Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-03-15

truth of detail. and Jimmy Craig has
fallen down on it so far
who's Jimmy Craig?"
He buys art for Shotwell e Orme,"
said Ann Brown, and called the
number.
CHE seemed to know Jimmy Craig
~ intimately. She talked about a
weekend house party they had both
attended. She did not mention ships
But at last he gathered Mr.. Craig had
mentioned ships. He was begging
Miss Brown to find some one who
could do ships. They talked and
| talked and talked while Arthur
fidgeted.
At last the receiver clicked.
There" she said triumphantly.
He wants IL drawings, and he can
pay as high as $3.50 apiece for them.
They've got TO be done in six weeks"
A hundred and fifty dollars apiece"
he asked.
why not"
DO you mean I can get $500 for
II drawings of ships?"
Why not?" she smiled al him.
Drawings like the ones showed
you last night?'
Surely"
But ] love drawing ships"
Ann Brown laughed.
DO you really believe that all
work that's well paid is unpleasant"
she asked.
He ignored her question.
Il simply can't believe it-$1, sO0!'
The thought made him angry.
Twenty four hours earlier he had
been starving. He had been momen-
tarily rescued by the sale of a pic
ture-a picture he'd spent two months
on, picture that had been on sale
for year and a half. He had pro-
posed to secure two months freedom
with that $500. And now this girl
with telephone had landed him a
job that would bring him $500 in six
weeks. 1t made his starving ridicu-
lous. 1t made him a fool.
Il feel like a fool he said.
Because you've had piece of
luck?"
But it isn't just luck" he said
He had a strange, incredible, absurd,
but almost uncontrollables desire to
take her in his arms. The next mo-
ment he wanted to slap her.
Good -byew he said. abruptly, and
walked out of the room
He heard her say goodbye In her
friendly tone. But he could not turn
and smile at her. He knew he ought
the middle Of his own room, stiff, dig
nifled, in the mood of a man who in
tends to be very firm and very calm
about som ething and discovers that
there is nothing to be firm about and
that he is not at all calm.
He told himself he would go some
where to dinner alone. There was no
one in New York he could ina gina bly,
dine wine except Ann Brown. And
hn ho6 Of Il u
dine elegantly and extensively and
come home in a taxicab-he who had
walked everywhere he had gone in
New York to save the nickle the sub
way cost. And then, looking for his
lat and stick, he remembered that he
had left them both in her room.
He started toward her door. He
must get his things. But he could not
bear to ask for them. In some OBJ
scure way it was desperately embar-
RAISING. 1t was as If going off with
out his hat and stick meant that he
had wanted to stay. Whereas he had
been too angry to stay another mo-
ment. But he had to have the things
He couldn't go out without them. He
went firmly out into the hall and
knocked on her door.
Just a moment" she called. He
remembered that she was dressing
for dinner.
The door opened just wide enough
for her to thrust out his hat and
stick.
Here you are" she said cheerfully
Thanks, awfully," said Arthur.
X X x x
LIE worked regularly during the
following weeks at his drawings
of ships for Shotwell & Orme, turn
n ttt ftrTo 1r.ox L.
| frequently finding time to paint for
an afternoon besides. He was max
ing money five times, ten times, as
fast as he was spending 1t. But he
wasn't happy. He wasn't happy be-
cause of Ann Brown.
Sometimes, when his work had
been going particularly we'll, he
would go in for tea at 4 o'clock. She
always seemed glad to see him, glad
to listen, glad to talk herself.
1t was odd, he thought, that he
hadn't fallen completely in love with
her. And when he got that far In his
reflection about her he always became
angry. How could a man fall in love
with a girl so utterly competent, so
adequate, SO able to deal with the
world? 1t could only happen II he
felt utterly adequate and competent
and able to deal with the world him
self. Or If he felt utterly incompetent
and wanted a mother! And Arthur
did not want a mother. He did not
want to be petted and cajoled and
protected. He wanted sweetheart.
He knew that she liked him. He
knew that she had an immense re-
spect for his work. But
He came gradually to avoiding her,
and he thought she sensed this and
withdrew little. She said she was
busy. She was working hard on the
Illustrations for the book she was
doing, hurrying to finish a job that
had already taken all her working
time for two months. But that didn't
wholly account for her cool air.
He decided to forget her, and found
that as result he was more likely
than ever to sketch her on the mar
gin Of his big sheet of drawing paper
He was forever catching himself do
Ing that. He would work away
methodically for an hour. two hours,
and then he would suddenly discover
that for the last 10 minutes he had
been drawing Ann Brown.
Early one afternoon in March he
came home after lunching with Jimmy
Craig. AS he walked up the stairs
he realized that he hadn't actually
seen Ann for two days. He wanted
to see her., He turned at the-head of