The Washington times., 1930-12-06

Connie, was q mere jaunt. Her
skin with q car eQ1aled that
Of d OCCASIONAL chauffeur; the
intricacies of city traffic both
cred her not at all. What did
give her concern, however, was
to locate the address she sought
on Tenth Avenue.
Vaguely, she knew that this
was rough part Of the city,
but she was afraid Of nothing
physical. The horror that grip
ped her breast dealt with the
spirit, not the body.
Slightly confused as to loca-
tion, she stopped q policeman,
who gave her o strange, search
ing look and directed her to
the address she was seeking.
Mechanically, she obeyed his
instructions; at the curb she
parked her car and locked ii In
three places against theft.
At Her Side
Even yet. she was confused
in her realization that the
neighborhood was extremely
rough. Specifically, the res
taurant she e N tered Joe's
Place-was but little different
from any other cheap restau.
rant. The tables were covered
with stained cloths and there
was q small, cleared space at
the rear for dancing and Q
mechanical piano. A waiter.
who might have been q Greek,
put her at a small table beside
the wall. His eyes ran over
her and he noted she was not
the usual type.
Have something to eat?"
''You might bring me a cup
Of coffee and q sandwich OF
some kind" Connie said.
She paid no further atten-
ton to him. A moment later
she was surprised to find him
Still standing at her side. He
grinned confidentially.
"You got a date here?"
Connie glanced at her watch.
It was 1880. The waiter was
anything, but preposSessing.
She glanced about her ner-
vously.
"Tm waiting for someone"
she said. IF anybody comes in
and inquiries for Miss Calvert,
you might send them over to
this table"
Sure thing"
He moved away jauntily, then
returned.
"You didn't say what kind Of
sandwich"
mo. That's true. ! didn't.
oh, ham, suppose" !"
He shifted his weight to the
back Of the chair next to her.
"Well. you can get cheese or
hot ham and egg Or"
Connie broke in sharply.
Ham! I said"
"All right, cutie. Don't get
excited. I'm bringing 1t along
wild q bunch Of vi'letS in two
minutes" This time he moved
along toward the kitchen, flip
ping a soiled towel over his
shoulder.
Ill at Ease
Connie was becoming slightly
alarmed by the waters very
evident admiration and his u1.
usual assurance that 1t was
quite all right for him to force
his preposterous attentions. No
one in the restaurant seemed to
think it at all irregular.
Some curious instinct warned
her to go while there was yet
time. She opened her purse
and took from it a dollar. This,
she thought, ought to pay for
her coffee and sandwich. She
would leave at once.
At another table in q far
corner Of the dingy room q
man and . girl were watching
Connie with arid eyes.
That's her, all right" the
girl said, in a harsh voice.
I'VE might as well go to her
and get 1t over
The man reached across the
table and his fingers curved re-
strainingly around the girls
wrist.
''Nix, kid, you leave 1t to me,
understand. Leave 1t all 70
mel"
AS Connie surveyed the room
again, preparatory to leaving,
her sporting instinct got the
better of her.
'Stick around, Connie" she
told herself. you've come this
far-you really ought to see it
through.
Continued Monday