The Washington times., 1924-01-22

has bloomed forever dies"
Chiclxie asked with a passion
Of eagerness she tried hard to
conceal: "Oh, Janina, do you
really believe that ? Do you think
men never take out a girl Just
for the gayety of it--just because
they have a happy, friendly feel
ing for herr"
Sure they do. Lots OF them
don't want to get in deep
poor young fellows like Barry
Dunno, for instance"
But the others? You think a
man like Jake has always some
evil motive in his mind?"
Evil - Janina dismissed the
word with swift gesture of scorn.
What do you mean by 'evil!
NJake's got a wealth of life, that's
all. What's evil about that? Oh,
this bunk makes me sick! Is 1t
evil to breathe? To eat? To run?
I suppose I'm about the evilest
thing this side of the inferno.
Why? Because / have blood in
my veins? Because it gets red
hot?" She nicked ashes from her
cigarette. After a long puff:
What is evil, Chiclsie? Can you
answer that?"
TITS evil to tamper with things
that were given for great and
holy purpose"
Janina drawled with an amused
smile. "Where'd you learn that,
baby?"
Don't make fun Of me Janina.
I learned it from Martha Blake.
She's read as many books as you
have, and she seems to get a won-
derful Joy out of living"
Great and holy purpose, sur
pose, is children? Is that Martha's
answer?'
IT suppose It is"
We'll, 1t listens good, Chickie,
until you look around and see some
of these great and holy purposes in
the flesh-popr fellows, doomed to
sweep streets all their mortal days,
- children shaving in factories, old
maids going into blue. lonely
graves-all the dumb beasts that
wouldn't give a hang IL they were
never born. Think they praise the
Marthas for their great and holv
purposes? Not much! Why this
earth could do very nicely with
about half Its present population.
Increase the quality, cut down on
the numbers. Real Malthus, girl.
So that answers you there. Now,
what's evil?"
Chickie, listening to Janina, had
a scourging sense of outrage. rs
though white, delicate flowers
were torn in rough bits. She raj
lied valiantly: But 1t takes all
the beauty out of love, Jaime, If
you make it so common. 1t isn't
any longer a great sweeping thing,
that you'd be glad to wait all your
life to meet. You can't love every
one"
Janina shrugged. You're a
little hypod rite, Chickie! Like all
the good people, Do you mean to
sit there and tell me that Jake
Munson could put his arm around
you and you didn't like it? You
didn't find 1t quite sweet and beau
tiful enough? You bet you did!
But they've hypnotized women so
long we've been ashamed of our
instincts until we discovered them
about five or ten years ago. For a
hundred centuries men have done
as they pleased; the race seems to
have survived. Now, because
women are stepping into the sun.
hear them shout: We're sending
the world to ruin. Too bad! l
guess the old world viii wag on
willy -nilly--"
She turned suddenly to Chickie
with a sweet insinuation. so
Jake's worrying you, is he?"
HE isn't anything of the kind!
Well, you don't have to believe 1t,
Janina. It's true, though"
"You mean to tell me you've
been trotting high and wide for
the last month or more"
"Oh, I'm not trying to tell you
anything"
Janina stared at her. Chickie
met it cooIly. Then Janina said
with her lips white: 'It would be
like Jake to fall for you-the
price Of him.
When Chickie reached home
she found a little package on
her bureau. Jennie called to her
from the kitchen, but she closed
her door quietly, pretending not
to hear.
In the gray satin box a long
bar pin of sapphires cleaned,
silky, beautiful; Jake Munson's
card-four words written very