New Britain herald., 1926-08-12
illustrated Copyrighted by Johnson Bro

| MEh1L lBoSINLs PlSNhJ bN oSS as her nickname, is a born flirt. Her sole ambition is to have good | time and plenty of beaux. At 20 she fails in her business course be- cause she won't study. Then. when her father suddenly dies, she takes job in LILLE DALE'S little beauty shop at tiny salary.
 At that time she is having the first real love affair of her life. | The man in the case is ANTHONY GAINES, a young lawyer, who wants to marry her. Their engagement ends when he learns that Merry goes out with other men. A year | later she hears that he is going to marry a girl in Montana, where he has gone to live. She tries not to care.
 CASSIE, Merry's colder sister, marries her rich employer NOR LEY KAUFMAN. Merry envies her. soft and easy life, and decides that she is going to marry for money, too, if she can.
 Through Cassie, she meets FILL ERSKINE, a well-to-do bachelor, much older than herself. She be- comes engaged to him, but he keeps putting off the wedding date.
 JINNY, the youngest sister. marries DERRICK JONES, who lives next door. and goes to live with his parents. Mons rents two rooms in her house to help make both ends meet. Lille Dale comes to live in one of them, and MIR. HEFFLINGER takes the other. After a, year Mons and he get mar ried, and home is no longer the pleasant place it once was to Merry.
 During one of Bills absences from town, she goes out with an old sweetheart of hers. LES PUR- cell, not knowing that he is married. His wife threatens to divorce him and name Merry in her suit. Then. on the day when Merry is going to explain matters to her, she tries to kill herself. Finally she and Pur- cell decide to patch things up. But | in the meantime Morley's sister. Muriel, hears the story and tells it to Bill Erskine. He writes to tell Merry he thinks they're not suited to one another; but Mons announces the engagement anyway. One night Cassie comes home. She has decid- ed 10 leave Morley because of his love affaif with MRS. FIFI FELL. She tells Merry that Bill Erskine is in town, and the next morning Mer- ry looks out of the window and sees Bill drive up to the house with Nor ley Kaufman!
 NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY Merry opened the front door and walked to the end of the porch that overlooked the driveway.
 Those trunks are to go back to Mrs. Kaufman's house." she told the driver. She doesn't want them here"
 The man stared at her duly.
 What dye mean?" he asked. Do you mean I've gotta drag them all back to Overlook Heights?"
 Merry nodded. That's it." she answered. They'll pay you when you take them back"
 He shook his head stupidly, and climbed back on his truck.
 AS Merry turned away, Morley Kaufman was coming up the steps. His head was turned, as he watched the departing trunks.
 Hello. Morley" Merry greeted him, but her eyes were on Bill Erskine's figure.
 He had not stirred from his place in the great closed car. He was hunched down in his seat, gazing straight in front of him as he puffed at his everlasting cigar.
 If he had seen her, or heard her voice, he certainly gave no sign of it.
 With a little toss of her bright head Merry darted down the steps and ran out to the car.
 She opened the door and jumped into it.
 What's the matter with you. Bill Erskine?" she asked him, flashing that too-bright, ready-made smile that was as meaningless as a chorus girls smile. Why be so up-stage?. Werens you even coming in to say Hello to me? Cassie tells me you've been in town since yes- terday!"
 Been in town since Sunday" Bill informed her without the ghost of a smile. Been here on busi- ness" He offered no excuse for not coming to see her.
 Tt must have been awfully im- portant business" Merry remarked. after a minute or two. "to keep you fIcm calling me up, at least"
 Bill jerked his cigar from his mouth, and savagely tossed it out of the window of the car.
 Then he turned pair of un- friendly eyes on her. How about tonight, then?" he asked roughly. Want to go out to dinner?"
 It was not a cordial invitation. Not even polite one. But Merry accepted 1t eagerly.
 "Six o'clock?" she asked. That was the time he usually called for her when he was going to take her ; out for the evening.
 'Seven," he answered shortly and she said good-bye to him and got out of the car.
 The door between the hall and the sitting room was shut when