The Waterbury Democrat., 1931-11-04

At the door the young man paused, blinking and expelling a grateful breath.
 Pest, what a night!' he ex- claimed. Groping his way through the blue-gray fog to the shining :, cotfnter, he shook the proprietor by the hand. What a night" he cried in a warm, youthful voice. 'Is Judy here?"
 The proprietor returned Du- snont's greeting and answered his aestion in the French language, which the young man had used.
 T have not seen Judy yet, NJ. Dumont; but she will doubtless be here. Chummy is in there." He jerked his thumb toward the in- ner room.
 Dumont passed on, calling out a greeting here and there to friends who sat in smoke-encircled groups. Between the two rooms the man who was singing to his mandolin rose and looked at him expectant- ly. This was Dan, the waiter and general factotum of the establish inent--a lanky being who looked like a clown in his baggy clothes.
 Dumont ordered coffee and cog mac. and, entering the inner room, was noisily greeted by a crowd of men at one of the larger tables. Room was made for him, and he sat down among them.
 At a table on the opposite side of the room to the one at which Bastien Dumont had joined his friends, two men were sitting. Of the other tables. most were oc- cupied by groups of twos and threes.
 From time to time glances of curiosity were directed at the two men. For one thing, they were not habitues of the place, and 1t was seldom that strangers came to the Cafe Turc. One of them, however, was known to several people there. He was Vincent Stornaway, a successful portrait painter, who had long ago aban- doned any pretense of a bohemian life. He exuded prosperity with his family picturesque clothes. his flowing tie, his golden-brown beard, pale cheeks, and clear, healthy skin.
 His companion was known to nobody, and various unflattering comments were passed on his ap- pearance. He was unprepossessing to . degree, his pallid face being fleshy and heavy -jawed. his eyes pale and small and sunk in puffy bags, his forehead low and square and livid against band of coarse. black hair. He had a big. hooked nose and thick neck. and there was sinister suggestion in the stfaight line of his lips, which were thin and peevish. and con- tradicted all the rest of his face.
 "A libertine with a bad tenn per-" murmured clever Tony Leigh, the cruelest caricaturist with the kindest heart. in the world.
 S"Good shot, Tony!" said another man. "I wonder who the chap can bel"
 As a matter of fact, Stornaway's companion was Bruce Gideon, fin ancier, whose portrait the artist was painting as present from an insurance company with which Gideon was associated. During the sittings Gideon had shown much interest in the life of artists, and the two men had become friendly to a certain extent.
 Gideon had asked Stornaway to dinner at his apartment on Park avenue, and had expressed a de- sire to see a real bit of the poor CT Greenwich Village. Sornaway had thought of the Cafe Turc, of his long past struggles, and had brought his host to what he had described as New York's nearest approach to the artist life of Paris.
 The rich man looked about him ~hile he smoked his fat cigar. From his little eyes no one would have known what he was thinking whether he despised these shab- by, long, haired. lean-faced youths, these queer looking women with their eyes full of visions or whether -Ehere stirred in him some vague envy of the ardent minds that can transcend hardship and want, and can work, suffer, and enjoy on the wings of great idea.
 TO the left of Vincent Stornaway and his companion was a young woman sitting at table all alone. As other men and women came in, nearly all of them greeted her, and some fingered moment by her side. A man now and then asked her to have some refresh ment; but nobody sat down at her table.
 She answered all greetings in the same way, without enthusiasm, as d matter of course. She accepted refreshment every now and then. From time to time she smiled beautiful smile. like that of child.
 Bruce Gideon turned with an interrogation to Stornaway, who. as 1t happened, could enlighten him.
 "That girl has remarkable story" the artist said in low voice, turning toward his com panion so that his words should not carry. Do you think her beautiful?"
 "Not exactly" Gideon answered. s'Too coIorless."