Evening star., 1924-08-17

been in-in Mesopotamia so long he
wants to catch up with everything
Then she put on rubbers and a
macintosh, and trudged lonesomely
across Washington Square In the
sleety dark to dine alone.
at serves me right" she thought.
"Tve become shocking liar. ] never
dreamed l had it in me. But I'd die
before I'd let Andrew find out there
isn't any Clarence"
Ah but wasn't there? AS she set
tied herself at a little table for two,
Susan looked at the empty chair op-
poste. Her lips crinkled up at the
corners.
How nice you look tonight. Clar-
ence," she murmured. Il like that
new scarf of yours. Did you buy it
to please me?"
Rather" came back Clarence
promptly. And for another reason.
too. There's a thread of blue in it
Your eyes are lovely, did you know
that. Susan?"
Susan cupped her chin in her hand,
and stared dreamiIy across the table.
oh, my dear" she whispered.
don't ever get too busy to say nice
things like that to me-.
Now the human imagination is like
the boomerang, a treacherouS play
thing. On this lonely evening Clar-
ence took a long leap toward actual
life.
Bit by bit. he became endowed with
all of the qualities Susan most liked
in man.
Then at noon one day Andrew tele-
phoned her. His voice sounded dog
ged and rather peremptory. Andrew
commanded her to meet him at Tif-
fany's that afternoon to choose a ring
the ring!
Now, at o'clock that afternoon,
Susan should have been flying up
Fifth avenue on happy feet. Instead
Of which, she was crawling like a
snail.
"Oh. what is the matter with you"
she inquired of herself. You want
to be married to Andy. don't you?
You love him. don't you?"
The little word love had brought
her up short.
"Clarence!" she thought in despair
She had deliberately created. out
of her imagination. an image of the
man she wanted for husband. And
he was utterly unlike Andrew.
THERE was a queer cold fright in
her heart. 1t was imperative
that she should sit down somewhere
and quietly think. She crossed the
avenue to the Waldorf, and sank
binding down upon a deep sofa that
stood in quiet corner A woman
sat busily writing at desk, but Su-
san did not see her.
Neither did she see man who sat
reading a newspaper on a couch di-
rectly facing her own
There approached their alcove a
page boy who bore in his hand a
andered through the room now and
| then emitted a name:
Mr.. Clarence JoSiync"
| The name pierced through Susan's
! consciousness like lightning thrust
| in murky sky. 1t brought her half
| to her feet. her lips parted, her eyes
| met the eyes of the man on the
couch opposite. She realized that the
boy had halted at this mans elbow,
that the mans right hand was taking
the note from the tray, and his eyes
had not left her face-her face that
| had betrayed all too vividly every
emotion she had just felt.
| He had risen, involuntarily, as II
| he expected her to speak to him. With
a sense of diSmay that sent the blood
| out of her face and turned even her
I lips pale, Susan whirled and walked
| out.
| Her sensation of having just lived
! through a fantastic nightmare SO en-
| wrapped her that she gave sharp
| start when she heard her name and
| felt a touch on her arm. She looked
up wildly. She was in front of Tiff
| fany's. and here was Andrew, a dark