Evening star., 1925-10-11

Crumbely, That name carried me
back 20 years.
--"and 1t is expressly agreed that
| S. w. Crumbely, in name or person.
| Is to be mentioned In no manner in
connection with the production of
| Nadine Irene. neither as backer nor
| partner
Grabbing my hat. ran out of the
| office.
You can find anything in New York
| II you know where to look for 1t.
| spent no more time in the Inter-World
| Office than it took to ask two short
| questions and get two short answers.
| The second answer referred to a Mr.
/ Smithson, attorney-at-law.
logging it over to the Supreme Of
flee. was lucky enough to find Cass
! Williams, their press agent, who'd
been a buddy of mine before ever
there were any five-reel dramas. Let
| ting me know that the information
was Masonic, he answered my first
| question.
Thanks, Cass. Who is this fellow
| Crumbely? What's his business7"
Search me. We never saw any.
thing OF him except his attorney.
| Smithson."
! 4 few minutes later the girl In the
| box office at the Castle gave me a
| blank look instead of an answer and
then referred me to the doorman, who
referred me to the head usher. who
| referred me-I kept being referred in
and out Of offices in several different
buildings for an hour before l found
out what l wanted. And the fellow
that finally satisfied me added: I'm
sure I'm right, but you had better
| ask Mr.. Smithson. He handles
Crumbely's interest
| y = xx
| Go 1t was late that afternoon when
~ 1 reached Sally's house and walk
ed into the living room. where she
was sewing.
What have you been doing all day,
! Pete?" she asked socially.
Digging up dope on S. w. Crum-
belly" l told her. II was surprised
to find what a busy party Crumbely
| is
"Yes?" said Sally. her eyes on her
needle
Yes. Quite by accident happened
to learn that this Crumbely party is
backing a picture the 1nter-World
contracted to handle without knowing
anything much about it. That struck
me as mighty queer. Wouldn't 1t
| you?"
Yes. indeed" said Sally. her thin
BILE flashing back and forth.
well, when 1 grew curious enough
| to ask the presidents Stenographer
IL they knew anything much of a
party by that name the steno told
me that there was an s. w. Crumbely
on their board of directors. That ex-
planned that. But in the elevator,
going downstairs. I got itching to
her lronclad contract with Supreme to
do picture for anybody else. Cass
Williams. their publicity man, ex-
planned it by saying that Supreme
| didn't mind lending their biggest
drawing card on this occasion, be-
cause the check for the money that
saved them last year was signed
S. w. Crumbely.''
Sally's head was bent over. so
couldn't see the expression that went
with the surprised tchk-tchk I heard
! Passing the Castle a few minutes
later, I couldn't help wondering why
| Hard Egg was so willing to book a
picture on which the working conti-
| nuity hasn't been even thought out
yet. knowing that Rosencratt owns
everything around the joint except,
maybe, the ground it's built on, I
dropped into a real estate Office to
ask who the property belongs to. The
agent told fne-S. w. Crumbely.
But the funny part, Sally" l said
taking her sewing out Of her hands.
"the funny part is that nobody knows
this S. w. Crumbely by sight. All
deals. loans and everything else are
handled by an attorney named Smith.
son. All anybody has ever seen of
this Crumbelv party is the signature.
S. w. Crumbely-Crumoely. IL I re.
member right. being the name of the
crumb you married twenty-odd years
ago"
felt like a dirty deuce when / saw
Sally was crying. But before I could
gather any words she'd dried her tears
and was looking at me with assault
in one eye and battery in the other.
pete Stevens, II sou ever breathe
a word of what you've found out to
Monty
II won't" promised, III you'll give
me the explanation"
Sally was silent a moment. "Can
you understand Pete. that I didn't
want the money old Mr.. Crumbely left
me? II hadn't earned it. So
tried to spend 1t. First engaged an
expensive 1awyer-by the year. Gave
him a long contract, and he's done
nothing but make more money for
me ever since.
For instance, one Of my boarders
told me he couldn't pay his bill be-
cause his company was on the verge
Of bankruptcy and wasn't paying any
salaries. so I called Smithson in and
told him to lend my boarder's boss
some money. so he could pay my
boarder, SO my boarder could pay me
Yes" Sally shifted. '"The outcome
of that was that acquired 70 much
stock I'm the Inter.World that they
had to put me on the board OF direc'
tors"
! n n y
CALLY jabbed her needle into a
~ cushion viciously. when
bought the property where the Castle
is now in order to tear down the dirty
old ramshackle theatrical hotel on It
because every boarder that came
from there brought something with
him into my nice, clean house, could
I guess that my busy little lawyer
would instigate corporation to build
movie house there that in 25 years
will be mine without it costing me
a nickel except the commission
pay the agent for collecting the ex
korbitant rent"
!. Great, Scot. Sally, you talk az
though you were sore about it,"