The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1936-12-11

Ann saw a tall, slim girl, long
limbed, and with a kind of gauche
gracefulneSS. Large eyes, express
sive, Of a dark blue, shone under
the fine browS and long curly
lashes that were typical of the
Delafield sisters. Her mouth was
a bright flower, untouched by
rouge as were her cheeks that
perhaps seemed a little thin, due
to the high Celtic pitching of her
cheek-bones.
my chin is my best point"
thought Ann. It was softly curved
and feminine, but it expressed
courage.
Couragei NerVel Those were
the things one needed most Of all
in 1896, in a world that had gone
haywire.
She smiled. She had lovely
teeth. Her tiptilted nose crinkled
a little when she smiled. She
lifted her chin, and thrust back
the natural waves of her light
brown haid that sprayed from the
widows peak on her beautiful
young forehead.
She would make good! She
must make goodI There could be
no two ways about it.
TrepidatiOn
Were her clothes right? The
navy-blue suit with the polka-dot
tie and cuffs, the tiny tilted
sailor, severely plain, the white
suede gauntlet gloves fresh from
the cleaners, dark blue Oxfords
and matching handbag, ct al?
II have nice feet and ankles,
anyway" thought Ann. And
nice hands," From now on. they
would be useful hands. Hands
and grey matter would work TO-
gether.
It was the last day Of Indian
summer. And half past ten in the
morning when Ann walked into
the great department store of Bar
clay & Weiss. Already there was
a big shopping crowd, for the
store was popular. Ann was
fortified by the letter of introduc-
ton she carried from Mr.. Thomas
F. Barclay, the elder of the mil
uonaire partner-ownerS The mer-
chandise man was the person to
whom to present it. He was some
sort of a cousin to Mr.. Barclays,
she had heard. y Blue-blooded, but
self-made, financially speaking.
Not very easy to get along with,
someone had told her. A fiend
for work. Mistrusting society
women of his own background
smitten with a yen for making
money. "de might" thought Ann,
"be a tough nut to crack
To the left of the big revolving
glass doors of the main entrance
was the lingerie department, full
of enhancing frail furbelows in
pastel tints. Beyond it, further
down the aisle, was the silk-by-
the-yard counter, with stands cas-
cading rainbow hues OF tat1etaS
and crepeS.
Now silk was AIMS pet weak
ness. She stopped for a minute
lingering the fabrics.
Stuff that dreams were made
Of! A woman's dreams to please
n real or imaginary lover!
Suddenly she was conscious OF
an argument nearby-between q
complaining customer and wor-
ried salesgirl over several yards OF
peach-colored silk-crepe which the
customer had evidently just
bought and now wished to return.
''It won't wash, I tell you! Now
that I've felt it, it's just like some
good-looking stuff bought up
town and when started to press
it the iron went right through 1t,
like paper! You can just take it
right back, Miss"
CHAPTER w
Ann stepped forward, smiling.
''Iet me have look at it."
Directly behind her, though she
did not know it, was a tall, good
looking man in striped trousers
and immaculate morning coat. He
heard Ann say to the customer,
after examining the goods: par
don me, but you're mistaken in
comparing this to the rayon that
you bought uptown. A very warm
iron will certainly go through
rayon, but this silk is of excellent
quality. The kind of silk that
isn't washable is the type that is
heavily weighted and not a pure
dye. but this kind launders beau
tifully." To the Salesgirl she
added, confidently: I know, be-
cause I've studied silk quite a bit"
Her air of assurance, her def
niteneSs, plus her appearance Of
the upper strata" had its effect.
Turning brightly to the customer,
she told her: This is equivalent
to the first-class lingerie silk
crepeS from the textile mills in
Lyons, France. I spent week
there once with a school chum
when I was studying in Paris. Her
fathers one of the most important
silk manufacturers in the world.
He took me round his mills and