Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-04-13

] their papers"
He did. He came home at noon
' glorified.
Talk about luck" he crowed
| They near kissed me. whatcha
think? You're to be signed up to
/ meet Alabaster Mayo, four weeks
from last night! Get that! Alabaster
Mayo. The coon that's in line to
| meet the weller champ of the middle
west And you've got a fight on
with him! Luck! Of course the
| matchmaker chap thinks it's a set
up for the coon. He counts on this
| noospaper dope to bring out n crowd
| to see you. You pack the wallop.
Why, everybody I met has read
about last night! But I seem to be
the only one who saw all you put
into that smash you landed on him.
Hand Alabaster few of those and
you'll cut through to that yellow
streak I've always said he has"
When Roddy Kent came home from
his afternoons road work that day
he avoided the livelier streets. He
dreaded to meet any friend. In spite
OF this or because of 1t, he rounded
a corner to find himself face to face
with Mary Bonnell.
The girl made a. though to pass him
without speaking. But. urged by a
queer impulse that was too sudden to
resist, Kent stopped tinidly in front
Of her
I'm sorry you were there 10 see me
make a fool of myself" he blurted.
1T wasn't my fault. I didn't know
about"
Yes" she interposed frigidly. 'T
heard what the announcer said.
read the paper this morning"
IF you'il come again to see me
fight" he stammered, driven on by
that same odd impulse he could not
define nor curb, iii be doing better
by that time. and 1 won't make such
monkey of myself. Tm-Fm signing
up to fight Alabaster Mayo four weeks
from last night" he finished, in sorry
pride.
The tidings did not seem to impress
her.
Yes" she answered. 81 heard you
L
don't care for fights. They are bru-
tai and-and-'
You heard about it," he repeated,
too much confused by this statement
to take in the rest of her words
why, 1t wasn't settled till late this
morning"
"A friend OF Harry's dropped in
few minutes ago." she explained cold
ly. Ito ask about his poor shoulder.
He told"
who's Harry"
MY brother-in-law Ny sisters
husband. Didn't you know?"
'No, l don't know. even yet. Is he
in the fight game"
His fighting name is Coal Mine"
said Mary. Coal Mine Crump. He
is my brother-in-law. That's why sis
and l were there last evening. We
hardly ever go to the Cestus unless
Harry is fighting. He
She paused, struck by the blank
look on his rudy face.
Gee" he faltered. And you saw
me land that crack on his jaw. No
wonder you froze me! Say. I'm aw-
fully sorry, Mary! Honest, I am"
X \ X
CHE sought to maintain her frigid
bearing. But there was something
so unhappy, so childishly contrite in
the mans aspect that her heart soft
ened. She frowned in self-disapproval
and forced herself to speak with add
ed rebuke.
ut means more than a joke to
means more than wrenched shoulder
to him, too. The shoulder will be all
we'll in week. And the joke adver-
tises him a little. But-he needed
that fight badly. 1t was the first one
he's been able to get in ever so long
And he had all the expenses of sis
money he'd get from last night 1 sup
pose the newspapers think it's a love-
| ~ joke. But it means hard times to
all of US till he can get another
match"
That night, after an hour of earnest
effort at thought. Roddy Kent amazed
his manager by suggesting:
Say. Why not get return match
for Crump and me? You said I'd be
in demand for a while now. Why
not see his manager about