Evening star., 1936-01-05

out what had happened at the Coun-
try Club dance; then she flung herself
in her mothers arms and implored
her: Please. please. Mamma, go
downstairs and tell him he can't
stay for dinner. Say we're having chops
and haven't enough for him, too"
why, darling. l couldn't do that
to anybody. much less Busterr' ST.
lently two tears slipped down Isa-
bellies cheeks. ''Darlingr Mrs. Cum
mings drew her closer into her arms,
Don't cry! 1t can't be that badI'
''Oh, but it isw Between her rack
ing sobs, Isabelle explained hopelessly,
you just don't know. Mamma!
You've forgotten about tonight"
Tonight. lamb?"
Exactly. You told me yourself I
could ask the crowd over. They said
they wanted to come BECAUSE" she
swallowed down a sob, because
Clifford Reed will be here. He's seeing
me for the first time since Christmas,
and Buster'll be herer Isabelle walled
on: Hell ramp and charge around
like he did Saturday, and nobody but
Buster'll have any fun. Clifford, none
of my friends, will understand why l
stand for a little boy running my
partiesi l can't keep on explaining
that Buster is kind of kid brother"
Isabelle lifted her head SO that she
could look at her mother. Buster
doesn't act like my kid brother. He's
indecent the way he acts. Mammal
Indecent? Rosalie asked feebly.
Hes vile. Imagine Buster trying
to act like he was Clark Gable or
John Barrymore or somebody -
rolling his eyes at me and lowering his
lids and breathing so his nose sort of
goes in and out like a horse - right
in the middle of the dance floor! And
dancing with me like he thought
he was a big powerful herman and
l was crazy about him."
rs that all he doesT Completely
baffied. Resale stared at her.
"All? Isn't that enough?
But, Isabelle" Resale Cummings
didn't want to aggavate this very
real suffering. though she couldn't
understand it. you aren't seventeen
yet and Busters fifteen. ! know he's
we'll. overpowering but -"
Mammal Isabelle cried with a
shocked severity. Mamma, do you
realize that am exactly one year
and three months and four days older
than that child?"
"Ohr' Rosalie tried to think of
something sympathetic to say. I'D
never looked at it that way"
Isabelle summed up the situation.
Busters going to ruin my life, that's
what he's going to do! In little while
nobody'n want to come to see me
ever because they'll all be bound to
think I'm actually Interested in that
awful little boy" She finished tragic
ally: so Ill be left sitting here at
home with nobody but Busterr'
Mrs. Cummings could see the ele-
ment of truth in this dire prediction.
Forcing herself to speak with more
confidence than she felt, she said
brightly: Il understand, and I'm
sorry / asked Buster to stay. But I
can't send him away now. Your father
and I'll work out some nice way of
getting rid of him in the future. if
you'll promise to be pleasant to him
just this oncer'
You'll never get rid of Buster in
any nice wayr' Isabelle sighed in COM
plete despair.
She didn't come downstairs until
dinner was announced. When Buster
spoke to her, she answered with a
remote and frightened courtesy. At
the dinner table Buster did most of
the talking. He was full of slang and
merry quips. Before the meal was
over, MIR. and Mrs. Cummings, ex-
hausted by this first encounter with
the new Buster, were in complete
sympathy with Isabelle. After dinner