The Washington times., 1935-11-18

his arm, slipped down until they
could feel the strong swift beat
OF his pulse. For a little while
she had been afraid. but now
she wasn't. She lifted his hand
and laid it against her mouth.
That night they went back to
New York.
1t was the second week in Feb
ruary. In Miami, President-elect
Roosevelt had been the target of
an aSSaSSin'S bullet and had writ
ten a letter of thanks and appre-
citation to the woman who had
saved his life. In New York, a
movie star, returning without her
husband from a European honey
moon, confided the secrets of mar
ital success to the newspaper boys.
All over the country, lumber mills
and factories were reSuming work
as a result of the jig-saw puzzle
craze which had become a nation
wide fad. On Fifth Avenue, lead
ing shops were advertising STU
pendouS reductions on all our fur
coats rather than put them in our
vaults" On Broadway, the Big
gest Store in the World was cele-
brating its Seventy-fifth birthday
with gigantic sales. Bright frocks
were being worn under dark coats
and Vogue decreed that if a wo-
man would be smart she must
be suited" Beer was promised
thirsty and clamoring nation
by the first of April and two of
the largest chain stores in the
country reduced prices on leading
brands of cigarettes to one dollar
and five cents a carton, Ann
Vickers had already sold better
than two hundred thousa
copies and Strike Me Pink"
opened in Newark to a record
breaking box office.
And Ann had been married to
Kipp for two months.
Which meant that life for them
had settled into a sort of routine.
Not, as Ann would have told you
seriously and emphatically, that
anything about their marriage in
that short length of time had be-
come dulled or even slightly
blurred. it hadn't. But the
days had begun to have a certain
order, as days lived one after an
other are bound to have.
Lily, a sister of Black Carrie,
who had come in afternoon for
Ann and Carlotta, came every
morning at 7:30. At 8, Ann had
finished with the bathroom and
Kipp was whistling noisily under
the shower. At 8:15, they were
having breakfast on a card-table
before the fireplace. At 8:45,
they had finished with their
grapefruit and toast and Shirred
eggs and were lingering over their
coffee and cigarettes. About this
time, AIMS eyes would begin sur
reptitiouSly to consult the time
and eventually she would drop
the last of her cigarette into her
empty coffee cup and dash into
the bedroom to return presently,
small red hat pulled down auda-
ciouSly over one smoke-gray eye,
mouth freshly tinted, softly scar
let, gray fur coat fastened snug1y
beneath her small, perfect chin.
She would stand for a moment
pulling on her gloves, giving last
minute instructions to Lily; then
she would look about frantically
for her shiny red leather hand
bag, dash back into the bedroom
for a handkerchief, and would
eventually find herself being held
very tightly in Kipp's arms.
They would regard each other
despairingly, eyes mutually dis
mayed at their imminent separa-
ton; then Kipp would kiss her,
at length and competently, release
her and push her reluctantly out
of the flat.
After she had gone and he had
successfully banished, Lily from
the living room he would settle
down to a day of writing. He had
begun his novel and was working
on it as he had never before in
his life worked at anything. With
any luck, he thought he should
have it finished by late summer,
which meant that by autumn he
should know what at least one
publisher thought about it. And
they had to think it was good
because, and here his mouth was
apt to set a bit grimly, he did not
at all like AIMS having to assume
any part Of their living expenses.
At the present moment she was
not only buying all her own
clothes but was also paying Lily's
wages and taking care of endless
other smaller expenses such as
flowers from the corner florist
shop, new curtains for the bed,
room, occasional theater tickets.
ITO Be COntinued)
Copyright. 1895, by Allsne coriiss.
Distributed by King Features
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