The Washington times., 1924-01-14
THE STORY OF "CIlCKIE"

In the office did that. Chickie had
not even a wish for It.
Until one day a startling thing
happened.
Chickie worked In a towering
building in California street.
Across the little alley was com.
panion building. Chickie's desk
was near the window. In her idle
moments she used to watch the
girls in these other offices.
There was one with bushy hair
like q Fiji islander. She spent
every available moment feverishly
rubbing a buffer over her nails.
Another with thin, curved Shout.
ders and hungry, avarici0uS way
Of bounding her typewriter was
riveted to her deek-never turned
her eyes.
It was the superb, luxurious
creature with all the empty gran.
deur of q movie queen who faSci.
mated Chickie. She never seemed
to do any work, but sat with her
feet on the radiator, a magazine in
her lap. Two or three times she
caught Chiclie's stare and return
ed for it q most enchanting smile.
One day az Chickie watched the
movie girl there stood at an al.
joining window a mana young
man - tall with q beautifully
sculptured head. He had q pen.
knife in his hand and was slowly
pairing his finger nails. He stared
over and grinned. ChiChie was sud
denly aware that he had been look
ing at her and she looking at him
for many seconds. She flushed
crimson, turning abruptly to her
desk.
Her hands trembIed on the type
writer keys. She felt drawn might
/ lily, as by some electric current, to
that opposite window. She could
see the young face, alight with
careless mIrth-red hair-thIcK--
brushed back -
For an hour she fought against
the impulse to look again. Then
she took a little sidelong glance.
From out the shadow Of the room
q tall form defined itself The
young man stood at the window.
Tremors Of excitement went
tingling over her little swift
waves of lire. He stood there and
and he was merely answering.
something hoyieh and full Of lark
in the light that seemed to glance
about him. She wanted to laugh,
toto call out ga1ly, Hello,
Redhead."
She had read a story once Of q
girl in a boarding house watch
ing a young man in a studio
across the street. The young
man was an artigt--a lonely Tel
low. When he became aware Of
the girls interest It made him
glad, like sun streaming into q
solitary house. That was a beau.
tiful story--all fun Of love. So
sparkling the way they got &C.
quainted and had such Joyous
times together.
Chickie imagined herself the
girl in the story. She wondered
about the young man-weaved
dreams about him.
But for two days after this first
encounter she kept her eyes from
wandering across the alley. Deep
in her work one afternoon there
came a sharp bang that made her
look up quickly. Across the
streets the window of romance
had been ratified down and now
was ratified up. There in the
window. laughing at her. was the
red haired young man. Before
she was aware her lips opened
with a rush of bubbling happI-
ness.
Yet several times they passed
each other on the street. Chickie
looked straight ahead. She felt
the blood racing to her cheeks,
her heart leaping.
One soft afternoon in late Sep
TEMPER. a sudden breeze whisking
Though the open window lifted
her papers, scattering them in a
whirlwind all about the floor.
AS she stopped to pick them up
the phone at her desk rang. A
deep, rollicking voice offered.
"Oh. I'll come over and gamer
them up II you like
She knew at once that it was
he. Then he was at the window,