Evening star., 1923-02-11
@ I G O L O

ners hesitated longer than really
beautiful manners should permit. But
finally. "Je m'appelle Gedeon Gore"
He pronounced 1t in his most nasal.
perfect Paris French. 1t didn't sound
even remotely like Gideon Cory.
my names Hubbell." said Mary, in
her pretty fair French. Mary Hub
bell. I come from little town called
Winnebago.'
The Gore eyebrow expressed polite
disinterestedness.
That's in Wisconsin," continued
Mary. land I love it,"
"Naturellement," agreed the gigolo.
stifiy.
They finished the dance without fur
ther conversation. Mrs. Hubbell had
the next dance. Mary the next. They
spent the afternoon dancing, until
dinner time. Orson J.'s fee, as he
handed it to gigolo. was the kind that
mounted grandly into dollars instead
he took it, was not more inscrutable
than Mary's as she watched him take
1t.
From that afternoon. throughout
the next two weeks, IL any girl as
thoroughly fine as Mary Hubbell
could be said to run after any man,
Mary ran after that gigolo. At the
same time one could almost have said
that he tried to avoid her. Mary took
a course of tango lessons, and urged
her mother to do the same. Even
Orson ]. noticed it.
Look here" he said, i'll kindly pro-
test. Aren't you getting pretty thick
with this jigger?"
Sociological study, dad. I'm all
right"
"Yeh, you're all right. But how
about him.
Hes all right, too"
The gigolo resisted Mary's unmaid-
emily advances, and yet, when he was
with her, he seemed sometimes to
| forget to look somber and blank and
| remote. They seemed to have a lot
to say to each other. Mary talked
about America a good deal. About
her home town "and Dig
| elms and NAPLES and oaks in the
yard the Fox river valley
middle west Normal
avenue Cass street
Fox river paper mills.
She talked in French and English.
The gigolo confessed, one day. 20 un-
derstanding some English, though he
seemed to speak none. After tina,
Mary, when very much in earnest. or
| when enthusiastic, spoke in her ma
| tive tongue altogether. She CLAIMED
an intense interest in European after
| war conditions, in reconstructlon. VI
| the attitude toward life of those NIL
lions Of young men who had actuali!
participated in the conflict. She asked
questions that might have been con
sidered impertinent. not to say nervy
Now YOU" she said, brutally. are
a person of some education. rehhe-
ment and background. Yet YOU are
| content to dance around in these
,bese-well. back home chap might
wash dishes in a cheap restaurant OF
J run an elevator in an East Side Ne"
| York loft building, but he'd never
| very faint dull red crept suddenly
| over the pallor of the gigoloS face.
! They were sitting out on bench on
the promenade, facing the ocean Hn
! direct defiance on Mary's part OF all
rules Of conduct of respectable slrlS
! toward gigolosl. Mary Hubbeli mad
said rather brusque things before
/ But now, for the first time. the young
man defended himself family
For us" he replied in his exquisite
French. lit is finished. For us there
is nothing. This generation, ii is nc
good. am no good. They a"e nc
good" He waved hand in a ges'
ture that included the promenaders
the musicians in the cafes. the dane
| ers the crowds eating and drinking
at the little tables lining the walk.
What rot" said Mary Hubbell
briskly. They probably said exactly
the same thing in Asia after AleXan'
der had got through with EN-. sup
pose there was such dancing and gen
eraI devilment in Macedonia thai
every one said the younger genera
tion had gone TO the dogs since th'
war. and the world would never
amount TO anything again. But i
seemed to pick up. didn't it,?
y # :; X
rTHE boy turned and looked at hel
/ souarely for the first tinte. hi:
ewes meeting hers Mary looked Al
him. She even swayed toward him q
little. her lips parted. There was abou
her a breathlessness. an expectancy
So they sat for a moment, and be
tween them the air was electric. vi
brant. Then. slowly. he relaxed. sa
back. slumped a little on the bench
over his face there crept again tho
look of defeat of somber indifference
Al sight of that look Mary Hubbeli!
law set. She did not look at the si
COLO, but out across the blue Mediter
ranean and beyond it. Her voice wa
low and a little ,remulous. and sh'
spoke in English only.
1T isn't finished here-here in Eu
rope. But it's sick. Back home. il
America. though. it's alive. Alive
And growing. | wish I could max
YOU understand what it's like there
It's all new. and crude. maybe. AM
ugly. but it's so darned healthy AM
sort of clean. I love it. love ever!
bit of il. I know | sound like nag
waver. but l don't care. j mean II
And l know it's sentimental. hut In
proud Of il.
II don't say I don't appreciate tn
beauty of all this Italy and Franc
and England and Germany. But ]
doesn't get me the way just the men
ton of name will get me back home
This trip. for example. Why, las
summer four of us-three other girl
and I-motored from Wisconsin t
California, and we drove every incl