Evening star., 1925-11-20

same old, silly feeling. that had come
to her during the picnic afternoon.
She had stopped for minute. that
afternoon between racing from one
eXcitment to another, to catch her
breath, and to say TO herself with
childish earnestness, that she was glad
she'd been-good. Today when she
came out of the lingerie shop she was
glad, in way, that she had been
well, perhaps there We're no medals
hanging on her soul, but she was safe
in wishing her mother and father we're
where she could Go to them today.
They'd give lots of room 10 give her
an argument, of course; about skirts
up to the knees. and stockings SO
thin that her legs showed through and
about some other things. hut She could
/ look them straight In The eyes Just
| the same. Itawould he SO splendid. II
they. or one of them. could he here
now,
This climax to her reflections. and
her memories of the picnic occasion.
revived the glow III the slim. eager
body. There wasn't anybody Ia share
with her, except John. SO she decided
to just let ii 30 at that. He'd help
her, too, To reason out something
about the thing that happened To her.
| She, by herself. simply couldn't.
By late afternoon, what with some
hectic scraInbliuG into and out OF her
taNicab. she was ready for her de-
scent upon the silk counter. She tried
to foreo that logical detail OF the day.
but couldn't. CouruSeously, she had
sighted the shops and stores where
girls OF the counters and offices got
their copies of Avenue modes. She
boldly went onto the Avenue itself,
even into the upper section where to
be admitted as II patron is an award
of honor which. earned. brings a mar
velous Difference, and where she was
called "Afademoiselle." The result felt
upon the silk counter as a sudden
breath of some exquisite narcotic that
sweeps the senses into appalling
ecStaCV.
Joanna had timed her visit cleverly:
| she appeared during the lull between
the leisureIy shoppers who finish
| early. and the last.minute crush of
| the hurrying, belated ones. Trailing
| behind a spacious grande dame who
was threading her way through the
| aisles. she suddenly stood at her old
counter, only on the other side OF it.
her gray gloved fingers tapping sharp
ly on the polished wood in obvious
imitation OF the department buyer
With her roguery dancing out of her
eyes at every face behind the counter
the faces OF her workaday friends,
she purred, sweetly:
Good morning, young ladies"' At
that moment Joanna'S s voice was the
silver tinkle of ineffable inner har-
monies.
Store patrons sitting at the counter
turned. curiously, to sean the new
conner. In the attitudes of the girls
who served them, they sensed Il
drama.
1t was George. Joanna's best chum.
and also one of Mrs. Adams flap
pers,' who was first TO find her
tongue:
Good Lord she breathed Look
what the stork's dropped
Then there was d rush. Joanna.
without ceremony. oblivious 10 Gus
toners with billows of varicolored
silk in their hands, stepped back into
the aisle and swung around for In
spection.
Miss Twenty had become
the slender wrath of a dollhouse
flower. all perfume. Softness and deli
cate color; beneath her mink wrap
she Shone vaguely gray; smart gray
tailleur that fell straight from under
meath her shoulders, but hugged her
hips; skirt that dropped in straight
tines without a touch of trimming or
Nagrant pleats or Colors, d thing that
was infinitely and expensiVely Ave
nue.; gray sheer hose of a quality
that echoed into the very souls Of
George and the rest! slippers, slip
pers that We're wondrous things of
some skin with the sheen of gray
velvet. \ ravishing little hat. gray
with "a splash of scarlet at the side.
George estimated the very simplici-
ties of that hat as next door TO be-
ing priceless.
A single flower. but that one an