The Coolidge examiner., 1932-11-11
Rogers Press
Agent
By MARK HEALEY

ing Mrs. Shaw greeted him with a
beaming smile and Mr.. Shaw, whom
he had met only once before, had
greeted him like an old friend.
After that Shaw and he had gone
arm in arm into the drawing room
while Mrs. Shaw had presented him
to the other guests.
81 do want you to meet Mr..
True" she would say to one of the
older women, Roger True, you
know. It's a great treat to have
him with u.s." Or to another
guest, Molly, dear, this is our
friend Roger True. You and he
must have chat together" and
then Mr. Shaw again taking his
arm led him into the study TO two
of the older men. "ThiS is Roger
True" he told them. He's doing
great things at the Durand plant
put over that new dehydrated proc
ess."
Naturally Mrs. Shaw didn't pre-
sent him to Stella Howe because it
was Stella who had introduced him
to the Shaws just ten days ago at
the Country club. Stella, talking to
one of the younger men when
Roger came in, had merely smiled
and said Hello, Roger" as Mr..
Shaw led him to the library.
That half-hearted sort of greet
ing from Stella had been a little
discOncerting and as Roger talked
easily with the men in the library
he had ii in mind that later he
must have a talk with Stella. He
| had expected to sit beside her at
dinner but fifteen minutes later he
found himself seated as guest of
honor at Mrs. Shaw's right, with
a charming, golden-haired blond
on the other side.
Mr.. Shaw insisted on driving
Roger back to his hotel, an ar
rangement that made it impossible
for him to go home with Stella,
and Roger felt not only a sense of
disappointment but something of
self-reproach as well because he
had no time to talk to her.
I'm sorry l didn't have a chance
n talk to you," he told her when
| they chanced to meet in the nall.
Maybe l can see you tomorrow
evening""
Maybe" said Stella rather
vaguely.
Roger sat thinking things over
in his hotel room after the party
trying to account for his amazing
success as compared with the sense
of complete failure that he usually
experienced. The odd thing had
been that of all the guests he had
met. Stella and the Shaws were
the OILY ones he had known be
fore, and the Shaws he had met
but once before. They treated me
as If / were somebody important.
That's why | didn't feel shy"
The next day Roger was too alb
sorbed with conferences and con
sultations at the plant to worry
much about the situation, but that
night when he went to call on Stel
| la his embarrassment amounted al
most to humiliation. And as he
met her in the stately old-fashiOned
drawing room of her fathers house
he felt all the old-time awkward
ness returning.
I'm afraid / made fool of my
self last night" Roger told her.
I'm sorry for your sake."'
Fool of yourself?" said Stella.
You were gorgeous. Mrs. Shaw
has telephoned me twice to tell
you how wonderful you are and
two of the other people have called
up to find out how much longer
you'll be here in the East. They're
planning to have more parties. Mr..
Mason told Mrs. Mason you were
the most brilliant young man he'd
ever met. They want you for din.
| ner SATURDAY.
But how did they" Roger be
gan, and then stopped. as his eyes
met Stellas. what made them
think was somebody? l felt like
the worst cheat in the world. AS
matter of fact, I've nothing to
! offer"
Don't you ever say that again,
Roger True" Stella said. You
know what you've done for Du-
rands' know, because you've
told me and because my brother
told me when he wrote that you
were coming on"
'If ! have done little something
how do they knOw?"
Because told them. told the
Shaws that you were one of the
cleverest men | knew. told them
you were a conner. | told them
that some day you'd be famous.
told them because ] knew that If
they didn't know it to start with
they'd ignore you and that when
people ignore you, you act like a
COOP. ] knew that what you need
is a press agent"
But, Stella, you had no right"
/ L