Evening star., 1936-09-09
INSTALLMENT 1.

supposed to be celebrity. II TINS was
the reward of fame-lying around In
dinner clothes, drinking cocktails,
making risque remarks to ultra-so-
phisticated young women, koW-toWlng
to dowagers who were quite oo-
viously dead but not yet buried, watch
ing a lot of sapheads thump and bump
one another in a room too small for
dancing-why, then, to the devil with
fame! He could do without 1t.
He said as much to Mrs. Hume, his
hostess, without quite reproducing the
actual words that ran in his cynical
mind.
Aren't you the polite thing!" she
feproached him. But she was not
really annoyed. The lovely widow was
not pricisely fool, and there were
times when she wondered about that
sort of thing herself.
mot you, of course" said BLACK
wood, untruthfully and bit irrele-
vanity. Nor me-" he grinned. Just
the others, Ell? The living dead
'duppies,' I think they are called IN
Haiti. They don't know they're dead.
of course. That's the trouble. They
don't know anything"
The room was foggy with the thin
smoke Of cigarettes and noisy with the
strains of somebody's famous Or
chestra.
Mrs. Hume exposed her attractive
knees. You are in a pleasant frame
of mind, aren't you?" she said.
whats wrong, Riley, my love? Has
somebody failed to understand you?
She added: Percy Jones will be here
at midnight and then things will wake
up"
Midnight and Percy Jones'" smiled
Riley Blackwood. They are prac-
tically synonymous. It's sort OF stage
direction-Enter Percy on the last
stroke of the hour All over the city
parties await his coming. Nothing
really begins until midnight any more.
And all because Percy's broadcast du-
ties cease at 1880. BY Jove,' said
Mr.. Blackwood, reverently, there Is
fame for you!"
You're jealous. darling" said Mrs.
Hume. She glanced at her JeWeled
wrist watch. I'm point Of fact, 1t Is
almost 11:30 now. We must get him
on the radio. Everybody will ex-
pect it."
Including Percy" agreed Riley
Blackwood, stretching his long legs.
"All right, Janice, I'll make myself
useful" He rose from the brocaded
love seat in the alcove on which they
had been sitting and strode out among
the dancers, threading his way toward
the expensive instrument that occu-
pied q corner of the larger room.
The radio was blaring Little lump
of love, good night" and the dancers,
in close embrace, were whispering the
words into each others ears. A chair
was vacant Immediately beside the in
strument and Blackwood dropped into
it. He seized the button of the dial
and gave it a savage twist.
The strains Of the dance melody
vanished and succession OF raucous
sounds filled the chamber.
a.. twice day" said the radio;
sin the morning and Just before you
20 to bed"
The nearest dancers turned re-
proachful eyes upon him. Again he
twisted the miraculous button and
brought forth, in turn, conversation
in what was supposed to be German
dialect, the closing whisper of tenor
swoon song and crash Of artillery,
which in a moment resolved itself into
q barn dance with single screeching
fiddle and a strident announcer.
"Oh, for the love of Mike, Riley!"
protested a masculine voice near the
window. The other dancers waited
for him to be done with his horse
play. They waited coldly, with bitter
animadversion and advice.
Next week, East Lynne" said
Blackwood informatively, and contin-
ued his calisthenics with the dial On
the whole, he rather hoped he was
annoying everybody.
"Oh, he's trying to get Percy Jones" I"
cried Daisy Archer. Hurry, Mr..
Blackwood, or he'll be off the air!"
Fat chance" said Mr.. Blackwood.
He settled the indicator on the proper
figure and rose upright. MY friends"
he Knocked, "I have the honor to pre-
sent to you the worlds greatest living
radio announcer, in his incredible i'm
personation of himself. The next
voice you hear will be that of Percy
Jones. Don't push, girls"
The dancers were finding seats with
noisy alacrity. Then hush fell sud-
denly upon the room, into which al
ready a suave and patronizing voice
was beginning to insinuate itself. {.
". in all lovely and majestic
things. Poignantly to reveal the mean
ing and beauty, the joy and the
tragedy of human life, has been the
aim of all creative artists, in what
ever field they may have labored.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have
reached the end of another week, the
forty-second week of this series of
broadcasts by local artists. Tomor-
row being Sunday we shall take our
customary night off, to return to you
again on Monday evening at the usual
hour. Until then, au revoir and
happiness to you all. Your announcer
is Percy Jones. This is the wKKK
Air Theater, Tip Top Building, Chi
eago."
Another voice attempted to make
itself heard. but Blackwood neatly
nipped in the bud.
I'm half an hour" he observed, "the
party will officially begin. Radio, Miss
Archer, is a wonderful thing. I hold
q theory that sound Is never lost. I
mean, it goes on piling up somewhere
In q corner of space, as water runs
into q depression and collects there.
Imagine it! If we were to find it and
-er-kick it around a bit-what do
you suppose we'd hear?"
TEL me-" said Daisy Archer.
Chaos" said Riley Blackwocd SOL
emnly. fragments of Liszt and
Gershwin, amazing offers from the
bargain Easements, Amos and Andy
tangled in the Lithuanian hour-and
Percy Jones whispering 'au revoir and
happiness across the interstellar