
does, he will not postpone the first
opportunity to say something more.
Little affairs, once begun, must be
warmed quickly; for if they cool they
are dead
But Alice was not thinking Of Ar
thur Russell. When she tossed away
the carnations she likewise tossed
away her thoughts of that young man
She had been like a boy who sees
upon the street, some distance before
him, a bit of something round and
| glittering, a possible dime He hopes
II is a dime, and, until he comes near
enough to make sure, he plays that
it is a dime In his mind he has an
adventure with it; he buys something
delightful. If he picks it up, dis
covering only some tin-foil which has
happened upon a round shape, he
feels a sinking. A duIlness falls upon
him.
So Alice was dull with the lass of
an adventure; and when the laughter
Of other girls reached her, intermit-