Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-06


that bandoline does a more
thorough job when hair has been vel
marinated, and on this particular &C.
caston he was after thorough job. He
whipped the bandoline with ferocious
speed through his black hair. The hail
promptly stiffened and stood on end
Richie reached into the medicine chest
Cor hts comb All, this was the most
important rtep of all! His hair made
an obstinate little slushing sound as ii
fell before the comb. One lock Of hair
Tehelled and more bandoline and water
were needed. but in the end all was
rs Richie desired. His hair was as flat
and unyielding as Fordham Road ex-
pected it to be. Now for a few drops
Of brilliantine.
He had to go to his mothers room
for that. oh, of course, he did have
some of his oWn-but hers was better;
it cost 50. He strobe purposefully to-
ward the bedroom He wished he had
a room: it was the limit--sleeping on
the davenport Still, Nom was pretty
decent about most things and three
rooms we're enough fcr the two of them.
Often he wished, though. that the
kitchen was another bedroom. He
walked to the vanity table and found
the brilliantine. He poured some OF it
into his palm and brushed it swiftly
black and cleaning!
What was this? New perfume?
RICHES handkerchief leaped from his
pocket Yes, it was new perfume. A
little heavy, but nice. Nom oughtn't to
buy such heavy perfume. 1t wasn't just
the type for a mans handkerchief.
Out in the hall was Riches bureau.
FL went to it and found shirt. Which
tie? The dark blue or the gray one?
10 4oi cYNo0,tla tiUoly the chest
Of the chosen shirt The dark blue one
was the winner He returned to his
mothers room. He needed the mirror
for the proper arranging of his tie. Now
that that was done, a fellow could sing
or whistle if he wanted to. Up to the
final patting of the tie, however, a Sc
rious and thoughtful mien was essential.
Richie preferred singing to whiStling.
The lyric was what expressed his mood.
'I got a big date with a little girl
Do-do-do-do-d o-do-do-do-dal
I'll pay big price for little stone"
The song died on his lips. He had
Just remembered that perhaps his shoes
needed polishing. He bent over tr1t1e
and gave them a quick look. No, they
were all right. His coat, now. And his
hat That would require the mirror
again. There was certain angle which,
if found. was knockout. That was it
there! Richie never reached this mo-
ment in his toilet that he didn't thank
Heaven that he wasn't conceited. If he
were, he reasoned, there was certainly
enough about himself to admire. Nice,
clear. dark skin, warm brown eyes, and
lots of girls had said that his smile was
really irresistible. Richie couldn't be-
lieve that. He smiled at the mirror,
just out Of curiosity. The girls
were right againl
The topcat-tan and extremely smart.
Richie buckled it in tightly at his waist.
Now he was ready to go anywhere. He
walked to the kitchen. Nom had left
was one thing that Richie hated about
Saturday nights. Nom wouldn't fix
dinner at home. Other nights she let
the girls take care of the store, but Sat-
urdays she stayed, too. Oh, well. .
X x X
LIE took one last look around the liv-
H ing room, felt for his keys, and
slammed the door upon the apartment.
He ran down the steps and out upon
the Morris avenue dusk. He turned to-
ward Fordham road.
He found now that he was hungry
He walked more briskly and entered a
delicateSsen on the corner. Uptown
New York has many good restaurants
but Richie ignored them. After all, a
dollar is only dollar-and fellow has
to have pack of cigarettes.
The waiter came and watched Richie
helpfully as Richie took off and hung
up his coat. He had arrived too late,
however, to see a change come over
Richie. 1t had happened on the very
doorstep. Richie had changed from a
bright, eager-looking young man to a
bored superciliuoS one.
Hello. Ben" he said, with kind con-
Gescension, as he seated himself at one
Of the tables.
Ben was not to be taken in SO easily.
whats it going to be?" he asked.
Richie shrugged listlessly.
"Oh, I guess bologna and eggs ne
Hnoaned. "See that they're fried good, u
he added; land coffee"
Ben disappeared. It occurred to
Richie that perhaps the cashier did not
know that he was displeased with the
place. He turned his chair bit. so that
she could see his handsome, but un-
happy countenance.
Gee" thought the cashier. there's
another one of them bozos; the woods
Is full of them. Fordham sheiks, with
quarter in their pocketS!'
With the bologna and eggs consumed
and 40 cents still jingling in his
trousers, Richie felt once mere the man
Of the world. He consulted his wrist
watch. There were few minutes tc
spare, SO he decided to look in on Nom
She was busy, he observed. She was
trying to sell black felt hat to CIR
who wanted a blue velvet one Richie
smiled a little. Nom was great! Sure
enough, the dame was taking the black
felt Richie gaZed approvingly about the
shop. Nom had certainly made go Of
il. even though Uncle Harry hao
thought she was crazy to put all pops
insurance into hat business.
He saw that she did not put the So
the customer had given her in the cash
register. She came to him, holding il
in her hand. She held it lightly, as
though she had no definite plans fol
that bill
Hello, son." she said.
10"
They stood looking at each other
Madame Helene and her son. Madame
hair was bleached. She had a plump
pleasingly curved figure, thoughtfully
gowned. Her makeup was bright bu
placed with regard for plauSlnillty
She smiled encouragingly at Richie.
Did you eat?" she asked.
Yeah, at the delicatessen."
What did you do all day?"
"Oh. read, and got myself something
to eat around 1 o'clock, and fooled
around"
YOU OlQnC go DOWNTOWN!
mo. Don't worry, Nom, I'll get :
job Say if you're tired of helping nj
while I'm out of work, I can fix that
I'll just pick myself up and you'll neve
hear of me again. Just tell me wher
you think you're being imposed upon.
can fix that"
"Oh, Richie, now don't talk that way
You know I don't mind the few dollar
it costs me to have you around, but yol
ought to be working. I let you leav
school because you wanted to work, ant
you only kept the job three weeks, ant
you've been looking for another one eve
since. If I'd known it would be like tina
I'd have made you stay in school. You'