The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1931-06-24
Heart of LANE
Continued from page One)

Continued from page one)
the part-time work this week l
thought we'd better snatch at It,. AIT
er ali, it's only afternoons ana you
can put by a bit Of money for later"
II know I ought to be glad Of the
chance" Lane sighed, slipping her
tea. Somehow I can't get excited
about It,"
When the girl came to say goodby
a few minutes later her mother look.
ed at her admiringly. THAT RED
| things nice on you," she said OF Molly
| Cronin's last years printed silk. In
deed the girl, freshened by cold wa
ter and q brushing up, looked sur
prisingly cool and sweet. Cas- sighed
again as the young feet tapped down
the four flights Of stairs.
"A sharne!" she murrnured. The
woman gathered up the finished robe
and packed it into IN old suit box.
She cold -creamed her face with re-
ligious care, made up with m%eticulous
intentness, brushed her furnished
hair until it cleaned and pressed 1t
into shining waves about her face.
There, that was better! She spent
five minutes massaging a stubborn
wrinkle between her eyes. She put on
a thin dark dress that had a vaguely
out-of-date air and a last years straw
hat. Then she threw q cover Of chintz
over the sewing machine and drew
the shades nearly to the sill In an ef-
fort to thwart the inroads Of the re-
lentless afternoon sun. After that
she went down into the baking street.
Summer Is the time, Cas- unused,
when n needs money more than
ever. In winter 1t is possible to keep
warm somehow. And cheap food Is
appetizing then. It Is when days are
hot and nights sitting that II wants
crisp, aluring foods to eat. One
wants to dine on a roof, high up.
with a view of the river. Oh! sighed
Cass, for the millionth time in her
life, how difficult it is to be poor!
Nevertheless she entered the stage
door with a smile on her lips. 1t was
the smile of the good trouper. Be-
sides, worry made one look old. That
wa the one thing Cass could not az
ford to do.
Rehearsal had not yet started. She
wal glad to be early and have time
to catch her breath in the dusty
GOODNESS.
Cass had been with the New Art
for three seasons now. It was not
exciting. a sort of stock company
really. But it was safe and IRE 1t
meant bread and butter for nine
months Of the year. She "a CRATE
full for that. She hoped she would
be asked to come back next season,
but-well, she didn't know.
X y
Vernon O'Day Wells, the actor
manager whose pet the New Art
Theater was, thin, saturnine and iron
gray, entered followed by his coterie.
AS always there was a small stir at
his entrance. Mods, bows, sycophantic
smiles. The rehearsal began.
Nov that'n be all for today"
Wells doomed presently. "As you
all know, we're closing next week.
Haven't quite shaped up plans for
next season but we'll talk that over
later" He waved his hand in a
signal of dismissal. Cass looked
fearfully across at the others. They
were all talking, laughing animated
ly. Perhaps they had already been
asked to sign up for next year.
miss Barrett, just a minute"
She turned to see Wells secretary |
reckoning her. Vernon would like
to see you upstairs for a minute"
Cass' heart beat thickly, pound.
ing SO It almost suffocated her.
She was being let down. then?
Vernon Wells waited just inside
the door Of his office. He was talk.
ing TO a woman Cass had never
seen before. A big. high-bosomed
woman wearing an old-style white
embroidered dress.
"Ah, Miss Barrett! Mrs. Clees-
paugh was anxious to talk to you,"
Vernon was saying. Cass fumbled
for a chair. Those stairs had made
her giddy again. The old faintness
was coming to overwhelm her.
"Mr. Wells has been helping US
with our little theater group out At !
Willow Stream" the lady began
pompously. "He is directing the
company there for the summer and
. We wondered il you would care to
Join us. I admired" said Mrs.
Cieespaugh, so much your perform.
ance in Romeo and Juliet"
Willow Stream! Like q cinema
flashback Cass saw the ~tree.shaded
lanes and blue waters Of that little
jewel.like Long Island village. It
would mean all the difference be.
tween life and death for her to
have this summer at Willow
Stream. What was It the doctor
had said? Ought to get out of the
city at any COST" And she had
smiled at him ironically, paying |
her bill. But what about Lane?
How could she leave her?
MRS. CLEEsPAUGH was bah
Az bling on. She spoke Of art IS
a high calling and mentioned $40 a
week with infinite casualness. Well, |
thought Cass, It was not much but
1t was enough. There would be
shaded lanes to walk in Of morn.
fngs, salt air to breathe deeply.
Oh, it was more than enough!
Cass stood up presently. Her
own voice sounded unreal to her.
cts ton arvolous sho eaid nm |