Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1931-10-15
IN THREE PARTS-PART TWO

comedy. They had gone for a stroll,
after the performance and had finally
sat down on n of the stone benches
at the eastern end of Central park
facing Fifth avenue.
A summer night ii had been.
They had been silent for a long while
Then. very suddenly, he had told her:
Il love you. Loretta"
She had smiled.
And I love you" she had replied.
Let's get married"
You betl'
What about tomorrow, Loretta d. :.
Well have time after the matinee te
hop over to the Little Church Around
the Corner. 49,"
"All right. It's a date"
He had kissed her then. He remem-
bered the kiss, remembered the heady
sweet scent of flowers drifting out from
Central park.
Many. many years ago-and today
they were both white haired. =.
And still he remembered.
He turned to his wife:
do you remember. Loretta?"
do IT,
They sat there, holding hands. Sc
old they were-so l~udicrous-so happy
80 happy!' she whispered, her head
on his shoulder. 80 happy I could
die. -"
He gave an involuntary little start.
Queer-he thought-his fear of death.
Queer-and silly. Why-death must
come to everybody, sooner or later.
He was silent. So was she.
80 happy she repeated after a
while-"so very, very happy. -"
And then, within the week, the end
of their happiness came with tragic
suddenness. with fate striking twice in
the same twenty-four hours.
Fate struck in the afternoon when
Lionel, opening a late paper, read on
the front page that, due to enormous
speculations committed by the presi-
dent Of the concern, the Helveto-Amer-
lean Investment Trust, in whose bonds
his entire small fortune was placed had
been declared bankrupt.
Dear Lord" he whispered.
Loretta heard.
What has happened" she demanded.
He told her, adding.
What are we going to do? Why
we're wiped out-penniless."
She turned pale, Then she spoke
bravely.
We've been penniless before"
Years ago. We were young, then,
Loretta. Now we're old"
But in those days we were unknown.
1t was an uphill fight. Today we are
famous. At least you are. Don't you
worry, d%arling!"
How can I help w%orrying?"
Old like to shake you! We have
made the grade before-you and I. And
we'll make it again. I'll send a wire in
your name to Grady & Cowan, your
former managers. They made you all
sorts of offers, trying to get you to
change your mind when you retired
remember? Well here's where they'll
come through with some real money. I
won't let you take a cent less than fif-
teen hundred a week and a percentage
on the gross"
He laughed at her enthusiasm, she
sent off the telegram to New York;
and, sitting in the rose garden after
dinner, they lied to each other tenderly,
beautifully:
I'm sick of California"
$50 am l."
TOO many flowers. I long for a good
breath Of carbon monoxide, don't you?"
you bet!"
"Broadway-eh?'
Dear old Broadway"
And our old friends there"
"O-itll be great to be back home!'
when do you think we'll hear from
Grady & Cowan?"
Tomorrow morning, / guess. They'll
be just as anxious as we are"
They would have been surprised if,
just then, they could have taken a look
into the producers Forty-Third street
office; could have listened to the two
partners discussing Lionel McDermott's
telegram.
Wants to stage a comeback, does
hep"
"Why-the poor old fossil-does he
imagine the world is standing still?"
Maybe an all-star Shakespearean
revival-might bill it lionel McDer-
motifs farewell tour"
mot with my mazuma, baby! It's
bad enough as it is-with the movies
cutting the ground daily from under
the feet of the legit."
That's so. The only chance we got
nowadays is pretty faces"
And pretty legs"
you've said it! Still-I'm sorry for
Lionel poor old bozo. Gotta let him
down easy"
Sugar the pill all you want to. Put
orange juice into the castor oil. But
tell him-nothing doing"
20. K, Bill. I'll send him a wire
thatll be as tactful as hell"
And he sat down to compose the
message of refusal, while, back in Hol-
lywood, Loretta and Lionel continued
weaving their brave dreams, until, pres
emily, with the chill night wind blowing
down from the Sierra Madre, she
coughed a little and he said to her:
of with you-before you catch
cold"
They went inside and to bed.
He dozed off quickly, but she tossed
about for a long time, unable to sleep
Her cought kept on bothering her, ano
when, gently, so as not to disturb hel
husband she tried to clear her throat
she felt a sharp palma pain that
started in her chest, then Travelled
down the length of her arms and to the
PIT OF her stomach-a cunning, malig-