Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1935-08-03


He drove It Ike the devil but he dr0y'
Il brilliantly. BIS driving scared al
pretty, blonde. nervy mother 70 death
It merely exhilarated his young col1six
from Oxford. Clark Syrett. His mas
terly recklesgneSs also left unmUFef
the fourth member Of the party, 4
! young British Fascist. His name VI,
George Brown. and he was the Joke q
the tour with his terrified. flamboyant
disguised militarism.
The strangely assorted little company
ate, Travelled. walked, talked and adj
mired together, and not one single SOU
guessed that Flip Russell, THAI slick
/ debonair little black and white fashion
artist, was consumed, ravaged and
nearly diStrRught with love for Wynne
Syrett, whose father was IN g mnd-
house and whose grandfather had oted
insane. She had pushed herself des-
perately into the party at the last
moment, knowing Wynne had pFoInis-
ed his car and his services as chauffeur
and couldn't back out.
What she never guessed was that he
loved her as madfy and as consumingiy
as she loved him; and that 70 have her
there at all was an extreme refinement
Of torture, q daily and q nightly agony
She stimulated and excited ana
thrilled him. He had become q great
dramatist, and to talk to her even
was an inspiration. He adored and
worshipped her. Yearned for her mem
tally, ached for her physically. Moth
ing Of this got through. He was curt,
boorish, intOlerant, impatient and
never, never unalive TO her, never for
an instant when he was In her COM
pany anything but passionately aware
Of everything she did or said.
He could not marry her He would
have nothing in the world to do with
her, or any other woman. he had
vowed himself to unconditional celibacy
the day he learned his family history.
OF this, Lefty Broad, denying her
self and reducing, and finding strange
happiness and new health in the pro-
cess, guessed nothing; nor did Elsie
and Percy Lord, absorbed in dis
harmony.
The young men Of the party saw and
heard little but the national evidences
of their opposed political faiths in the
countries they passed through. They
were occupied solely In pointing them
out to each other, bitterly and acldly.
The next sleep talking episode took
place in Venice. The ancient glories Of
Venice are washed by time to thin, !
diScolored veil more tantalizing and /
intoxicating to modern man than their ]
original exotic brillance.
Flip was tortured and crucified hour
" by It and her passionate attachment 1
to Wynne. 1t was a grand terror to
walk quietly and silently beside him
and say in her own mind all the heart
sudden, intimate and breath
taking things she ached to say to him;
but it exhausted and consumed her.
one exquisite night, lying wakeful
IN their hotel bedroom next door to
Flip, Elsie Lord heard her say loudly
and fiercely:
i'What fools we all arel Watching
life being eaten away. Only Lefty was
happy, and look at the dayl Percy and
Elsie vile to each other. Vilel Vile
N day and holiday like thisl Only
at Lefty Broad happyl All the rest
# gus miserable as sick monkeys and
as hell"
Something in Elsie Lord stirred warily
.t the loud. clear, dramatic voice. She
thought she had successfully chlcro
orned herself out Of all warm, vibrant
ceiling, but Flip's voice stirred her
thoroughly.
Poor old Percyl Your life has been
nucked up all right I'm sorry about
Wanda. She was the perfect gold {
Tiger. Percy, my dearl So lovely-and
UGH q swinel7
Elsie sat up IN Deo. UNLIKE Legty :
Iroad, she guessed that Flip Russell
Tas talking In her sleep. High keyed
Ugh strung Flip, clever as paint, witty. 7
rilliant, impatient. Every one knew :
ow that she was crazy about poor old
lynne. Poor old Wynne with his silly,
)vely mother, and those crazy ances-
DTS Of hers, that mad fatherI
Perhaps there1 be war; The J
strologers say 1871 Then we'll all
2 snuffed out by a bomb or something
Lefty, and Elsie, and Percy, Wynne 2
nd II Then it,n matter lot that /,
eve wasted and mucked up our little =
Il Of Hfel"
Elsie sat up in bed beside her sleep 4
q husband. It was as II God had u
He'd the world for her to think in. =
he thought 9 =
cinderella and my blue dress" said e
Iip's powerful voice. 20 Daddie, when :.
} we startl Ask that big lady to take 2
Z her hat, Nanniei I can't seel" and Z.
zen, Wanda, how could you'll To tell -
m those things in front of me! 1t 1,
as ugly and brutal Poor old Percyl e e
Oh said he was dull old man, a stick. -
Oh said he had as much sex appeal =,
ID manhood as an old eggshell! It :"
Is simply hideousl He knew you only
anted his cash-Underneath. You y,
ednt have rammed it home in that a.
thy, filthy wayl You've broken his =
n-respectl His wife win be able to ~
anything with him noWl You've :.
ID thousands out Of him, wasn't that
ough? Move up. Lefty, and make
ON. Look at Percy. He looks like
,frrad doc That LITTLE beast Wanda