The Washington times., 1936-11-30

Trust me, my dear, dear-Jan
until then"
Trust him! Tears poured down
her face, her whole body was
shaken as she read the letter. But
trust him! AS If she could help
trusting him? It would be as easy
to stop trusting that the sun would
rise again!
SO she trusted, and waited, and
Evelyn took in the Wristbands OF
her skirts for her, and said: "Gra-
cious! If you don't put on a little
weight pretty soon you'll blow
away"
You're working too hard on
that job. They won't appreciate il" J."
Dorathea said, but Jan just
laughed.
She liked working hard. And,
besides, what would they do with
out her pay?
Things were getting worse and
worse with the Lyons, downstairs.
They were borrowing" almost
everything they ate. Every day it
was a half pound Of butter, or a
few eggs, or a can of soup, or a
loaf of bread.
From dowdy, made-over elegance
to makeShifts, to genteel Shabbi'
ness, they progressed with sicken-
ing speed. Hard-faced, heavy
footed men in striped suits and
collars that were too big for them
rang Evelyn's doorbell to ask If
she knew anything about Mrs.
Lyons. who seemed to be out.
collectors" Evelyn whispered
to Dorathea, and they looked at
each other with half smiles, not
knowing whether to laugh or cry.
why doesn't Uncle Ellery get
a job! The idea of him fiddling
away his time on that silly book"
"Why don't those two big,
healthy girls get jobs?" Evelyn de-
manded.
Maybe they've tried. I certain.
ly have, and I can't get anything! !"
"You don't get up early enough,
and neither do ley" Evelyn said.
"But, anyway. eter will have to
help them. They can't starve and
I can't go on feeding them for
ever!"
But Peter wouldn't help them.
He said he was helping them $45
a month already, since they'd
never paid a dollars rent.
Every time David dropped IN to
see Evelyn, Ellery got wind OF 1t
and came pussyfooting upstairs. 1t
was q foregoing conclusion that
he'd get David in corner and
borrow something. Don't let him
have it. It's just throwing your
money in a bottomless hole" "
Evelyn said.
But what could David do?
"Just the same, I wish you
would not let him have it," she re-
peated. "He may as well try to
get on the SERA or something. I'd
as soon have that in the family as
see them slowly starve to death
and be bounded by collectors. And
Ellery, starting out every morning,
with those spatS and that cane,
and that old suit that's about
ready to fall off of him, is just
more than I can stand. Some
things got to be done pretty son! -
And then, when things couldn't
get any worse, something hap
pened.
Ellery, in a new British-looking
tweed, with Edith at his heels in a
discreet new blue and white print,
came upstairs one evening just MS
Dorathea and Jan were clearing
the dinner things away.
II wonder if you could do me
a favor, Evelyn, my dear. I'm OBJ
liged to leave for Rickmond-er-
Richmond, Virginia-at once, and
Edith is going to accompany me.
With the girls. you know, the
girls"
Nobody could think of anything
to say. They just stared.
How are you going, airplane?"
Bennie managed at last. He meant
1t as a wisecrack.
"Yes, that's the idea" Ellery
said, "and rather than waSte-er,
valuable time-we're not going to
the trouble to really close the
house. Just pack what we can,
and in a plane, you know, the lug
gage question is limited. So If I
could impose upon you, Evelyn, to
-er. dispose of the furniture and
household goods-keeping the pro
ceeds whatever they migth be, of
course"
But what-what happened?"
Edith said, "Ellery's Uncle HUI
bert. He's Just died. Ellery's the