Evening star., 1925-11-23
CHAPTER IN.
Joanna Answers Questions.

Bra ndOn watched the girl who sat
opposite him, across the little table.
The wraithltke Smile-the smile that
irritated while il taunted-hovered
slyly al his lips and in his eyes. The
girl he watched breathed quickly.
alertly. while she surveyed the bright
scene around them. Her eyes leaped
into far corners Of the pink and gold
hung room. in among the dancers and
the other Nis-a-viS tables like their
own. Suddenly her glance met Bran.
dons she nodded at him. as II she
had surprised his reflections, what
ever they We're
f'It was good Of you n come" Bran
don murmured. Presently It will not
he such q simple matter to win a
tete-a-tete from von'
After awhile | hope. you will tell
me what YOU know and l don't know.
of what presently is to be for me-
Joanna returned, the serious cloud
which was never far absent showing
again in her face.
I'VE shall have to make new bar.
gain" he said: That you will accept
from me completely that l am only
A spectator TO your extraordinary cir
cumstances. I shall be part Of them,
only as YOU give me favor.
What are you-?'
plea se" Joanna interrupted, mot
now-not just yet! OF course a man
always has a list of questions to put
TO any girl he is just getting acquaint-
ed with, at least that's what I've
found, and your list is longer than
most. I suppose. I've always had the
ansWers-learned them by heart, you
know. but they won't fit now. So I
shall have 10 think when You start
in. And l don't want to think-just
yet. About myself. | mean"
She fell to looking about the room
again. eyes wandering restlessly. but
shining with the inner satisfaction
Of youth with its setting Of the mo-
ment.
Brandon had come for her. as they
had agreed. in the wake Of the flowers
she had found, in their tissued box
awaiting her when she returned with
George from their gay round OF shop
ping after her visit 10 Gravdon's office.
One Of the blooms now chung TO her
waist Bra ndon. as he eyed her, com
pared its delicate perfections with the
more huOyant loveliness of its mis-
treSs-a lOveliness still marred, he
saw. by the too elaborately penciled
eyebrows, the beaded lashes copied
from screen closeup, and lips that
betrayed a new attempt at reserve
but still were much too Cupid-like
They were accentuations that few
would notice in the conglomerate COM
pany around them, butt Brandon's
was an experienced taste.
For their evening he had chosen the
brightest of the fashionable rendezvous
where names and distinction Of some
sort or other are held to be the only
acceptable sesames. The women were
beautiful and of the varied pattern
that deCorates the new age Debu-
tantes and matronS from the first fam
ites, naSai-voiCed and red-throated
women Of the nouveau richie from the
last families. and the ever-ineSCa p
a hle heVy Of movie celebrities from
none. Joanna had tasted Of the gaudy
"a aharetS-they had been the lamp
posts along her paths of gayety But
here-here were women gowned by the
master dreSsmakers Of the day. artists
Of the world of the elect And the
men matched the women. She caught
her breath at the originality Of this
thouCht-the men matched the women
whose jeweled thrOats and arms shone
velvet white a <ainst their black shoul-
derS'
And the music-soft exotic stra ins
that laughed and sobbed their rhyth-
mic eCstasies. Jazz. Of course. but
not tn" kind she had ever heard A
super u that called to her with it's
mel of lulling romance. Her feet
were still and her slender. warm. pulsed
little body was quiet, but her soul was
dancing: the CLEANS in her deep brown
eyes were dancing. and through her
brain now sensations danced Bran
don was wholly sensible of the little
dramas that fitted across the eager
face he eyed so Curiously.
Il would like to dance" Joanna ex.
claimed. suddenly. Shall we?"
He rose instantly and swept her
into the maze on the floor. Joanna
observed that women, when they had
looked into Brandon's face and recog-
nized him, shifted their eyes quickly
into hers. What she saw in their
glanCes puzzled her: she recognized
something speculative, as If these
women who knew the man whose arm
encirCled her and who danced as none
of Joanna's partners danced, had a
common curious regard for his un-
known Comps Mon. She concluded,
shrewdly. that women would profess
to not like Brandon, but were secretly
fascinated by him. She felt uneasy
again. and was glad when the encore
finished.
Nov the question" she challenged
him, abruptly when he had held
light to her cigarette and then to his
own.
fSlI maven I maze program n1
them he protested. Once more his
voice was like caress. II promise to
combine them all into one, or TWO at
most. and he content with whatever
YOU conclude to tell me. What are
YOU going 10 do? That, Of course, is
the first one
And that's longer than any list any
man ever put to me-" she assured
him. Yesterday morning l went to
my job a the store wondering if I
could get along for two weeks salary.
Tonight I'm wondering where to be-
gin to spend money. You see. one Of
my plans-the first one | made-got
all smashed up somehow. l don't know
how-but it's gone, anyhow"
Brandon probed deep. That was
most interesting chap who waited for
YOU last night in the drawing ROOM"
he ventured. II wonder if the sma sh
YOU have in mind came after l left
you?"
Joanna looked out into the room, as
II in the brilliance of the scene to
soothe her memory of the hours in
the drawing room only after Bran
don had gone.
Yes she admitted, quietly, after
YOU left. You see, John was all that
I had, the only one to share with.
He dug knife into me and twisted 1t
around"
"That shouldn't be serious" Bran
.don deserved Wounds of that sort