New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1926-07-24
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Since the time she was 16, Merry
Her only ambition is to have a
good time.
At 90 she fails in her course at
business school, to the disappoint-
ment of MONS, her mother. When
her father suddenly dies. she takes
JOB in LILLE DALE'S beauty
shop. At that time she is having
the first real love affair of her life.
The man in the case is TONY
GAINES, a serious minded young
bachelor who wants to marry her.
But during their engagement,
Merry goes out with other men, and
Tony stops coming to see her.
Later Merry hears he has gone
to Montana to live. A letter comes
to the house from him, but is lost
before Merry has chance to see
it, She returns his ring and tries
to forget him.
HELEN. her oldest sister. mar
ries BILL HEPWORTH. CASSIE
jmarries MORLEY KAUFMAN,
with whom she quarrels constant
ly. JIMMY, the youngest of the
sisters is engaged to DERRICK
JONES, who lives next door.
For a time Merry finds herself
without beau. Then BILL ERS-
kline, a bachelor friend of Morley
Kaufman, comes to town and falls
in love with her. Bill is travel
ing man, and when he is away on
the road he sends Merry all sorts
of expensive presents. He lends
her a thousand dollars to buy
share in Lilies beauty shop, and
when Merry finally traps him into
proposal of marriage he sends her
a diamond wrist watch as an en-
gagement gift. Mons thinks II
very queer that he sent that In
stead of a ring, and Merry begins
to think it peculiar, herself, when
THE time for their marriage draws
near and Bill avoids mentioning it
in his infrequent letters. At last
she decides to write TO him, and
ask him how many wedding an
nouncements she ought TO order.
THAT" she makes up her mind,
Ought to get some sign of life
from him. Merry spends the holiday
at Grows Nest" Morley asks Bill
why he doesn't marry Merry. Bill
saws, Don't worry about Merry
NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY
CHAPTER XXXIII
That Sunday was the most mis-
cradle Sunday that Merry Locke
ever spent. Years afterward she
looked back upon 1t as horror.
All day long she pretended to
be having a good time. She smiled
until her face ached.
But all day she felt like a fish
out of water. She was in the
crowd, but not part of it. She did
not belong" somehow or other.
She was a rank outsider.
It wasn't that anyone snubbed
her, that made her feel that way.
They were all lovely to her @But
they talked about people Merry
didn't know, and about things she
had never heard of - of Sally
Meals engagement and the new
dressmaker who y made Abigail
Pixies wedding dress.
They had all gone to Abigail's
wedding. Merry had only read
about it the week before, sitting
at the manicure table in Lilies
beauty shop.
Even their way of talking was
not her way. They used as much
slang as little jimmy, but it was
slang that Merry had not heard
before. Most of it was Greek to
her
After breakfast a long yellow
car came tearing up the stony
road through the woods, bringing
the Secord girls and their two
men friends. The Secords were
twins but they did not look alike.
Julie was tall and dark, and Peg
was small and blond.
Neither of them was pretty. But
they were jolly and lively and they
made a great deal of noise. Thye
had pep" so Morley said.
Hi, you!" Peg secord yelled at
him, jumping out of the yellow
car, What are you going to give
lis for breakfast? and toast
and the correct time, or something
better?"
Something much better" Nor
ley answered with a grin. He took
them into the house for a Scotch
highball.
Their two friends, with their
eyes on Merry, fingered.
"Who's the new girl?" she
heard one of them ask Cassie, who
looked up, surprised.
"Why, you surely know my little
sister, Merry" she said to them,
you met her at my house on
New Years day? Don't you re-
member? - We had Tom -and-Jerry
to drink, and Muriel did her imita-
ton of Raquel Meller? - Don't you
remember"
Oh, yes. they remembered the
party on New Years day perfectly,
they said. The drinks and the
dance and all the rest of it. How
could they have forgotten such a
corking party, they wanted to
know.
"But we didn't meet Merry"
said the taller one, with wink at
Cassie. "At least I didn't. If I had
I'd never have forgotten her - and
that's snail as the teamster said
cracking his whip"
His name was George Letting
we'll, but Cassie called him Sky"
So did all the rest of the crowd.
Doubtless because he was so tall.
Merry decided,
The other man was engaged to
Julie Secord, so Cassie said, and
his name was Jack Anderson. He
was short and stocky with close
cropped hair and a nice smile.
He was the only one of the crowd