Evening star., 1927-04-19

and saw the little knot of curious
sightseers waiting before the
store window with it's drawn blinds
That morning almost every newspa
per had published the ''red'haired girl
paragraph, with or without variations
The previous afternoon a string OF re
porters had arrived, and she had
dreaded to look at the morning news
papers For the worst had happened
She was identified. One newspaper
had made a column story, headed
ACTRESS FINDS MORE LUCRATIVE
OCCUPATION THAN STAGE LIFE
Distress Amongst Mummers, Induces Miss
Carew to Take Show Girls Job
in Desk Store.
Another journal carried three-col.
umn photograph Of her at work. Mer'
cifully her back was turned and the
intervention of a plate glass window
had made recognition impossible. She
found one result OF the publicity.
When she arrived there were three
letters, all delivered by hand, from
theatrical managers, Offering her en-
gagements. One undertook to pro-
duce sketch for the road entitled,
''The Girl in the Window" with her
self as the central figure. She tore up
the letters in disgust, and bractng her
ed her back to the crowd.
She could not go on; this thing was
uncomfortable. Pulling open one OF the
drawers of the desk (the difficulty she
= had in opening it was no kind Of ad-
vertisement for the merits of this mar
velous piece of furniture) she took out
] letter. It was the message" that
was to be delivered to the unknown
caller. What would happen when he
came? Would her trial be at an endY
She had asked Latin the night before.
when he had come for her, but he had
made no reply.
1t was toward noon when out of the
tail of her eye she saw car come
slowly up the street and stop Just
short OF the crowd. This was not un-
usual, for curiosity was not confined
to the masses. She was conscious that
somebody was pushing a way through
the crowd but did not turn her head,
until somebody raped at the window
gently with the head of an umbrella,
and, turning, her face went crimson.
She was looking into the eyes of La
Florette, the dancer whose jealousy
had caused Betty's dismissal from the
sshow, and the smile on the dancers
face was maddening Quickly she
brought her attention back to the
desk, trying to forget the woman, ma
1ignantly triumphant. And then the
door of the shop opened and there
came to her the faint fragrance of La
Florette's favorite perfume.
How very sweet"
The little door OF the window front
had been opened. La F1orette. bub-
bling with malicious laughter, was
watching her.
Betty sprang up from her chair and
in two strides had crossed the window
floor and slammed the door behind
her.
do you want to buy a desk?" she
asked, her flaming eyes fixed on the
woman.
La Florette shrugged her thin shoul-
ders.
MY dear, what should 1 do with a
desk?'' she asked, sweetly.
THAT occurred to me, but even the
1literate must have some place to
ecrawl," said Betty.
You insolent little beastn' she spat,
''You-you shop girl! Red Headp'
Il can't tell you what you are," said
Betty, calmly, because the only words
could use are forbidden in decent so.
ciety. Do you want to buy desk?"
she asked again. IF you do not,
there's the door,''
II shall report you to your en-
ployers----" began La Florette.
I'D almost forgive you If you
would, said Betty, so earnestly that
the woman stared. Have YOU any
business here at all? Because, if you
haven't, go with the crowd where YOU
belong, Miss Florette, or Simpkins, or
Fnooper, or whatever your real name
may be. All Limehouse is outside.
You can see the marks OF their un-
pleasant fingers on the glass. One
\ more or less doesn't matter to me-"
1t was a long time before La Flor
ette could articulate. Queer little
sounds of rage and venom came from
her thin lips and she glared murder.
ously.
You're in your proper place now
Carew," she said, shrfaly, "whereeye1i
peiong show girl .a.s an ex.
hibition, a common advertising woman
She choked with rage. I'm
2oing outside" she went on. I'm go.
sssg to stand and tell people who you
are, and what rotten actress you
We're. Even the newspapers say that
you were such bad actress that you
had to take this job"
Suddenly Betty ierked omen ths
door, caught the woman by the arm
with a grip that surprised the pseudo
tfench dancer, and thrust her into
the street, slamming the door behind
her. And then with no fear, no an,
prehension, no qualms, Betty Carew
stepped back into the window and
smiled down into the distorted face of
this exotic, rooted in the slums. and
drawing her sustenance from the ref
use of a Dutch ghetto.
a For fully a second they looked al
SSne another, and then La Florette
darted into the crowd. pursued by the
cheers Of the quick.witted gamins
who had noted her hasty exit and had
t.divined the cause. For the next hour
Betty had a sympathetic audience.
X
The second Of the visitors, less wei.
come, came while she was eating a
hasty luncheon in the deserted show
room. She heard the quick step and
looked up into the troubled eyes of the
best looking man in London.
"Why, Give" she faltered. 81
thought you promised me you would
not Gomez"
had to come Did you see the
papers this morning?" he asked saw
agely, and, without waiting for her
10 reply: This is monstrous, Betty
I'm not going to allow 1t! I'll see
that old scoundrel today"
She shook her heNd.
Its perfectly useless seeing the