Evening star., 1933-07-16

sizzled Mike was prattling about his play. He
had suddenly got hot on the idea. He had the
first two acts all doped out. The third still
stumped him. He had taken that famous play
writing course at Harvard and he wanted to
become famous playwright. but third acts
always stumped him He had been hammering
away on his typewriter until the very last
minute
Hah! Typewriter. he should have said.
He prattled on making excited gestures with
his big brown paws Never an apology. Never
excuse Just if he hadn't ruined her
day. He took it for granted that she was de-
lighted to ruin pair of stockings, hat,
dress, her knees, tomorrovs tennis. her nose,
her disposition and Mrs. Du Quesnes opinion
of her, to play the game of Let's Catch the
Train with him
CHE recalled other times, loads Of them, when
y he had barely been on time. Men like
him expected the world to stop for them. Here
come! Wait. world"
He fondled his mustache Patricia dying
to say, "As far as I'm concerned, you're just
another man with mustache." She wanted to
see it sink in. Would that set him back few?
But the chance didn't come He was brandish-
ing his fists now. working himself up to the
dramatic pitch Of his second-act curtain.
And Patricia suddenly became conscious that
he sitting beside her. 1t reached her like
some powerful galvansm. 1t reached out and
squelched her. 1t made her limp. Oh. what a
little nitwit she was! Oh, what little sap
she was! His shoulder was lightly touching
hers. BY sagging little, she could make the
contact less light So she was Sagglng a
little.
Patrica's sister met them at the station in
the station wagon. Nora had never met Mike.
Nora had insisted on the new mans being
brought out for looking over. She seemed
to like his shoulders a lot, because her eyes
hestated on them fraction of a second. having
dismissed his face DIS just face-just another
face with mustache trying hard to get along.
But what did Nora really think Of him?
Nora was no sentimentalist. She was hard,
crisp, and direct a Dempsey punch.
Patricia observed, as they jounced along the
rocky back-country road, that Nora and Mike
were sparrng, as if each wary. But when
Mike saw the house in its wonderful setting, he
was rapturous with honest enthusiasm. He
let himself 60.
He seized Patrcia's arm and exclaimed: This
is grand! Boy! Isn't this wonderful, kid?
Smell the flowers! Smell the new-mown kline.
When my play clicks I'm going to have place
just like it,.
He made an immediate hit with Bill. Bill
was the bro-in-law Before they were in the
house. Bill said How about little drink?"
Are we pygmies?" Mike drolly replied
1t looked, from where Patricia Stood like the
beginning of Websterian friendship. Bill was
always having passionate enthusiasts for peo-
pie and things, lasting about minute. 1t was,
Patricia foresaw, going to be wonderful
She went to her room. Her cheeks still
burned. Her knees throbbed. She didn't dare
look at herself in a mirror until she'd taken
most of her clothes off. Her knees were black
and blue and red and raw and swollen and
stiff and SORE She considered her image, clad
in brassiere and panties, and nloaned. She tried
not to notice her knees, because they looked
like horses knees. She tried to nothing
but the slim, white loveliness of which she was
so proud. And she intended to waste all this
allure on that creature. She was going to cast