New Britain herald., 1927-01-27

live with me are here. You'll find
 you'H be very comfortable and
 quiet here, Miss Ransom, if you
 care to take the room." Robbie
 wondered If "Mr. Mangan" were
 the landlady's husband. Probably. You never serve meals your
 self?" she asked.
 The woman shook her gray
 head. "Oh. no." she said. with her
 first show of spirit. i've enough
 to do. taking care of the house
 without bothering with lot of
 cooking. I never did like to cook much. anyway. If 'twasn't for can
 openers and delicatessens, MT.
 Mangan would so hungry half the
 time. so he says"
 Robbie decided then that "ir. Mangan" was her husband.
 T think I'll take the room." she :, said. "I'll have the taxi-man bring 1 in my luggage right now. If it's all right"
 Then she remembered her trunks, and sent the taxi-man back I to the station with the checks for i them.
 By six o'clock she was all set tied in Mrs. Mangan's front room. ! The books she had brought with l her were on shelf between the 1 two windows. her dresses were hung in the closet like limp ghosts. and her upderthings were piled in i the drawers of the dresser, with | luxurious little bags of violet sachet powder tucked among them. Brushes, perfume, powder boxes were set out on the blue-green | dresser, and on the bracket shelves at the side were two photo- graphs. One of her father, and one of Andy Jerrold.
 She had cut the photograph of Andy from the sports page of a newspaper ten or eleven years be- fore, when he had been high school football player and she had been a. hero -worshiping little girl. The picture showed him in foot ball togs with his hair in wild dis crder and a broad grin on his muddy face.
 ' For one fleeting second Bobby's heart ached with longing for him, and her eyes clouded and softened. Then, suddenly. they hardened as she remembered how Andy had re- fused to lend her a red cent to bring her to this wonder-city of Hollywood.
 "No." she told her self firmly. I've found him out. If he'd really cared two pins about me he'd have wanted me to come here to try my wings. But he's selfish! He'd been perfectly happy If I'd stayed at home and married him, and cried my eyes out over a dishpan all the rest of my natural life! Men" Her scorn took in all men, from Adam right down to Andy Jerrold. Men-they loved a woman, not to do things for her. but only be- cause they were thrilled by her. They fell in love, not with Ter brain that made her ambitious and interesting, but with her bodily beauty.
 Andy" thought Robbie, stand ing before her mirror. "He wouldn't love me a bit if I didn't have yellow hair and brown eyes and dimple. He wouldn't" And yet-if she got into the moving pie lures wouldn't it be because of the dimple. the brown eyes, and the raw-gold hair, too? Good looks were important, after all. To woman at any rate. She couldn't get very far without them, it seemed, in this world. She decided to go out into the mellow late afternoon. and get something to eat along the famous boulevard. Hollywood boulevard. The words chanted themselves over and over in Boobies excited brain as she put on her hat and overlaid her mouth with vermil- lion lipstick, the kind that doesn't come off.
 Just as she was turning to pick up her handbag from the bed. a knock came on the door. Mrs. Mangan stood there with two of the potted geraniums from the kitchen In her hands.
 II thought these might brighten up your room a little," she said, small smile on her face. You can set them on the window -sills, if you want to-"
 When Robbie turned around from the windows, she was still standing In the doorway. One of her hands was outstretched. I'm afraid I'll have to ask you for your first and last weeks board now, in advance" she said briskly. Robbie was surprised that she could be as business-like as she was. all at once.
 "Why-why, of course" she an- swered. But why do I have to pay for the last week I'll spend in this room, now? Do you mean I'm to pay you for two weeks?" Mrs. Mangan nodded her head gently. "Yes, dear" she said. If you knew Hollywood the way do. you'd understand why ask for it. Folks come here from all over the world-and lot of lem go broke. They just sell everything they have, and then they leave without paying me. These girls who come out here, thinking they're going to set the world on fire in the movies-poor things!"
 She took quick look at Bob- bie's face as she silently counted out sixteen dollars from her bag. And suddenly, as her eyes passed over the smooth white skin, the thick black lashes that lay on the curve of the cheeks, the heart shaped mouth with its lacquer-red coloring. a thought seemed to strike her. "I'll bet you're here to get into pictures," she said. aren't vpu 9D