Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-06-29

Jean NICHOLS stopped, as was
/" usual, to buy paper from
~ Bennie-a small, carrot-headed
newsboy with a Snubbed nose
and a twisted knee. And, as usual when
Bonnie dipped grimey paw into tattered
pocket to produce change for her dime, she
said:
That's all right. Keep it, Bennie"
Further down the block she encountered
another recipient of her spare silver. An old
blind woman who. had a face like wrinkled
red apple and who eked out a precariOuS nveli-
hood selling shoelaces and pencils.
Good evening, Mrs. Higgins How are you
today?" Jean said as her shiny quarter
tinkled against the sides of dingy tin cup
Plumbing for a coin with her gnarled, blue
Seined fingers:
Heaven bless ye" Mrs. Higgins quavered,
and to those VINO noted the blitheneSs of
Jeans eyes and the buoyancy of her walk, there
could be doubt that heaven had.
And yet not with the things one is apt to
desire when petitioning the celestial. Though
she was a slender, swift-moving girl with a
laughing mouth and pper-colored hair, beauty
was not hers, nor wealth. And yet she
carried an air of happiness not often seen in
q grubby, frazzled world.
1t was this air which made gasoline station
attendants rub the windshield of her car with
extra vigor and the butcher save for her the
best cuts of the meat. Indeed, of her small
world there was but one person who ever
SIOWcESU IL LICK pEcScuCcp dIlu Hl6t Was 4dO
Morgan-an impoverished young lawyer, who
had been trying to marry her for years.
ON this particular evening he sat on the
steps of the rambling. vine-oovered cottage,
which Jean had inherited from an aunt, and
waited for its owner to appear.
Terribly sorry to be late. But stopped to
leave some movie tickets with Miss Perry, and
on Tuesdays I always try to take something
to poor old Mr. Dodd," she explained few
minutes later, as her ancient runabout wheezed
to halt beneath the boughs of the willow
oak which cast such lovely shadow over the
battered cottage and its tiny front yard.
At sight of her, at sound of her. something
warm and tender caught in Morgans throat.
"Spendthrift!" he murmured, and later, as
they sat on the veranda steps, watching the
firefiies hover like falling sparks the green
of the lawn, he expressed his distaste for
single life. -~.-.
tits a bore. I'm tired of it, too" she
admitted.
Then let's be done with it, Sugar I'm
poor as the proverbial hymn singing rodent
but We'll manage somehow" he said.
What pertinaciouS old thing it is" she
naurmured tenderly "I want to. But won't
I can't. I'd handicap you dreadfully want
you to get on. And you couldn't if we mar
Tl6Q now. Sucn a sorry manager. FOR
the life Of me I can't stay within my darned
old budget"
His arm about her frightened. He buried
his face in the fragrant mass of her hair.
What bunk! You're not a bad manager
at all. Your only fault as an economist Is
that you give away every cent you can get
these paws on" He paused. Then: "By the
way, I saw Jim Haines this morning He's
planning to sink a wildcat on that acreage of
his in Claiborne Parish. Says there's a deep
sand structure in that section and he's sure
to hit it. Wish had a little money to gamble
with" Tad said
wouldn't it be gorgeous to own an oil weIl?"
Jean muSed
Over his cigarette he smiled at her indul-
gently.
"Just what would you do if you had one"
AT thought of the achievements possible to
an owner of the black yet golden magic,
Jean sat upright.
"Oh, lots of things. Bonnie, for instance
I'd have something done for his poor, crooked
knee. And there's Miss Perry. She's never
had vacation in her life I'd let her have
splendiferous month or two at Hollywood get
ting closeup on her precious divinitieS. And
as for Mr.. Dodd, I'd fix him up with a real
sWalden'S Pond, where he could bird and
botanic and tinker to his hearts content. :"
Tad bent forward and very gently tweaked
her on the ear
"And what" he asked. would you do for
Jean?"
Jeans gaze swept the sagging balustrade of
the porch on which they were sitting. Then
reluctantly, as If it were loved person whose
faults she was loath to define:
well. of course this place needs a little fix
ing. The roof leaks And the plumbing could
OF paint, I suppose :"
eyes" with mock gravity zone at least"