New Britain herald., 1926-08-16
THE PETER s. s. ::. s;:';;f; $ 3;; s:'': s.'':

the kind Of girl who has no ambition beyond having good time and plenty of bcauX. At 20, she fails at business school because she won't study. Then she takes a low-salaried job in Lillie Dale's little 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 young lawyer who wants to marry her. Their engagement ends when Tony learns that Merry goes out with other men. 4 year later Merry hears that he is going 10 mar ry q girl in Montana where he has gone to live.
 Mons, Merry's widowed mother. takes Lllie Dale and Mir. Heffling- CT into the house 10 board. Mir. lief finger begins to court Mons in his middle-aged way, to the disgust of Merry's youngest sister, Jimmy, who elopes with Derrick Jones and goes to live next door with his parents. . Cassie, the oldest sister, marries her rich employer, Morley Kauf- man. They quarrel constantly, but | Merry envies Cassie her soft easy | life.
 Through the Kaufmans, Merry meets Bill Erskine. wealthy 1 bachelor They become engaged, but 1 Bill keeps putting off the wedding. l Then Merry begins to go about with Cabby Marsh. who is the fiance of Morley Kaufman's sister, MurieI. And whet. Merry gets herself tangled up in the divorce case of her old beau, Les Purcell and his wife, Muriel tells Bill all about it. He drops Merry like hot cake and marries another girl.
 One afternoon, year later, Mer- ry is just starting out for drive with Cabby Marsh when they meet Muriel Muriel, wild with jealousy, | tells Merry that she is "the kind Of girl that fellows take out on the sly" She adds that Cabby wouldn't be "seen dead with her, if he were with his own crowd" and Merry knows that it is the truth. For Cabby ad- mits that, while he is going to mar " Muriel, he is more than willing to have a little fun with Merry and girls like her in the meantime. (NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY)
 CHAPTER LVII
 The morning of Merry Locke's twenty-eighth birthday was day she never was to forget so long as she lived.
 It began as ordinarily as a day can begin.
 She sat up in bed, yawning. Then i suddenly she remembered that | paperhangers were coming to paper the hall and the downstairs sitting room. | It was not until she was out of bed. and standing before her mirror that she remembered that this was her birthday. Her twenty-eighth birthday!
 Could she really be that old? She leaned close to the mirror and looked at herself in the glass.
 The sunlight from the windows beside her poured over her in yellow flood that found few flaws in her face.
 The twenties do not write very much history on a womans face' and except for the little tired lines at the corners of Merry's eyes, she looked much as she had looked when she was wenty.
 q cant believe I'm really twenty eight" she said to herself. her own eyes meeting the gay. deep ones in the mirror. First thing l know I'll be an old maid"
 She laughed at the thought, and then wondered if she ever would be married. George Leet was still coming to see her every Wednes- day and Sunday night, as he had been coming for five years.
 George never would marry while his mother lived He said so. He had only enough money to support him. self and her,s Poor George.
 But I don't believe I'd marry him even if had the chance" Mer- " thought, as she picked up brush and began to fluff out her yellow hair.
 She was almost contented. these days. She worked all day, and she read a great deal. The old days when nothing but a movie maga- zine or Vogue looked good to her, were gone. She had card at the public library, and she took out two or three books week.
 She liked stories about married life best, Or stories of adventure. The other kind, the books about the love of man and a girl, she never read. They made her un- happy and restless.
 She didn't know why. But she learned to leave them alone. just as she had trained herself not to think about Tony Gaines.
 She never thought about him any more. That is, hardly ever.
 But that morni 2 something hap pened that filled every niche and corner of her mind and heart ana soul with him, again, after eight long years!
 q wish you'd stay home today and help me-" Mons said to her. over the urried untidy breakfast Tn the kitchen. "I ought to wash all the woodwork before the paper hangers come. And I'll never be able to do it. alone"
 So. instead of starting off to the beauty shop with Lillie, Merry went upstairs and put on an old blue calico house dress that had once belonged to Helen.
 "All right. here I am" she told Mons cheerfully, when she went downstairs. Where will l begin! I don't know whether I'll be any good at this kind of work or not"
 To Mons disgust she put on pair of red rubber gloves.
 q don't know how you can work in those things, Merry Ann Locke, she said severely, but do your best and use plenty of elbow grease. You can start in with the front