Evening star., 1925-09-13

UnleSS thoSe rents nlgner You car
pay yourself"
1T is preposterous."
The agent squinted his eyes. Bus
mess is business"
1T is not business. 1t is one rob
berry"
NJ. Lapouyade shrugged.
Then Papa Vallon had a happy
thought.
You rent this building for that tea
shop you make yourself one big trou
BILE, yes. 1t will be necessary to paint
exterior and interior all two"
You have wrong" said Lapouyade
They not want paint so much, those
tea shop ones. They wish these build
ings to look SO old The more old the
more good. In fact, | may say, this
building. that 1t is selected because il
is well old. II makes one fine tea
shop, l assure"
Papa Vallon wilted into the chail
at his corner desk. Madeleine, who
up to now had listened and said moth
Ing. cried, 1T is a shame." and put
her hand on her fathers arm, and
glowered at NJ. Lapouyade.
The rental agent shrugged. "Eh
Well he said, picking up the brief
case. so is it. But, by the way,
desire to bring that client by here the
building interior. Au revoir.''
INHE interview between the old
baker and the rental agent was
rough on poor Pascal Peret. the artist
The poor fellow stood on one foot and
then the other that morning waiting
for Madeleine to come to him. She
had agreed to meet him in the square
at 10 O'Clock. She was an hour and a
half late, and when she did come her
behavior was alarming.
What's up, eh?" asked Pascal
She regarded him accusingly
is something wrong, my DEAR"
The look became more accusing
My dear, speak"
Suddenly she was speaking para
doXically, Il can't speak not to
You any more -. No. I can't. Pas
cal leave me, please
Now what is this?" cried the be-
wildered fellow
1T is my father" And then
Though, in view of the fact that she
could not speak to him, ii must be
entered parenthetically), then she told
him the entire story-so effectively
that, at the end, he exclaimed loudly,
awaking a man sleeping on nearby
bench.
And so YOU see added Made
leine, Il cannot ever speak to you
again"
Pascal exploded again, and the one
on the nearby bench moved disgust
edly TO a more peaceful region.
II do not see it at ALL" cried Pas.
cal Peret. Il do not see what | have
to do with it in the least"
why it is you who have helped
make the rents so high"
Il :" He stared at her. hardly
believing her words really earnest.
And finding them very much so, he
commenced to laugh. She frowned
He laughed all the harder. She moved
away from him angrily. He jumped
after her
'Oh but look, Madeleine
My poor papa. you laugh at him. =
Il was laughing "
1T is very funny that he must be
thrown out of his place. is it not?''
Il was laughing at myself.
Helm"
1T is funny | am accused of rails
ing rents. And yet I do not own even
one shingle of roof
Nevertheless. she maintained,
you artists have caused the rents to
go so high. 1t is only you. Ever
since you have come into the quarter
it has been like this. One cannot have
a home any more. no, without some
one Selling ii for a studio. One> can
not have a place for business without
some one taking it for a teashop. 4"
Her voice quavered. Figure your
self. Pascal: my parents bakery
turned into such a. teashop and called
The Closed Blind or some name like
that"
1T is unreasonable, he admitted
But it is not the artists who have
done it 1t is those others :.
those society ones who put electric
lights into the old buildings and mod
ern improvements. including bath
tubs" He donned a very injured air
II sook, Medicine. have I not been
forced to move three times in SO
many months because l. too. have
been unable to pay the rent de-
manded?'
We'll good-by."
Good by"
IT cannot see you any more, Pas
cal"
DO not talk like that"
II cannot talk to you ever again,
she said. sadly.
Something must be DONE cried the
artist
To this she did not answer, for al
ready she had begun to move away.
He was losing her forever. His senses
reeled, but his wits remained with
him.
wait" he cried. II have an idea.
Wait. nv dear Listen. /. Pascal
Peret, will yet save the day
X y
THE artist was desperate. He did
not know what he would say next.
If he had an idea it was mainly to
stop her long enough to allow him.
self to think. But now Madeleine had
stopped, and it was very necessary for
him to say something.
"Well-'
'I-I-will see this brutal rental