Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-25
w E DL JOCK E. ID
BY HAZEL DEYO BACHELOR.

had intended her question as a criti-
cism. 1t was unlike Nan TO criticize.
He never criticized her work.
1t was an effort to dress.
She fairly had to drag herself to-
gether. How hot it was.
While Tom went Immediately to his
drawing board, pulling his collar wide,
and lighting a cigarette, she had to
gather the dishes together and pile
them in the sink. If she had spoken
to him, he would have helped her, but
why should he? He was doing creative
work. She was posing. OF course
they were both working-it was for a
common ideal--but somehow Nan
shrank from asking him to do plebeian
things.
In Richard Aliens studio the heat
was sitting.
The huge north skylight poured a
hard. searching light over her. The
south windows We're shaded against
the glare of the sun.
She knew what it was to get hot
and perspiry, and she hated it. She
knew that the artist hated it. too. He
was setting up a large canvas in a
businesslike way. The door bell
shrilled.
"Shal answer it,"
Would you please?"
She pressed the button, and n mo-
| ment later n very handsome youth
entered lie smiled at her engaging
| ly. and laughed when he saw her hor.
ror at the fact that he carried a COON
| skin coat.
whats that for?" she asked in
| Mortified tones
1.-The PICTURE Richard Allen ex.
planned. It's Christmas cover. Fur
| coats and oVprythiDgr''
Fur coats-this morning, when sho
felt almost too weak to stand on her
own feet,
| Richard had his canvas adjusted
| and was handing her a sealskin coat.
1t was somewhat out of date, but he
| could make it do. How beautiful
| that Hartley girl was, he thought dis
passionately.
| Without pang he watched her
struggle into the coat.
Nan posed in sickly half embrace
with the male model who was a nice
| enough boy. She could feel the per-
sipration trickling down all over her,
and to get her mind off herself she
began to think of other things. The
cool palm garden of a large hotel.
| Delicate food, fans going, discreet
music in the distance.
Richard Allen was absorbed in his
work now. He was laying on the
color. A line of pearly drops outlined
the scarlet makeup of Mans lips.
Against her forehead her hair was
| soaked.
Christmas covers had to be made
in July!
At lunch time she pretended to
have an engagement. She didn't want
to eat with the male model, and be-
sides, she wanted to rush home to see
what Tom was doing and how he was
getting along with the stuff for the
Beardsley people.
Compared with the heat Of Richard
Aliens studio. their own apartment
was comparatively cool.
Mans heart leaped just at the
thought of seeing Tom.
| "Surprise!' she called out. "Here
I am. I've brought lunch, too. Ice
cold milk, sandwiches! Oh, Tom, I'm
posing for a Fall cover in a sealskin
coat! Can you beat it?"
Tom looked up guiltily. He hadn't
expected her back this noon, and had
started a little water-color sketch that
he had wanted to do for a long time.
He tried to cover it up, but Nan saw
it.
Resolutely she shut her mouth over
the exclamation that had risen to il.
She wouldn't reproach him, she
wouldn't. He had the true artists
soul. and after all, didn't she love
him? She wouldn't say another thing
about that order from Beardsley, even
though they still owed for last months
rent, But like Il stab in her heart was
a picture of herself in the sealskin
coat posing for a Fall magazine cover,
while Tom worked under an electric
fan on something that might never
bring them n cent.
| Copyright. 1927
= Continued in tOmorrOwS StarJ