Nogales international., 1935-06-08

Dick was standing before = huge
canvas, with his paint-marked SHIRT
carelessly open at the throat, and ms
hair rumpled, and his eyes intent upon
some detail OF his picture.
She went behind the screen -
Dicks studio. And got out OF her
blue crepe dress Cher wedding dress ,
and put on the white buckskin suit and
the coral and turquoise beads. And
like little girl---only one dressed up
to play pretend-she emerged from
behind the screen. and took her place
in kneeling attitude, with her two
pink palms cupped together in front If
her, and her face raised to the smoky
blur of the studio ceiling. She was
All Indian priesteSs, you see A very
young one--suitable to belong in any
school.
Dick made no comment He painted
with bold, sure. brisk strokes.
4
1t was four-thirty. Ellen, counting
the strokes of the clock that sounded
from the Metropolitan Tower, not So
far away, wondered if Dick were al
most through with painting. Dick was
painting absorbedly She knew that
She couldn't break into his absorption,
no matter what came of it. The
years with her mother had taught her
not to interrupt creation unless some
desperation drove her to it. How
ever, she asked herself, wasn't mar
riage a desperate matter? Wasn't it,
in the final analysis? She began to
count her h-artbeats-each heartbeat
was a second, wasn't it: She coun-
ted for long while, -.
The clock chimed again in the
Tower. 1t was four fortyhve.
Almost done?" she ventured nerv-
ously. But Dick didn't answer, which
meant that he wasn't.
There was shuttle of feet on the
stairs. Ellen started, her nervous
ness growing, before she realized that
the shuttle was too light to be made
by Tony's feet. 1t must be girl
who was coming.
1t was a girl. 1t was Claire, per-
fectly groomed from her slippers of
suede to her soft straw beret.
II didn't expect to see you here"
she said, "dtter s0hat | heard! l
thought for once that | might get
break and find Dick by himself
Ellen hadn't heard the last part of
the other girls speech. Her whole
being stood forward, on tiptoe, to
catch the first part of it.
"What haze yon heard" she asked,
in breathless little voice.
From the tone Of her." she said,
you'd think our eve lamb had some
thing on the old conscience, whatr
Never can tell, can one Dicky? How
ever" perhaps she sensed the hys-
terra back of Ellen's blazing eyes,
however, it was this! | heard that
Sandy was out cunning for you.
That he was abandoned, absolutely
abandoned by you, at the Six Arts
last evening. That you blew, Just
before dawn, with handsomer
man. How's that for scandal, DIck'
How's that
Dick was scraping the paint from
his palette. He held his palette kn'ie
very much as though it were dagger
ELLEN told me all about it" he
said briefly
The clock struck hve-the clock in
the Tower. And Ellen, who tor
moment had forgotten, whirled around
ON one slender moccasined heel;
"Oh, | must run" she said. !
really must, Dick. I've a date ioF
five. must"
Claire hitched her skirts the merest
fraction of an inch lower. u sup
pose," she said, that the red Rolls.
at the curb, is waiting tor you:
Ellen was staring toward the screen
but she stopped short at Claire,
words. Stopped for blank second
as Cinderella must have stopped when
all OF her lQvelneSs was turning back
to rags.
Its not down there already? she
asked. "Why, said"
Claire was laughing Her laughter
blew, like thistledown, against the
sound OF feet--thc sound OF feet, once
more, climbing the stairs.
Again Ellen's heart stood still. FOR
this time the tread was uumis takably
| masculine. Again she, herself, stood
still. with her eyes Oh the door.
Knowing, even as she waited, that the
anxious eyes OF Dick, the scorniul
eyes of Claire, were upon her.
And then the door opened and Ell
len, with relief bubbling up to her lips,
found that she was laughing.
Only she shouldn't have laughed,
reaIy-not at Sandy For Sandy's
face was as lugubriouS as it was
angry
here" he told Ellen. Say, you're a
peach, you are! hunted all over
the whole hotel for you"
Ellen didn't say anything. She
merely stood, in her white buckskin
suit, and rocked back and forth with
the storm OF her nirth. Only it
wasn't just good clean fun. that
mirth-it was something of a mental
upheaval.
I'D like to know how you got like
that, all OF sudden. Going SO loose,
| mean. After ALL I've been pretty
regular" Stormed Sandy. mo, Dick,
Pm darncd if I'll can tilt hasn't
always been the easiest thing in the
world, letting you get away with MUIR
der, just because you're supposed to
be wide-eyed innocent. And then
you treat me like a Sap!"
Suddenly Dick had laid aside the