Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1938-04-07


i cleaning lights and windows
bright with scarlet and green
decorations. Rosy-cheeked crowds
surged in and out of stores, good
natured, arms piled high with bum
dies, young bright eyes laughing,
gay as the sprigs of holly on coat
lapel and hat, old dim eyes laugh
ing too, hard eyes softened, the
whole world gay for once, for the
spirit of Yule had invaded and
seized Fifth avenue. Only Sally,
trudging with empty arms and
empty heart, felt the gayety beating
up in waves about her like a mock
cry and sneer.
For there was no friend nor heart
fire for Sally; there were but two
pennies jingling against each other
in her shabby purse, there was the
pain of hunger in her SLENDER
young body and the pain of longing
in her heart, longing for Eddy, gay
good looking young Eddy whose
bones lay rotting somewhere in the
frozen mud of France, or at the bot
tom of the Secretive sea.
Sally shivered and turned her
thoughts away with an effort; Sally
didn't believe in dwelling upon the
dark side of things. Up to now Sal
ly's motto had been one with Mr..
Micawber's. But of late nothing had
turned up at all!
The truth of the matter is that
things don't turn up unless one is
watching for them, perpetually on
the job, and Sally wasn't. For no
reason at all, since it was the only
thing she had been taught to do and
brought up to regard as worth do
ing, Sally didn't like her job. Sally
was a professional thief.
Stumbling along through the gayly
whirling snow, tears suddenly blind
ed her, and she collided with a
fur-clad shoulder.
"Say, Lady, blow your hornl"
snarled once familiar voice. Sally
blinked rapidly and stared into the
lined, swapping black eyes Of Frisco
Jane.
For the love of White Mule, it's
little Sally!" Jane cried with a sud-
den transition from ferocity to
friendliness common to those who
walk through life perpetually on the
defensive. "Pinch me, Sally, or I'll
see old Market street loom up out
of this pipe-dream!"
Over a meal in properly seclud-
ed place Jane regarded her fellow
native daughter with a mixture OF
pity and contempt. She extracted
ten spot from her purse. "Put this
in your stocking, Sallyl Aw, can
the shaking-your-head stuff; you
need three squares for a mess of
days! Say, amt New York paralyz-
ing?"
Sally began to sob softly. Don't
pull it, Sally; 1 know-little old New
York is mighty little when you're
down and out!" barked Frisco Jane.
"Even the guns here are kinda
stand-offish, un-huh. Take a tuck
in yourself, Sally, and beat it this
minute to old Nav Maggy's down
on Tomkins under the bridge.
Baby-farm; best in the city! This
is Christmas Eve! You won't have
to make up bit, dearie."
"Jane, need the-Jane,
couldn't"
"Pull your nerve together, Sally!
That's that new plutes' club, the
Stuyvesant. Pay Nav five for the
right baby, get me? She'll squeal
for ten, course: Then beat it with
the coughing kid in your arms to
that Stuyvesant mint and plant your
self right out in front by the big
steps and SILVER like hell when those
main stems stagger out to 60 home,
James. Tonight with the snow as it
is, that layout's special plucking!
,, Hop to it, Sally. I had my eye on
II but you look the part, dearie. Tell
Nav. sent you. Here's another
ten spot for luck. Aw, too bad about
Eddy. Amt men the knockout
drops?"
"Good old janet" Sally choked
over the words.
"Can the gratitude stuff; always
makes me suspicious" growled
Frisco Jane. "Oh, Sally tonight at
the fat swell's club, don't forget to
pull the old hoke-you amt never
before had to beg, but tonight your
little chee-aw, you know the pull
the-weeps line. They always fall for
It.; the drunken the better. Now
skip, Sally, and may the dirty bulls
nab you II you don't make hauling
tonight"
Starvation is an iron task master.
Sally disliked James idea. But after
all it didn't hurt anybody. Easy
money from Easy Money! Besides,
what did anything matter now that
Eddy was dead? No, Sally wouldn't
have to act much to put the part
over.
Two gay bachelors emerging well
fed and warmed and wined that eve
ming almost stumbled against the
passing Sally. She gave them a
half terrified, half piteous look out
of the great tragic black eyes and
drew her pitifully thin coat closer
about the ragged bundle in her
arms, a bundle from which came