New Britain herald., 1926-07-02
money 10 spend on her clothes.

Melba Young, the switchboard opcr- ator. "The last time she was down ! here she had it on, and that was be- fore her first baby died"
 Melba Young shrugged her should CTS. "She should worry about ! clothes when she has face like 1 that" she retorted. III I could have ] her eyes, I'd wear calico for the rest of my sweet young life"
 She, herself, put yaseline on her lashes every night, in the hope ol making them just half as long ana thick as Sylvia's. And she was com ing to the unhappy concfusfon mat the only way to become beautiful is to be born beautifu,
 Her eyes followed Sylvia wistfully as she went down the front steps and climbed into her cab.
 "The Antlors Hotel" Sylvia said to the taxi driver.
 She would go there and tell Ran ny that she would give him the di- vorce that he wanted. But she must him understand that the thing would have to be done decently and quietly. He must promise not 10 see Babs until he was free. He must do it. on his own account. A scandal did mans business no good.
 SyIvias whole thought was for him, as the tlXicab cut its way through the downtown traffic and stopped at the Twelfth street en- trance of the hotel.
 Henry, the doorman, touched his cap in greeting, as he opened the door for her. Many q time he had greeted her and Fanny thus, in the last five years. For the Antlcrs grill-room was Ranny's fayorite lunching place, and he tipped wait CTS and doormen so well, always, that they never forgot him. Money flowed from Rannys pockets lik" water, except when she wanted some of it. Then it stuck to them like glue.
 Have you seen Mr. Phelps yet this noon, Hcnry?' Sylvia asked him as he got out and stood before him on the pavement She let him think that she was going to meet Ranny here for lunch, as she often had before particularly in the long-ago days of their engagement.
 Mfr. Phelps left the hotel about two hours ago." he said, spreading his fingers eXpresslvely. T myself saw him leave"
 Sylvia paid her driver and start ed across the sidewalk 10 the re- volvinC door of the building. She would go in and sec if Ranny had spent the night at the Antlers, and if he had checked out this morn ing. But suddenly she stopped and came back to the doorman.
 "Hcnry, you didn't happen to hear what address Mir. Phelps gave the driver, did you?" she asked, not caring all at once what Henry thought or guessed about her and Fanny.
 Tt was somewhere on the west side. Fir street I think" Henry said, taking off his plum -colorod cap to scratch his head. Yes. Fir street. That was was it."
 Fir street. of course That was where Babs lived. Why hadn't she thought of Fir street in the first place? She flew across the sidewalk and flung herself into another taxi cab.
 She was in such frenzy of haste to get there that the ma chine seemed 10 crawl with the slowness of snail. But presently it stopped before the brick apart ment where Babs had taken fur nishcd suite.
 There were eight bells and house telephones in the little vestibule of imitation marble. Seven of them had cards tackled Up beside them But Babs' card was not there.
 Foycrishly Sylvia rang the iani- tors bell and after several minutes she heard slow footsteps coming stairs.
 A frowsy woman stuck her capped head out of the door.
 Miss Eelano? What is the num- ber of her suite?" Sylvia asked her.
 The slattern shook her head and looked blankly at Sylvia with dull gray watery eyes.
 "Shc amt got no suite number here no more" she answered with a fine disregard for grammar. "She didn't give me no two weeks mo- tice, like she was supposed to, either. Jes' walked out.'
 Did she go -- alone?" Sylvias soft voice fingered on the words.
 Again the janitress shook her Fead in answer. NO, inGeedy.' she said, with a worldly-wise air. "A man come fer her in a taxicab and sho dro.e off with him.
 She said something else, but Sylvia didn't stop to hear it.
 She was back in tho cab and speeding toward the Union station by the time the janitress had reached the bottom step of the stairs that led to her basement.
 The minutes that Sylvia spent in 'he railroad station were like the
 @ment of a bad dream -- one ion go hunting everywhere for ..m,one that you never find.
 She threaded her way among the crowd, pccrine into faces, looking everywhere for Fanny and Babs. She WAS sure that this was where they had come when they left the Fir street fiat.
 But if they had come here, they were not here now. Sylvia made up her mind to that when she had looked everywhere. She had missed no nook or cranny of the station. She had even gone out on the tracks to see if they were there, waiting for their train.
 Wearily she climbed back into her taxicab and set her face to-