Worcester Democrat and the ledger-enterprise., 1938-12-23
CHAPTER Is

the hand tnat cuppeU Cne hShCeU
match he offered her. She had WOW
en- dreams about those hands of his
that looked as though they could be
very gentle, though strongly moulded.
And from them, surreptitiously, she
glanced at the clean-cut face that had
strength in every line of it. A face
that one could trust, dear heaven! A
face that one could love, illimitably!
And the impulse came to Ann to
blow out that lighted match, to do
what she had dreamed of doing this
past age. To take that beautifully
sculptured head in her two hands and
draw it to her bosom, running her
fingers through the thick, flatly brush
ed mass of his hair, so that it might
rumple into little-boy curls as she
had once seen it in the stockroom
when he had lent a hand to a tired
employee who was struggling with
the heavy bales of silk that had come
IN from the Orient.
So keen was this primitive impulse
fought down at once, of course
that Ann, her cigarette lighted, took
It from her lips and drew long, deep
breath, like a swimmer coming up for
air.
"Tired?"
"Not at all. I'd a splendid even
ing. Did you enjoy it, Mr.. Bradley"
Did her voice sound natural? He
must not guess the tumult going on
inside of her! 1t was wonderful-but
somehow humiliating that he had the
power to move her, stir her, when he
had not yet spoken single word OF
love to her.
"I certainly did enjoy it. 1t made
me feel-how shall 1 express it?-I
young again." He smiled.
Watcing him from the shadows
the moon obscured under a passing
cloud-the flash of his white, even
teeth and regular profile drawing her
irresistibly, she struggled for COM
posure, was furious with herself for
her lack of savoir-faire.
"But you are young! It's just hav-
ing such an important position in the
store that makes you feel-well-re-
sponsible. Isn't that so 2" (How fool
ish it soundedD
"I'm a good ten years older than
YOU, my dear. And a decade makes
an awful lot of difference!"
"Why, you're not limiting that we're
ike May and November" slipped
from Ann. Immediately she thought:
~Didn't l once hear him telling buy
er that the greatest fault of women
was that they always take the per-
sonal angle? Turn every generality
to themselves? That it was a mad
dening failing?" And she felt asham-
ed, awaiting his reply.
He opened his mouth as though to
speak, and then blew ring of smoke
into the air. The taxi swung into
Central Park south, and to the left of
them, radiant in the moonlight, the
Japanese Lake lay dreaming. Through
the leafless trees, the myriad lights
of great skyscrapers.
"May and November" he repeated
idly. And then he gave curiously
wry sort of grin. "While we're on
this subject, what about O'Hallohan?
Didn't you give him good deal of-er
encouragement this EVENING""
"Mr. O'Hallahan," said Ann quick
ly, "is merely a business acqquaint-
ance. Please understand that. He
wandered alone into the night club,
and seeing me wall-flower-a tenn
porary wallflower-came over and ask
ed me to dance the bolero. love the
bolero. He really danced beautifully.
D'you think" she added anxiously,
"that in view of our business connec-
ton, should have refused to dance 2"
ooh, not at all. There's no reason
why you shouldn't, but you must ad-
nit you did permit him to monopolize
a good deal of your time?"
Was he jealous? Paul Bradley
jealous of the attractive silk manu-
facturer? Or was it that she really
had transgressed store ethics, lay
ing herself open to legitimate criti-
cism from "the boss"?
Forgetting that Paul Bradley had
seen what was apparently her home
address or telephone number being
committed to his little black book by
Tim O'Hallahan, she blundered in her
anxiety: 81 wouldn't dream of going
out places with him, you understand"
"That's a wise course to take, for
] don't have to tell you q store is a