The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-03-26

Chickie laughed uneasily ooh
well-why, suppose the girl had
10 live on and on and only the
lover died?"
Yes, that would be worse. ONLY
she was young and youth forgets.'
Ills eyes We're sober now and fixe6
on her doWncast face.
She said f1ippantly, "Tish, WHY
not"' and clapped her hands so
that Wilde bounded to her side.
They walked home rather silent
The mans face was flushed.
After that she often found his
eyes dwelling on her. lie asked
her to the theater-to musicales
But no-she had her evenings
planned-all of them. Ho-she
could tell him things. Crueler far
than death for love!
Her refusal of this friendship
offered SO eagerly became a svm-
Dol in Chickie's mind. She would
go through life like This, drawing
further and further from men
until finally she would grow used
TO the loneliness, the still monot-
ony. She would be old; no one
would care that once she was a
and had little child and It was
dead.
But the days passed; she did not
grow used to. 1t. When she went
10 work II became an anguish and
terror She began to dread the
long evenings, the return to her
silent room. Sometimes she would
stand at the entrance to the tun-
mel, talking a. long while to the
pent old woman who sold papers.
Other times she watched the
girls in the office, wondering
plercingly If any of them knew
life as she knew it, if any of them
bore such a flaming wound.
When Daisy Brack, a tall. witty
person who made up for her
homely features by an exquisite
cleanliness and a rather delightful
lmpudence, caught her arm one
afternoon with an impusive: Say,
you, Helen of Troy, don't be so
upplsh! I'm walking your way"
When she was SO friendly, like
That, Chickie felt a melting. a
gratitude that brought tears to he's
eyes.
There were ten girls in the office
or Norp Whitman. Six were young.
and Of these four openly cherished
dreams of movie fame. There
were the little Ordin sisters with
their molasses hair punched IN
curls-an obvious and sorry imi-
tation of Mary Pickford. They
talked mincingly with much purs-
ing of their lips. But they were d
harmless, good-natured pair.
Then there was skinny BobDy
Jones. Bobby could make faces
and had an idea that if once her
eyes and nose could get themselves
on the screen she would sit back
the rest Of her days and let the
world laugh at her. She used 10
say that all the time before she
was born her mother read The
comics and as a result nature be
slowed on her this little piece of
patchwork for a face.
The acknowledged star of the
office was Eloise Maxwell, dark.
snaky creature. Eloise favored
the queenly roles and appeared
daily in some new copy of Ban bara
LIE Mari. She had already acted
in several crowd scenes and was
now in the habit of saying: well,
as Dorothy Gish was telling me,
YOU just have to keep trying" Or
she sometimes waXed more tamil
lar and confided: Il was talking
to Doug Fairbanks the other night
and he says"
The scene of these condolences
was the dressing room Just as il
had been when Janina reigned.
Chickie had been working about
two weeks when the incident oc-
CURED that made a mockery Of all
her plans.
She returned from lunch a little
early. The dressing room Quiv-
cred with excitement. The Ordin
sisters had their hair freshly mar
celled. Eloise had rushed home
and now appeared in a new sum-
mer dress Of scarlet organdie; even
Daisy Brack had a tense, vivid
look. She gave Doris Ordin a
push: step aside, little dimple,
you haven't chance! The hoy
likes them homely. I'm elected"
Daisy sighed and made room
for Chickie. whats the use?
The son and heir arrives today.
Behold the pure sex girding for
the battle"
Betty Ordin now began to gig.
gle: II hear he's to refuse the
old mans coin"
An indignant, suppressed who
said so? The ideaw
Betty persisted: II heard It on
good authority. From some one
knows his sister. He's Just dead
set against the girls of his own
crowd. Calls them all parasites
and won't look at one of them.
So you see!"
"Yes---and I heard that he's
writing book about money being
a poison. And he's saying horrid
things in it about women of to.
day and they're going to the
devil. The poor nut!'
'"Then get away from that mir.
ror, will you!"
All afternoon, eyes moved with
stealthy' anticipation toward the
door. Each time 1t opened, the
air sharpened with quickly drawn
breaths.
At o'clock Lee Whitman en-.