Evening star., 1934-12-16

~ ERTRUDE SMILEY gave Few
vicious squeezes on her atomizer
and dispelled some of her choice
n Christmas Night into the hot July
atmosphere. All around her bril-
liantly- -hennaed hair and into the
creases Of her fat, pudgy neck the perfume
waited itself with the promise Of loyal protec-
ton against the perspiration that would break
out on Gertrude when she started pulling the
plugs of the eight-trunk switchboard In the
stuffy little operators quarters of the Belden
Arms Hotel.
She shifted the perfume adoringly. 1t was
gift from old man Hall in 304, and every time
he used 1t, Gertrude thought how his hoity-toity
wife would rave If she knew her husband gave
the might girl" $50 bottles Of the precious
stuff. But then, she certainly had saved old
man Halls life many times. The old 1ool
simply would persist in telling girls he wasn't
married and in giving them his telephone num-
ber regardless of the consequences.
Gertrude was not burdened with clothes TO-
night. It was too hot Besides, no one ever
came back in the operators room unless 1t was
the clerk with messages Of one sort or another
about the various tenants. Mr.. and Mrs. Walker
would be in $40 tonight (as If 1t made any dhf-
ference; they never got any calls anyway and
q hundred other messages to tell this one and
that one 'in case any one called them
Gertrude thought that If she could get
through the lobby without having to go In front
of that one strong light near the managers
being detected. She appraised herself In the
full-length mirror Zone that Willard. the porter.
had swiped for her when old lady SwartZ hao
been locked out for non-payment Of rent and
the management had held her furniture).
q ERTRUDE chuckled little, Here was
~ one piece they hadn't held. 1t was best to
be on the good side of the porter. She had dis
covered that long ago. He had fllched Tor her
from various vacated apartments the few
lux,,ries that she now had in her little one-room
apartment on the second floor, with first
hand view of the alley
For instance the mahogany table whlcn now
belonged to Gertrude by virtue OF divorce IN
ao6 in spite of the fact that 1t had q Few
cigarette burns on it, looked very well at night
when the reading lamp with its fat. blue SILK
shade was turned on. Willard had even plckeo
I'D some books for her which were stacked In q
neat row across the back Of the table and
were held in place by a couple OF bronze owls.
Gertrude forgot for the moment that she was
looking in the mirror to find out whether OF
not you could through her dress Rem-
iniscently she drifted back to the old Gays
when she had looked at herself in full-lengtn
mirrors and had seen a gorgeously gowned,
slender woman smile back at her Swell clothes
she had had then. Ritzy. Tony.
Her days then had been taken up with the
races. long drives through the park in shin
ing limousine and walks with her white pooole
running along beside her, virtuous in his clean
illness and with huge pink or blue bow at his
neck.
Gertrude sighed longingly Those were the
days. No sharp-tongued second-rate tenant
yelling at you Just because they didn't get the
right number No impudent johnny insulting
you Just because he knew he could get away
with it.
Gertrude stepped back from the mirror d.
rectly on the tail of Ginger, her black and
white spotted dog. The dog yelped franticaLy.
With sight of disgust she thrust the ami
NAL into the bath room. shut the door upon
its bowling protests, emerged into the hallway
and put her $50 pounds into the waiting lift.
Gertrude never looked at any one when she
got into the lift, although occasionally she did
glance around. When she did so, 1t was good
thing that the occupants could not read her
mind. The high-class bootlegger in 401. She
knew whose apartments he frequented most.
Mr.. Donaldson, respectable vice president OF
the National Security Bank-well, at least re-
spectacle when his wife in town. Mrs.
Phillips. Her husband a travelling man.
When he was away there were frequent calls
for ice and ginger ale as late as o'clock in
the morning. One does not drink alone. Not
at 4 in the morning. Not Mrs. Phillips.
All this Gertrude knew, and much more that
would not bear telling.
THE telephone room was more Stuffy than
~ usual tonight. The electric fan that buzzed
6efantly against the sutry atmosphere failed
to give off anything excepting hot wind.
At the sight of Gertrude the day girl pulled
off her earphones without even waiting for
Gertrude to seat herself at the board so anx-
ious was she to escape into the outdoors.
irIHt until nNf cnt <IQryv, ~