New Britain herald., 1926-06-09
READ THIS FIRST:

break their engagement. He ex- ! plains to her that he's in love with 1 her best friend, FAY SHIRLEY. | Heart-broken, Sylvia gives him up, greatly to the satisfaction Of her AUNT AGONY, the shrewd old
 maid who reared her. Aunt Agony says that Fanny will never stick to any one woman, and that he's a ! lazy good d-for- nothing besides. She advises Sylvia 10 marry PETER ! WILK. a sober bachelor of whom Ranny has always been jealous. ! On moonlit May night Peter gives 6 picnic in honor of Sylvia's birthday. After supper the young folks play hide-and-seel like chill finds herself paired off with Ranny who tells her that Fay and he have decided they don't love each other enough to marry, and that after all Sylvia is the girl he cares about! And Sylvia, afraid that if she doesn't take him now. she may lnelr have another chance to mar ry him, suggests that they elope
 then and there, and be married. So they do!
 But after the honeymoon, Fanny sems to fall again under Pays spell, and Sylvia is furiously jealous of her. Then comes the time when she knows she is going to have q child. She tells Ranny about 1t, and seemingly delighted at the news, he turns over new leaf. giving up his poker playing and his drinking. But on Halloween night, when Sylvia is giving party, Fay comes early, bringing Peter with her. She and Fanny empty the contents of flask she brings with her. and Ran ny. intoxicated, "baWls out Peter because he brought Sylvia some flowe,i and some sandwiches made by his spinster sister, SARAH ! WILK.
 1 Peter calmly calls Ranny "a plain fool" for losing his temper over such a trifle and walks out of the apartment.
 | (NOW GO ON WITH THE STORM CHATTER XXI The whole thing was over in two minutes, and the stiffness in the kitchen was so great that the sound of the door closing softly behind Peter seemed to thunder there.
 Sylvia looked from Ranny's flush ed distorted face 10 the silver flask that glittercd in Fay's hands. It was only too plain 10 her that the flask was the cause of Ranny's jealous outhurst. Cold sober, he would never have seen anything wrong in Peters offering of flowers. | "I'm sorry you talked that way to
 Peter, Ranny," she said to him, and i her voice was strained for all its 1 gentIeness. You wouldn't have done it either. if you hadn't been drinking. Why. Peter and Sarah Wilk have ben doing nice things for me ever since l can remember! And they've never been anything but friends of mine-good friends-do you see all those sandwiches on that platter"
 She waved toward large will low-tree plate, piled high with the airy little sandwiches that Sarah had made and sent over. "Yeah, l see en- Ranny an- swered thickly. "what about 'em?"
 Nothing, except that Sarah made them for me tonight because she knew 1t would save me q lot of time and trouble if she did-and there's TO more reason for being jealous Of Peter and his flowers than there is
 for being jealous of Sarah and her sandwiches!" Sylvia told him. ! Then suddenly her voice rose an
 octave higher: "Why, Ran Phelps! What ARE you doing?"
 | For Fanny had picked up the
 platter and was walking toward the 1 kitchen door with it, reeling lit
 tie as he went. He opened the door and, showing Sylvia out of his way. 1 he emptied Sarah's sandwiches over
 the porch railing into the darkness!
 "There's your sandwiches" he saiG,
 with wave Of the platter,
 Behind her Sylvia heard Fay's
 shocked voice: My word, but isn't
 he pie-eyed! My dear, I wouldn't
 have given him drop If I'd known
 1t was going to make him like this!
 He took it neat, that's what's the matter"
 Sylvia turled and looked at her, and Fay blinked back at her with | her green cats eyes. brazonly.
 "Fay, how could you do this to
 me-" she asked, when I told you
 that Ranny had stopped drinking! 1 How could you do it?"
 "Where do you get that stuff
 that I'd stopped drinliing?" asked
 Ranny, suddenly appearing from ] the darkness of the back porch. "I hadn't stopped drinking any more
 than I'd stopped breathing! I was
 just taking slight vacation"
 Sylvia knew that there was no good to be had by arguing with him when he was like this. The thing 10
 do was 10 keep her tongue between 1 her teeth.
 1 So she turned her back on him
 and began to slice bread for some more sandwiches. The crowd would
 be here any minute now and 1t took
 time to make a hundred sand
 wiches. Wearily she settled herself
 to the long task.
 Fay" she said, without looking
 up from her loaf and knife, "would
 you mind getting that boiled ham and some lettuce out of the icc-
 box for me-"
 There was no answer and turn
 ing. Sylvia saw that both Fay and ! Fanny had quietly left the kitchen. A moment later came the sound of
 phonograph music from the living room of The Nest.
 At nine o'clock. when everyone
 had arrived but Eddie Carter, he
 came. bringing with him an unin-
 vited guest-sally March's flapper sister. "Puss."