New Britain herald., 1927-01-22
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CHAPTER I

grass. And she lived there for twen- ty-two years before she ever set foot in Hollywood-that city of stars and studios!
 Her name was Roberta Ruth Ransom, and Robbie for short.
 That is, her father called her
 Robbie, and so did Andrew Jerrold,
 who was in love with her.
 To the little girls and boys of the first reader room at Locust 1 street school she was known as
 Say, Teacher" and Miss Ran son."
 It was sarcastic Aunt Gertrude who nicknamed her "the Holly
 wood girl" For. though you would never have guessed it to look at l her, Robbie was movie-struck. She was. She was one Of the thousands and thousands of girls all over this broad country = from l Portland, Maine. to Portland, Ore gon-who are wildly eager to break ! into the movies.
 There never was a week when l the nearest moving-picture show, | and sit there lost to the world for two hours.
 There was never a single notion picture magazine that she missed. She bought every one on the mar | ket. and she read them all from cover to cover
 She could tell you off-hand what year John Gilbert was born, why ] Marian Davies bobbed her hair, and that the real name of Mary Pickford is Gladys Smith Fair | banks.
 The walls of her bedroom In the Locust street house were complete lv covered with photographs ot the famous stars of the silver screen.
 And daily she prayed 10 the god of Things-As They -Ought-To-Be that somehow or other she might get to Hollywood-to the colorful little motion picture town that lies like bright jewel between Hollywood Junction and Beverly Hills.
 You would never have thought Robbie Ransom movie mad to look at her. She didn't strike you as being harum- -scarum or rattle brained.
 But, as far as that went. she didn't look much like a hard working school teacher, either. There was no chalk-dust in her hair, no horn trimmed glasses on her tilted nose. no air of primness about her.
 She was only twenty-one and she looked much younger. The more she tried to brush her hair down smoothly on her cunning head. the more wildly it curled up into vel low gold rings. The corners of her mouth turned up gayly. and there was a starry twinkle far back in her deen eyes, always.
 She was that prettiest thing on earth-a brown-eyed blond. When you looked at her, she made you think of lovely gold-colorcd things - sunrise roses. daffodls, and Black Susans. And she had Beauty with capital B.
 Now. beauty can he great curse as well as a great blessing-and for that very reason the story of woman with beauty is usually | more thrilling than the story of a plain Jane.
 And. furthermore. if beautiful | woman has ambition as well as good looks-Ah, then, she has story worth the telling.
 Robbie Ransom had both beauty i and ambition that drove her like a whip, and so that is the kind or story she had.
 And this is the story.
 
 It was on a hot Saturday after noon that Robbie finally made up Der mind that she simply would NOT go back to teaching school in 
 Instead of that she would take her courage in both hang and go to Hollywood to break into the by some hook or crook
 "Its now or never!" she said passionately to her Aunt Gertrude. who had always been like a mother 10 her. "I just will make the break this fall. I won't stay here any longer and die on the vine"
 She Was sitting in the Kitchen of the comfortable white house at fhe time, watching her aunt make ginger snaps.
 The kitchen was full of warm sunlight and the hot spicy smell of the baking cookies.
 Aunt Gertrude, in the cleanest of dotted Swiss dresses and aprons, hummed 10 herself as she took pan after pan out of the oven. Meg. the family cat, dozed on the rag rug just inside the screen door. Outside, the backyard glowed peacefully under the midsummer heat,
 Everything seemed quiet and restful and at peace. Everything, .hat is, but Robbie herself.
 She looked about as peaceful as n storm at sea as she sat at one end of the big kitchen table, with her knees drawn right up under her chin and her arms clasped around them. Her brown eyes snapped and the mop of cnrls shook ! IS she talked.
 T never did want to teach school 10 begin with" she declared. Ever since I was old enough to think I've just been dying to go out to Holly wood and try my luck-and no" I'm going, by Jinks.'
 What are you going to use TOT railroad fare, buttons?" asked the Aunt Gertrude, and went on calmly counting ginger snaps into a tall brow crock. twenty. seven. twenty eight, twenty-nine' thirty"
 .,,,. Cor+r,de had heard BObble L