Evening star., 1927-06-09


i to All enthusiasm to the nth
power. and the other was the
absorbing passion for wandering
through old secondhand shops. where
she bought something now and again.
The fairy. tales she no longer read,
of course, being grown up and now in
the so-called business world. But she
never could. forget about fairy tales
especially tine happy endings. where
the girl always was found by the
fairy prince and they lived happily
ever after. Pauline entertained the
secret belief that she, too, would some
day meet q fairy prince dressed like
an ordinary young American business
man.
But I'll know him for the prince
when l see him." Pauline would tell
herself with shining eyes as she
brushed her hair to a glossy sickness.
"And there'll he no more rushing
through breakfa st to get a crowded
street car; no more lunching in 20
minutes in a cafeteria where a thou
sand persons cain be seated at once.
reminding one 9t-of-cows at lunch!
No, and there'll, be no more rushing
after $50 to get a seat, and-oh, bah!
Instead I'll be getting IN in the morn
ing, pulling the shades up high to get
the morning SUN, running the vacuum
around to clea up nicely and cook
ing delectable little suppers for
two" And Pauline would dream
away a few minutes, in which she
was the fairy princess pursued by
the fairy prince.
But ali that was mere maybe"
dreaming. At the present time Paul
inc had only room. third floor
rear: q room which she furnished
herself and kept tidy to the queens
taste. The various little trif1eS and
curios which she had bought at Sec
ond.hand shops needed some sort of
cabinet to guard them or at least hold
them together. For this purpose
Pauline had purchased a hanging
wallcase of brilliant red lacquer.
Strangely enough. she had not no.
ticed the long. slender space in the
center of it-a slpnce which really
fill it nicely. After the wallcase was
in place she noticed this. but among
all the little trifles she possessed
there was nothing to fit the space.
The next day being Saturday she
set out for her favorite secondhand
shop, an excess of SIS cents in her
purse. She would find something
inexpensive to fill that space while
she saved up for some fitting piece
to take the central place in her cabi-
net. There was a tiny Wedgwood
jar of dull blue with dusty white fig
ures dancing toward sundial. The
dealer asked only so cents for it,
which was cheap enough except that
she had only 55. There was half
dozen little figurines, any one of
which might have flied the place, but
Pauline liked none Of them.
IT want-oh, 1 DON'T know exactly
what I want, but m know when 1
see it," she murmured. 'I just want
some little thing-inexpensi
Say, you want a figure?" asked
the man shrewdly. II have just the
thing and--and-Tn give it to YOU"
he said excitedly. "Here--take ite'
He held up a tiny .Buddha figure,
which was very ugly and very heavy
and-strangely enough--the exact
size to fit her space.
You not-what you call-super.
stitions?" he asked auxiously. "It
bring bad luck. have 1t three days
now and," he shrugged, mot one sale.
Bad-luck Buddha, they call him. A
man in Minneapolis sent him to me.
A man in Fargo sent 1t there; Seattle
was before that-and bad luck, bad
luck, bad luck follow heem every
where! II am not what you call
SuperStltlouS, ana SO / CoIo my ArSh
but-three day and not q sale! You
take heem? I give heem to you-''
he lapsed into broken English and
dropped his head on his chest.
az can't take it, but I'll pay
what? Fifty cents?" asa xslue
"a quarter" said he, magnanf-
mously. THE man in Fargo was
killed. The man in Minneapolis found
a bomb-just in time-take heem-a
gift"
But in the end Pauline trium-