Evening star., 1937-10-22
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@Z PHILIP WYuE ALL
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ILLUSTRATED By 1
RE SCHABEZ/7Z VI
Bu PHILIP WIlIE

luncheon at the Ritz-PlaZa. Margit |
laughed at the right places 1t was
hard to. He was so eager. So pleased |
with himself. So amused. When he |
finished, he was choking with laugh
ter. He just couldn't hit me. He
asked me to sit down and have some
chicken a la king-or something"
What consummate skill, she |
thought! "But-the black eye?"
I'm coming to that. This morning
I was fooling around in my trailer
painting and impatiently waiting for
1t to be time to start for my lunch
date and YOU Mr. Beaver hove over
the threshold. He looked purposeful.
He said, I've been looking for you,
Jones. On guard! I stood there-like
a dummy-with my hands full of
paint brushes. I must admit that
when Waldo gets fire under his boil
ers he is a good sport. He said, Put
down those brushes, just the way you
say, Take off those glasses! to a
man you want to poke. But I was
so surprised and so busy thinking
about you that I didn't recall in
stantly my coaching of the other day.
The next thing I knew, he hung one
on me. Isn't that swell? Knocked
me flatter than a fallen arch!"
1T seems rather brutal to me-"
Brutal? Sure! Brutal as the deuce
That's the whole point! Waldo will
never be the same man again! He
stood over me and asked me if
wanted any more where that came
from. I can't imagine how Waldo
ever harbored so vulgar an express
sion in his subconscious. But he
knew it. I considered getting up
and letting him think he had ac-
tually wiped up the studio with me
by staging a fake fght-alone. You
know what he said when he went
out?" Charlie giggled, ecstatically.
He said, Let that be a lesson to
you. Jones. And from now on-please
don't molest Irene again."
Charles gayety-his abnormal nat
uralness-were getting under her skin.
He acted as if he knew that the trap
were set-as if he had way out.
She was beginning to believe that he
might very well escape-no matter
what precautions had been taken.
She tried to analyze his character.
Vanity. It was all superb, supreme,
incredible sort of vanity.
She couldn't bear it.
She had some pride of her own.
She decided that, before he was
carried away she would show him the
difference between insane conceit-
and pride She would use the weapon
she had forged-after all
Charlie" she said.
He realized instantly that she was
not sharing his mood Of hilarity.
'Margit. WHAT"
DO you know you're fool?"
Fool? Eight kinds! I'm the great
est fool on earth-and the luckiest"
DO you know you're conceited?"
He was serious. now. Sympathetic
He understood that something had
gone wrong. Whats the matter,
Margit?" he asked, quietly
She let him have the full stroke
IL ever ClltCI yOul llcdu tlld
I was pretending to be fond Of you
only to make you look so cheap in
Irene's opinion that she'd come to
her senses?"
His face slowly turned sad. He
looked into her eyes and saw that
they we're cold and unyielding. He
bit his lip. She thought. for an in
s.-rx LII
own eyes-but he turned his head
away for moment so that she could
not see-and when he turned back
he was smiling gently.
No" he said. 1T never occurred
to me-"
"Weil-that's the truth"
"You were-making a sucker out
of me?"
She nodded. Her insides were
icicleS ct uasr