Evening star., 1937-04-11


MIR. Edward McGivens reminded himself
that he was looking upon the very face OF
Dancer. Danger, he observed. had an undeni
able smudge of flour on the end Of its chin,
with a fascinating dimpe just above the
smudge. Danger also had twinkle in its eye
that belied its meek demeanor and promised
trouble - but, of course, he stayed
He went home about ten O'Clock, fed with
her food - she was an excellent cook --
warmed by her fire and, still more, by the
evening of conversation.
She had been entirely disarming upon
closer acquaintance. She couldn't remember
Just who had once introduced her to Tommy,
she said. But Tommy had spent an entire
hour raving about the high ceilings and lovely
fireplaces in that particular house. She d hap
pened to remember the place when she and
the girl she was living with parted and she
wanted to move. Remembering Tommy, she'd
come up to borrow his hatchet.
She d shak en- her head over Tommy's mar
riage, with apparent appreciation of the
tragedy it implied. Marriage, she had very
seriously agreed, had decided tendency to
restrict the individual ego.
But back in his own somewhat chilly
quarters, Mr.. McGivens wasn't deceived. He
wasn't exactly a hermit. He'd met quite
number of girls He'd learned that they all
had wedding rings and wifely domination of
a male quite firmly embedded in their minds,
and he believed that the sweetly domestic
ones were the worst of the lot.
He wasn't villain of melodrama. No girl,
on his account, had ever turned on the gas
or flung herself out of a window He didn't
intend that this one should. He'd have to be
mighty careful they didn't spend too many
pleasant evenings together.
Yet he ought to repay her hospitality
somehow. He decided that about the end of
next week or the following one, he d take her
to the theater and to supper.
He went to sleep with that solution firmly
fixed in his mind - where it remained all day
Sunday - and awoke on Monday with
great urge to see show that very night.
At noon, when he went out for lunch he
found himself standing at a ticket window,
buying not one ticket but two, for one OF the
popular successes Oh, WELL she probably
wouldn't be able to 60 on such short notice,
and, having asked her. his conscience might
give him some peace.
That afternoon he left the Office early and
came tearing home, quite certain that she
would have an engagement. She didn't have.
When he told her about the tickets, her face
lighted up like the face of a child at sight of
a Christmas tree. They went to the show.
Tuesday he stayed downtown and went
to boxing match with one of the fellows
and tiptoed cautiously across the floor, taking
care to make no unnecessary noise on his
way to bed
The moonlight came pouring into the apart
ment, revealing gaps that Tommy's moving
had left in the accoutrements, casting its
witchery over animate and inanimate things
alike
He remembered that he had promised Miss
Peggy Hastings to leave one of his favorite
books under her mailbox this morning. 1t was
quite as we'll he had forgotten it. Loaning
books was a risky business. You either lost
your books, or you had them returned. In
the latter case you naturally discussed them
at some length
He got up and turned on the light and
tried to read himself to sleep. He succeeded
in doing so just about daybreak. The next
evening he took the promised book down to
Miss Peggy Hastings.
foI1o %Lo