Evening star., 1934-09-03
CHAPTER XXI.

would take care of him. Throughout
MS life he had made fun of the stuffy
teachings about prudence and hard
work and preparing for rainy days.
That might be all right for other
people, but he was not going to
worry. Life was too short: and be-
sides, nothing would happen to him.
He would always get what he wanted.
He always had, hadn't he9 And then
Norine had turned him down.
1t was not his fault. He blamed
her entirely. Stanley felt i'll treated
and his resentment rose higher when
Mr. Webb intimated that he did not
care to have Stanley at the house
any more, since he had left there
after an informal dancing party too
intoxicated to drive his own car.
Why the whole crowd would laugh at
him and say he could not hold his
liquor. Well. If they felt like laugh
ing at him, he would not stay around
to hear it. He began to prowl around
town alone.
One day he chanced TO meet Mrs.
Mcintyre, and she was so delighted
to see him and the old specimens who
composed her group of intimates were
so impressed with him that Stanley
found his ego expanding very pleas
antly. He had paid court to Mrs.
Mcintyre until he had induced her
to invest her money, then he had
promptly dropped her. Now he felt
he had been snob to make fun of
her and her friends. He basked in
the sunlight of approval.
Mrs. Mcintyre had playful way of
speaking of her beau" men
of about StanleyS age whose society
she sought. Soon Stanley became the
chief of them. He helped Tootsie
plan marvellous parties, and she called
him on the telephone every day to
consult him on something or other.
Once. when he had lost at bridge,
she followed him out into the hall as
he was leaving and said, II have a
little present for you" The little
present was a fifty dollar bill. He felt
a little awkward about that, but she
told him she knew young men had
large expenses, and as for her, she
had lots of money; money meant
nothing to her. why. not?" thought
Stanley. Why shouldn't he accept a
present from woman old enough to
be his mother.
You're a peach" he said, throwing
his arm around her shoulders. To
his surprise, she flung her arms
around him and lifted her face TO his.
Then kiss me-" she said, pressing
against him.
"I'll be darned," thought Stanley
but he could not insult the woman.
He kissed her. 1t was like kissing
raw prune, and Stanley resolved to
see to it that she kept her distance
In the future. He stayed away from
her for few days, but the next time
he came to her house she was so
grateful and had missed him so much
that Stanley thought she was really
rather an old dear, and he was quite
willing to pay for his dinner with
few compliments. Her bursts of girl
ish exuberance and her middle-aged
coyness got on his nerves at first, but
he always drank good deal when
he was with Tootsie and then he was
amused.
But he discovered that Tootsie was
not so careless of her money as she
had implied when she told him
money meant nothing to her. She
began to ask him awkward questions
about the money she had advanced
TO put him into Harringtons scheme
and which Stanley had promised her
would bring in 10 per cent.
why, sure" said Harrington sooth-
tngly. 1T can't fail AS soon as we
get the capital We got years lease
on the place we wanted, had it re-
decorated, are about to open any
time. You told the old girl it was
a high class tea room and restaurant
out in the country, didn't you?"
In the country? Will you get
enough trade out there?"
will we! You ought to see the
layout we've got. Like a millionaires
palace, and everything wide open. It
will draw the big money, but we won't
keep out the little suckers. Every
thing from craps to roulette, and we
are stocked up with the best stuff
from Canada. Washburn looks out
for that end. 1t will go big"
But say" said Stanley, struck by
sudden idea, isn't that against the
law?"
Don't make me laugh. All that
money didn't go for furnishings"
grinned Harrington.
Appealed to thus as a man of the
world, Stanley slapped him on the
back and said admiringly, You know
what you are doing, I guess"
But his uneasiness was not quite
stif1ed, and he asked hesitantly, IF
anything did slip up, what about Mrs.
Mc1ntyre's money? I got her into
this, you know"
When she stands a chance to
make 10 or even 20 per cent, she's
got to take some risk You told her
1t was a speculation, of course?"
Stanley squirmed. Like many young
statesmen, ne had let his enthusiasm
for making the sale drive him to too
rosy promises. We'll, I didn't tell
her exactly what it was. Just high
class restaurant, and I told her we
were practically sure to make 20 per
cent. She must have understood. all
right, from that. You know, we sort
of left the other part unexpressed.
But she is wise, I'm sure
We'll, everything is going great.
We will have the big opening and
you can bring her out. She will get
q kick out of that"
So Stanley had told Tootsie that
everything was coming along beauti-
fully, and it couldn't fail to be a big
success. She asked very few ques-
tions, from which Stanley argued
that she shrewdly suspected they were
going afoul of the law, and that she
woman-like, preferred to seem igno-
rant until the knowledge was forced
upon her. He brought Harrington to
see her one day, and Harrington S
flattery, which was so gross tha>
Stanley thought even Tootsie must
suspect he was kidding her, was
swallowed whole.
Didn't she lap it up?" he said to
Stanley after they had left. why,
boy. If anything does go wrong, which
1t won't with the kind of protection
I've got, you have only to hand Mrs
M. plenty of soft soap and she won't
ever know it hit her. Don't be afraid
to make it strong. She goes for you