The Nome nugget., 1938-06-11
IN MISERY
 8 By GRACE McKINSTRY
copyright.-wNU Service.
: T WAS strange that so sensible a young man as Arnold McIn-
 tyre should often weave whole

veloped into the most dangerous gossip of Blandon, but being a sturdy, industrious young man with frugal Scotch father, he simply dubbed his peculiar imagination nose for news" and earned real money as reporter on the Blandon Banner. Several times the Banner came just to the edge of libel suit, but that is neither here nor there. It is not of Arnold Mcln- tyres work that you are going to hear, but of his vacation.
 He had decided to give up his job on the Banner. In the back Of his mind was the hope that he could write plays. novels, poems. and be free from a regular routine.
 In the back of his fathers mind was the hope that Arnold would be willing to go into the shoe business with him.
 Why the young man should want to visit New Orleans before settling down to work again was a mystery to the elder Mcintyre. He didn't know that it had long been Arnold's dream.
 If you had seen Arnold Mcintyre strolling for the first time through that fascinating French part Of New Orleans. the "Vieux Carre," and watched him reading signs, notices, menus at every quaintly foreign res taurant along the way, you would have decided readily enough that he was not so much after food as at mosphere, not so interested in the useful as the unusual. At last he stopped. "A Dining Room of Taste,' proclaimed a large sign of white cloth stretched across beautiful balcony of "iron lace" which pro- iected from majestic, one-time Creole mansion now become busi- ness building, Below these words came the reassuring statement, "Our specialities are served in all ways respectable.
 Strange that responsibility should strike me as being pictur- esque," thought Arnold. Tn this instance it does" And he went in
 The dining room of taste" was crowded. Arnold found vacant scat at table which held six. He smiled with satisfaction, for none of the people around him were unln- teresting. Just across were three who particularly held his attention. or, more precisely, one of them did. The other two were interesting be- cause of being in the group, a young man and his sister from San An tonic were explaining something about the extent of that most spa cious state they hailed from to a lovely young French girl who sat beside them. A stranger, evident ly-this French girl-to them, to New Orleans, to America; and hav- ing once seen this dark-eyed, grace full, vivacious beauty, Arnold forgot rosy-cheeked Alice Stuard and ath- letic Mabel Gunther and all the Blandon young ladies who ever came into his fathers shoe store or the Banner office!
 After the Texans had given in- formation, statistics, eulogies of their homeland, they began to ask questions of the beautiful stranger. Had she ever been to America be- fore? Had she just come? Did she land at New Orleans, and was Lou isiana the only state she had been in? How and where had she learned to speak such fluent English?
 How Arnold longed to hear her answers. But just then the waiter who had taken his order crossed "the dining room of taste" bring ing several of the "specialities" to serve Fin all ways respectable"
 The waiter began apologizing be- cause the chef had been slow, and during these profuse apologies. Ar mold missed hearing the French girls answers which would have meant more to him than all the court bouillon and jambalaya in New Orleans!
 Alas, the young lady was already slipping her dripped coffee; there was little chance that Arnold would hear anything more. She would go out of his life in a few minutes, while he would be vulgarly eating the array of respectable special ities," which under other circum- stances, would have seemed most enticing. Just one phrase had he caught of all she had said to the Texans, but it was a significant phrase, after all.
 T have been in misery"
 The Texans at first had registered sympathy, but in few moments, after low-voiced question or two, they had looked cheerful again. c'How can they?" protested Ar holds inner self) And soon the last sip of cafe noir was taken, and the Texans and the unknown French girl had left the table.