Smyrna times., 1930-11-12
The Little Girl in
Uniform
By JANE OSBORN

= queraue party ana Bryan Dawes
had gone as a gentleman of the
reign of King Louis XIV. His sister
! thought the bouffant, brocaded
skirts and the white wig of that
period vastly becoming to her own
| peculiar style of beauty and she
wanted cavalier of the same
! period to set off her charms. Bryan
was bored to death and after the
! first few dances and the unmask-
ing, he had taken off his wig and
lace frills and had gone upstairs in
| the great house in search of a Ii
| brary or other quiet nook where he
| might seek sOlace in reading.
Bryan was twenty-six and he i'm
| agined that it was his advanced
age that made him so impervious
/ to the charms of all the girls at
the party-silly girls of eighteen
or twenty who seemed only more
uninteresting than usual in their
| peculiar and weird costumes.
After wandering about the dimly
lighted corridors of a wing Of the
house he did find q little book room
with door slightly opened. There
were low reading lights in the room
and he had actually taken a book
from a table and was about to sit
down in an inviting chair by one
of the lights when he noticed that
another comfortable chair by the
other low reading lamp was already
occupied.
He suppressed a not very polite
exclamation when he looked at the
girl and saw that she, too, was in
costume. She was a little dark
haired girl in a trim nurses uni
form-and as he looked again he
realized that the disguise suited
her to perfection.
AS she merely looked up from
her book, smiling, and did not seem
to be inclined to break forth in
merry chatter, he took his seat and
opened his book.
$50 you're bored, too," he said
as he settled himself in his chair.
"Why yes, suppose / am," said
the girl. But she went on reading.
"That get-up suits you perfectly"
he told her after he had endured
five minutes of difficult silence.
my get-up-" repeated the girl.
''YeS-I mean that you look a
whole lot more like nurse than
/ do like a gentleman of France in
the reign of the Grand Monarch"
"Oh, / see," said the girl with a
smile, and then, "but / should
think you'd so much rather be
down there dancing than up here"
"What about yourself?" ne asked.
Don't you like to dance?"
Love to-" she said. "But nobody
asked me-
Great Scott" said the gentle
man of France. "Well, thought
they were a crowd of morons.
i've half mind to make you go
down and have just one dance with
me-wig or no wig" he said, going
over to the girl. "Of course we
haven't been introduced, but no one
introduces people any more. My
name is Bryan Davies"
"And / am Helen Tate. But
really / couldn't"
Bryan had taken her book from
her, closed it and was now holding
her two hands in his, drawing her
from her chair. He had never so
wanted to dance with girl in his
life as he wanted to dance with
this little girl in uniform. There
was look of pleading protest in
the eyes of the young girl who was
still well below him even now that
she stood before him.
IF you really don't want to-why
all right" he said letting go her
hands. "Only it would make me
very happy. And you said you
liked to dance"
please don't think that 1 am un-
grateful" said the girl. Il ought
not to have deceived you-and
really didn't intend to. I'm not
guest and this isn't costume. I'm
just a poor little nurse and this is
my regular uniform" She paused
and Bryan took her little hands in
his again and held them far more
tightly than he had before.
"You see, old Mrs. Hill is Some
thing of an invalid. She isn't really
Ill of course-only rather trouble
some. And so the Hills employ me
to look after her--it's easier than
doing it themselves. I'm off duty
now-Mrs. Hill has gone to bed"
"Then why didn't the Hills ask
you to the dancer" asked Bryan,
longing to hold the 1.-the little body
of the nurse in his arms. "You are
much, much prettier than any of
the girls they invited.>
"Oh, I'm sure I'm not-but any
way the Hills wouldn't think of
doing anything like that. They
don't regard me as their social
equal. People don't. you know"
"D-n the Hills; d-n people,"
said Bryan calmly. "Would they
mind If we went down for just one
little dance-you and L? Maybe
they wouldn't notice and none of
the other guests would know.
They'd think it was your disguise"
'1It wouldn't do at ALL" said the
girl. "Fm sorry"
"Then If you're sorry" said the
impetuous Bryan, "let me put my
arms around you-just once. Any
man you danced with would do as
much"
He had not waited for permis-
sion but put two strong arms
about her body. And then because