The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1927-03-21

good looks-Ah. then, she has
story worth the telling.
Robbie Ransom had both beauty
and ambition that drove her like
a whip, and so that il the kind
of story she had.
And this IL the story.
1t was on hot Saturday after.
noon that Bobbie finally made up
her mind that she simply would
NOT go back to teaching school
in September.
Instead Of that she would take
her courage in both hands and go
to Hollywood to break into the
movies, by some hook or crook.
Now or Never!
Its now or never!" she said
passionately to her Aunt Ger
trude. who had always been like
a mother to her. II just will
make the break this fall. /
won't stay here any longer and
die on the Vine"
She was sitting In the kitchen
of the comfortable white house at
the 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 to 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 back.
yard glowed peacefully under the
midsummer heat.
Everything seemed quiet and
restful and at peace. Everything,
that is. but Bobbie herself.
She looked about as peaceful as
a 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 curls
shook as she talked.
Her Decision
II never did want to teach
school, to begin with" she de-
clared. Ever since / was old
CHOuSA 10 thluh We just D0CH
dying to go out to Hollywood and
try my luck-and now I'm going
by Jinks"
What are you going to use for
railroad fare, buttons?' asked the
sarcastic Aunt Gertrude, and
went on calmly counting ginger
snaps into a tall brown crock.
Twenty seven, twenty eight.
twenty.nine, thirty"
Aunt Gertrude had heard
Bobbie rave about breaking into
moving pictures before. More
over. she knew that Bcbbie did
not have half enough money put
away to risk leaving home TO go
to Hollywood or any other place.
For Bobbie was the soul Of ex.
travagance. She seldom saved a
penny.
THE trouble Is that like nice
things" she often explained to
Aunt Gertrude, when that sensible
spinster was Scolding her about
throwing her money to the four
winds of Heaven. II like per-
fume that costs ten dollars an
ounce and I like Irish crochet on
\ udG0 CuGdHR
common things"
with your salary, you don't
have to have cheap, common
things" Aunt Gertrude would
come back at her. But you
fritter away your money on such
useless things"
That was perfectly true.
Bobbie would hire d taxicab to
bring her home from the Locust
Street School on days when it
rained because she wouldn't wear
rubbers and carry an umbrella.
She would spend a dollar on a
fresh white gardenia that wilted
in half an hour, when an imita-
tion one at the same price would
have lasted twenty times as long
and looked almost as well.
Her Burning Love
But / love the real ones. They
have such a heavenly SMELL" was
all the explanation she could
make to Aunt Gertrude, who
shook a despairing head over her.
Aunt Gertrude never could I'M
derstand Bobbie.
You're just like yeur mother
"SNo1 CAAO WOoA0 NAJs ASAAO ASNCA
knew how to save a red cent and
neither do you. And IL there had
been movies in her day she prob
ably would have been crazy-mad
to be a picture actress, too"
But moving pictures were
hardly known in the days when
Boobies mother had lived, twenty
years ago and more.
She had died when Bobbie was
a tiny baby. and there was only
a faded photograph of her on the
wall Of her bedroom to show
Bobbie how sweet and gay and
pretty she had been.
The picture showed her with
the same riotous blonde curls that
topped Boobies lovely little head,
and with the same dark.lashed
eyes and smiling lips.
Father Gets Peeved
Sometimes Bobbie felt that the
woman in the picture would have
understood her and her ambition
better than anybody living did.
To talk about going out to Holly
wood before her father was like
waving a red flag before an
angry bull.
But Bobbie made up her mind
that hot August afternoon that
she would talk to him about
going that very night at supper.
Because, IL she really were going
to go to search for fame ard
fortune in the movies, she would
have to ask him for the money
to do it with. She couldn't-as
AfV~Sf
use buttons for money.
"No, I'll have to ask Dad to
let me have some money" she
said to herself, as she left the
kitchen and climbed the stairs to
the cool second floor of the
house.
At s o'clock Mr.. Ransom came
home. He was d thin. small,
sandy man of quiet disposition
and occasional violent bursts of
tenaper