Evening star., 1925-11-20

orchid. nestled at Joanna's waist.
There was an immediate babel Of
voices. punctuated presently by the
sharp reminder of an impatient Gus
toner that there were those with
wants to be attended to.
80 you weren't fired, after all?''
George exclaimed, when she had sum-
moned her wits. Here we've been
picking out the hymns for your fu-
OFF whatever you've pulled off, Let
the tidings loose, 10. What's what
and who?" Georges tone had drop.
| ped to the confidential level.
Joanna's eyes narrowed immediate
| ly. There were times when Joanna
! could remind one of a lynx. This was
| one of them.
, Drop the who thing, Georgie"'
| she warned.
Georgie stared at her. Well. for
| the love Of The girl on the
| other side OF the counter, on the out.
| side now, Interrupted, sharply.
Yes. that's what / said, You're
plugging in the wrong line"
| She had intended to let Mr.. Good
Morning feast his eyes, also, but sud
! denly she lost the flavor OF her play
| She swung smartly about and, without
40 much as nod, leaving an endless
answered, she eibowed her way into
| the street.
! She had thought of going up to let
| Mr.. Graydon see her, and to ask OF
| him some more wild questions, but
| she forgot.
Why did every one, even George
| who, out of some very definite under
standings between them, should know
her pretty well--why did all of then
| think things? What was wrong with
! the world. the whole world? Was
| there no one who really knew about
Il girl? Not even among other girls
Something very profound was stir
! ring down below the surface OF the
! deep brown eyes of Joanna, but il
was still too abstract a confusion foI
! her to grapple with. She was singing
again when she reached home. The
world, for some unfathomable reason
had picked her out to be good too.
! When Georgie arrived. breathless
| from her rush from the store, Joanna
| was In the midst Of her feverish un
packing of boxes. She had forgotten
her pique, and George had forgotten
| her apparently. She plunged
| in TO help, vainly trying to get in
| questions between her squeals of de
| light o0er the procession of surprising
new things. Whatever pertinent
queries she had trea sured up against
opportunity to voice them were
effectually silenced when Joanna re.
marked:
Lay off tomorrow. George. Get
sick or have boil or something. I'm
going TO take you to some place I
found today and buy you some real
things-whatever you want. But
you've got to wear your dresses looser,
if cat n
affect is all right, l guess, but when
You get the real things that have
some honest-to-g goodness style in them.
why You don't need to wear them SO
skinny 10 look your best. If you don t
| know what l mean, stay awake to-
night and think 1t over. George. I'm
giving YOU something straight
so straight 1t sounds like a sermon
to me-" the other girl retorted. land
this isn't sunday. either. But you'v,
got license all right. ! SUPPOSE" 1t
was sententious finish. but Joanna
preferred not to take II up.
Joanna heard Mrs. Adams. through
half-opened doors. tells other girls in
the house that the drawing room"
had been assigned for the evening
and heard the flippant rejoiners that
there were lots OF other wide open
spaces in the world anyway. After
awhile, after she had resigned out
right one Of her new gowns TO
Georgie as an installment of tomor-
row $ promise. she thought she heard
John come in the front door. She
listened, eagerly. lips hot, eyes shining
and body trembling. but there was no
call from Mrs. Adams. She fell again
to examining herself in her bit of
mirror, twisting and squirming TO
glimpse as much at one time as pos
sible Of her gorgeously soft and
climnnarinC evening fynwn out nf