New Britain herald., 1926-08-07
READ THIS FIRST.

i READ THIS FIRST:
 Merry Locke, gay and pretty as her nickname, is born flirt. She
 has no ambition beyond having a
 good time and plenty of beaux. Al
 20 she fails in her course at busi-
 ness school because She does not study. Then. when her father dies, she goes into Lillie Da1e's beauty shop at a tiny salary.
 At that time she is having the first real love affair of her life. The man in the case is Tony Gaines. an ambitious young lawyer who wants | to marry her. Their engagement ends when he learns that Merry goes out with other men. He goes to Mon- tana to live, and later Merry hears he is going to marry a girl there. She tries not to care.
 Helen. the oldest of Merry's sis ters, marries and two years later dies in childbirth. Cassie, the sec ond oldest, marries Morley Kauf- man, her rich employer. Merry en- vies her her soft, easy life. Jimmy, the youngest sister. elopes with one of Merry's former sweethearts, Der rick Jones, who lives next door. They come home and go to live with Derrick's parents.
 Through Cassie, Merry meets Bill Erskine, wealthy bachelor much older than herself. She becomes en- gagged to him, but he keeps putting off the wedding day.
 Mons, her mother, takes Lillie Dale into the house as a boarder. Then she rents another room to MT. Hefflinger, and a year later marries him. With her stepfather ruling the roost," home is no long CT the pleasant place it once was to Merry.
 She meets Les Purcell, who was sweet on her" in her high school days, and sees a great deal of him, not knowing that he is married. His wife tries to kill herself, after to name Merry as the "other woman" in her divorce suit. She and Les finally return to each DllltIs put Dlll IStShlHC utdIS IIIG story from Morley Kaufmans sis ter. Muriel, who is jealous of Merry. He writes from Florida to tell Mer- ry that he does not think she is ready to settle down. Merry tells Mons about the letter and Mons says she'll take things into her own hands!
 (NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY)
 CHAPTER l.
 Mons cut the fat from a T-bone steak viciously.
 You go and bring me my writ ing paper and pen" she said, draw ing her thick black eyebrows to- gether. q may as well settle Bill Erskines hash right here and now. There's no use in letting it go.'
 When Merry came back with pen l md paper she had cleared a space | 1t one end of the kitchen table. i She sat down and began to, write, | while Merry peered over her shoulder.
 '"Mr. and Mrs. Edward Hefflinger, 1f Chester street, announce the en- gagement of their daughter, Mary 1 Ann Locke, to Mir. William. - She got that far and stopped, her i 1en poised in the air like a dagger. |
 "What's Bill Grskine's middle l lame?" she wanted to know, look i ng up questioningly.
 Haynes" answered Merry. You're not going to send a notice ' if our engagement to the paper, Ire you?'
 "Why, certainly" Mons voice 1 vas sharp. Then, if you decide | .ou don't want to marry Erskine' we'll and goodl But if there's any throwing down to be done, it's go- ng to be YOU who'll do it! I'll how him he can't write and tell you le's through with you, and get way with it! Not if I know it."
 She put the announcement into . n envelope, addressed Il ana it.
 "I'Il write him a letter, too, later n the day, when I can put my mind n it!" she said, grimly. Just see [ that steaks burning, Merry!"
 Mons never could put her mind n much of anything but MT. lief fingers breakfast until it was out f the way every day.
 For MT. Hefflinger demanded a reakfast that was more like