Evening star., 1923-03-11

tmpr ession of being fashioned Of a
baser clay than most of those young
people Sangree saw about him. for,
after all, they seemed rather a whole
some lot, exhibiting only errors OF
taste rather than of morals.
But he made up his mind to stay
for supper on the odd chance of a chat
with Cherry and improved the mo-
1nents that remained by seeking the
mems dressing room and a cigarette.
He found the stairway blocked by
couples en- tete-a-tete, many of them
sharing cigarettes, and at the top of
the stairway, where he took the
wrong turn, he stumbled into a dark
corner where there was a window
seat out Of sight of the others. There
girl and a hoy were embracing each
other with the innocent abstraction
of two turtle doves.
"Heigho" thought Rameses. Mere
force of habit. They've forgotten that
their feet aren't dancing"
But even in the dark he had seen
that the girl was Cherrys friend.
Gloria Towne. He didn't remember
having met the boy. After ala
kiss-what was it: A trifie. an airy
nothing. mere symbol OF affection.
Perhaps this boy and girl cared for
each other. He hoped so. 1t was
such a pretty tableau. But at San
gree's sudden appearance the turtle
dovers had spread their wings and
fiuttered, rather startled, down the
stairs to the ballroom.
In the dressing room he found sew
eral youths that he had met. There
was Scotch, rye and club soda on
table and the conversation was not of
Shakespeare and the musical glasses.
shes peri Ill pippin," one of them
was saying ever and over in a kind
of amiabIe soliloQuy as he reclined in
Morris chair. pity she amt in
this set. Shed show EN-. Think I'll
marry her, Jus same. Damfidon't.
''Oh, shut up, Bob. Nobody cares
about your Illicit affections"
'"licit! Who says 'licit"" said the
other giancing around heavily. Don't
/ tell you I love-hic-hic-I know
wha's matter 'th you, Harry" he
muttered as the other boy laughed.
You're JUS fuller n goat. Tha's
wha's matter"
His voice subsided into a mumble
and presently he slept. But as the
boys head fell back sangree dis
covered that the youthful inebriate
was Cherry Mohun's brother Bob.
At supper. which was served in the
Cherry espied her friend wandering
absently about and made him sit at
her table with Eugenia Armitage,
Phoebe Macklin. Dicky Wilberforce,
John Chichester and Bruce Cowan.
He found the food more substantial
than the conversation. which. like the
wine, sparkled in tiny bubbles and
burst into nothing. But every one
seemed to be having good time and
soon the visitor found himself falling
irresponsibility which for the
moment had rescued him from his
Cave of Adullam. 1t was Cherry
Mohun's friend. Bruce Cowan. whose
laughter first was loudest, for Dicky
became quieter the more he drank,
and John Chichester, as ever ex-
hilarated over champagne. Cherry's
eyes glowed, Phoebe grew senti-
mental and Genie's tongue Knocked,
but they were all decorous, and when
the fourth bottle came Cherry sent it
away. It seemed that in this partic-
ular Olympus the gods had their lim-
itations.
But at some of the other tables
near by the fun was now furious.
Sylvia wetherill and Harold CAL
braith were trying an imitation Of
pas de deux amid applause and Teddy
waring did Juggling act for which
he was famous. Too much encour-
agement, however, resulted in his
ruin. for at the last both he and the
caterers crockery ended in disaster
upon the hoor.
The crash was rather startling and
people rose and made their way to-
ward the ballroom as though with an
awakening sense of responsibility to
the real business of the hour. which
was to dance-to one-step, to side
step, to trip, to glide, to toddle until
their weary feet would no longer
hold them. Sangree waited for one
waited, the great event of the even
ing took place. He thought the ex-
penditure had already been lavish
enough-the decorations Of wistarfa
blossoms among which a hundred
canaries in their cages warbled and