New Britain herald., 1928-12-21
THIS MAS HAPPENED


Ashtoreth Ashe, con,ale.cins from
q severe illness is taking cruise to
thes West Indies
<shtoreth Is a stenogra rher-the
only child of her widowed mother.
Maide. Maizic. good hearted
rather commonplace woman, has
procured work as companion IN
order that Ashtoreth may take the
trip.
Sadie Morton, a friend Of the
family. donates pretty clothes from
her abundant wardrobe. aud Ash
toreth sets out happily,
Monty English, her eNsNeotheart,
sends roses as a parting gift, aud
little note TO say he loves her still.
Ashtoreth is rather fed UP on
Monty, partly perhaps because sh"
seems to have reused the interest OF
Hollis Hart, her millionaire employ
er. Mr. Hart, by the way, had played
piatonic benefactor TO Sadie Norton
He Is middie-aged, but quite hand
some. And Ashtoreth knows that he
has money to burn.
NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY
CHAPTER XIII
Ashtoreth shared her stateroom
with On Incredible woman OF doubt
ful antecedents. Her name was Mona
de Musset. and she was returning
to her home in Guadeloupe.
She was .. tall. dusky creature.
with red lips and luminous smile.
Her hair was long and very black,
and she knotted 1t With beautiful
simplicity at the back of her neck.
Whom the printed passenger lists
appeared, everybody began to con-
lecture about Mademoiselle de Mus
set. It was 4 coincidence that her
hrst name was Mona. because reo-
pie thought Immediately OF Mona
LiSs, and declared that the two look
ID alike.
The ssme mysterious smile"
they ssId.
AshtoYeth. who considered the
eYisipsl Mona abaurdly overrsted,
thought her roommate exceedingly
moro beautiful.
She wore long earrings. And her
dinner gowns were the most dar-
Ing ever seen. They we're slsshed in
q narrow v to her waist in back.
And the undulating bodice extend
ID, surprisingly. TO hyxh neck. that
swsthed her slim throat like a
bandaEe.
It was not until Mademoiselle
raised her arms that one behcld the
triumph OF those gowns For sud-
denly she looked bare to her slim
waist! II was as II Venus, pretend
ing modesty. had tucked a napkin
under her chin.
Her dress. that first evening. was
cloth Of gold. On her bare feet she
wore green pumps. And in her ears.
barhartc jade that kissed her sleek
brown shoulders.
Ashtorsth, uho had been reading
ON the boat deck. powdered her nose
when the dinner hnele blew. and
hurried to the dining saloon. She
was wearing the crepe de chine that
had taken such a beautiful shade Of
brown And. with 1t. Sadie's camel's
hair coat and the little suede hat
that Rugged her ears.
She found her place at the first
o1icers table And beside her sat
Mademciseile d. Mus.et
The very air was charged with
excitement Married women glared
At their husbands Spinsters avert
ed their pious gaze. And the room
huzzed with the scrid comments and
ohservations OF the pure.
MaAemoiselle de Musset spoke
cordially to Ashtoreth. and then de-
voted herself to the first cdicer.
When they left the dining room she
slipped her arm through Ashtcreth's.
Al they sscended the stairs she
remarked quite audibly. "You and
I. Mademoiselie. are the only wom-
ems IN the room With beautiful
bodies, Ell? The rest-if they should
loss their clothee-they would be
Obscene
Then. without waiting for an an
Sve1, she continued IN q throaty
voice that carried embarrassingly:
They look like dumb-bells run
ever BY the express train-the good.
fat married ladies. Or drunken
dollar marks. eh?"
Ashtoreth, felt acutelv uncon-
Portable. ehe knew. with 4 horrid
certainty. that II she we're friendly
With Mademoiselle. she would have
no other friends aboard. But how
could she possibly snub the wone n
with whom she roomedc She wish
I'd frantically that she had been able
- afford a single stateroom. Maybe
the purser would let her have an
other cabin II Maize could only sec
her now! Or Monty. Or Mr.. Hart.
Arm In arm with Mademoiselle de
Musset!
Mademoiselle picked up feather