Evening star., 1924-01-06
They All Go Mad in June


t, ''Yes-Mr. Rudel. Are you down.
town.
mo" said Geoffrey. TIN generally
out in the country. I sing for liv-
( ing-my own songs"
u X X
MIR. MANNING dropped his lobster-
Az claw and the fork with which ho
had been excavating II.
"You-what? he said Imply.
81 sing"
There was an awkward silence.
Mrs. Manning blushed. Audrey's kid
sister Uttered. It was as IL no had
said: 81 murder"
Audrey, herself. did not see it to
ease the situation. so Mrs. Manning
finally. with a glow of Inspiration.
exclaimed:
How very interesting, You are
with the Metropolitan, SUPPOSE"
'Oh, no-no, indeed. I'm n sort of
strolling singer. Only stroll In my
flivver AS you say. it is very inter-
estlng. One meets all sorts OF peo-
pie that way"
Audrey glanced up with a cool
smile.
US, for example" she remarked
why, yes" he agreed. you're
one sort, of course. There are others
though
Such as?"
i'Oh. villagers-peasants. serfs. you
know. tillers OF the soil. market
gardeners. people who in the west
would attend the chautauquas."
The strapping Miss Bradshaw. more
healthy than the others and there
fore perhaps less easily disturbed,
ventured to interject n. question.
s'But. surely" she said, surely you
don't do this except for-er-amuse-
mont? You probably are really
great man who is well known in
New York;
IT am known in a section OF New
York." he answered. ct once was
employed to sing at the Pink Cat in
Greenwich Village. I may add that
I had some little success there"
'iOh. he's just joking!- cried Miss
Bradshaw to the silent company. But
the company remained silent and sus-
picious. except for Audrey.
The meal would have been a miser-
able failure had not Audrey, In a
calm, assured manner. taken over the
conversation into her own hands.
She bullied her father, made good
natured fun OF her mother, and
wound up at the ices with an ap-
parently unjustifiable attack on Mr..
Pegram, an anemic yellow-haired
young man whom she called Butter
cup.
Later. in the garden, she explained
to Godfrey that she was engaged to
Euttercup.
"I don't doubt it," said Geofrrey
bluntly.
She stopped and looked at him
angrily. You can be ruder," she
said, than any man I've met-and
I've met some rude ones"
THAT wasn't rude. merely said
that didn't doubt the truth OF your
statement. Had 1 said that L did.
that would have certainly been rude.
Why are you so sensitive? Take the
chip of your shoulder, for goodness
sake"
II see that we are going to fight
constantly" she asserted, more COM
posedly.
He consulted his watch before re-
plying Then he said: .Is should like
to, but 1 must leave I'm about ten
minutes"
"Why?'
"Oh, we'll. your parents and friends
think I'm a. sort OF Wild animal es-
capped from a zoo. and"
do you mind what they think7"
mo: not especially. The trouble Is
they mind. 1t makes it uncomfort-
able for them"
rAnd I don't suppose you mind at
all what I think?"
He hesitated. Then: I'D rather
like to know just what you do think"
he said.
She turned and smiled slowly at
him, a provocative smile, an apprais-
ing smile.
DO you suppose, Mr. Rudel," she
said-"do you suppose that I've given
you really a serious thought? Do
you suppose for an instant that a
perfect stranger whom pick up on
the road-a perfectly mad stranger
matters one whit to me? have been
nice to you because you gave me a
lift homo. You gave mo a lift, so I
gave you a luncheon-that's fair
enough, isn't it? But Just because I
gave you a luncheon is no reason
why you should assume that you
have the right to scold me and in
suit me-yes, insult me. I'm not used
to it and I won't tolerate 1t. either,
not even from my father"
\ 4 i =
LIE groaned, whether sarcastically
= or not she did not know. "I was
afraid you'd be that sort" he said. 81
hoped differently, but I should have
known It The house Is too much for
you. That and your fathers money.
What a shame. what ghastly shame"
What do you mean?" she snapped
out. Are you becoming patronizing
now?" i