The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-09-02

tar, play bridge, swim and knit.
But to save the life of her, she
| couldn't find among those pleas
ant accomplishments one single
thing that could be translated into
a means of earning her living.
Paul sang Neapolitan love-
song. It reminded her of girl she
had met in Venice two years be-
fore. The girl had been a debutante
and when the family fortune was
lost in the depression, the girl had
studied stenography and become
private secretary to novelist who
was travelling in Europe.
Cecily thought about tn a t. It
would be interesting to be pri-
vate secretary. But you had to
have money to pay for a course at
business college and you had to
have money to live on until you
got a job. She could, of course, con-
tinue to live in Olivia's big brown
stone house in the East Seventies.
But she had no money to pay for
tuition and in the last two weeks
since she had been living at her
aunt's, Olivia, for all tn a t she
knew Cecily'S financial status, had
not offered to lend her any money
or give her an allowance. Olivia,
seeing her niece's fine clothes, had
undoubtedly assumed that Cecily
still had m e m money. Cecily
would have died rather than men,
ton that she had nothing.
She did have sixty dollars. This
was Hilda's rent for July. and that
was all she had. Mr.. Cronkite had
paid for the rental of the cottage
on the Cape in advance and she
and Douglas had promptly paid
their bills, which left the imposing
sum of eight dollars and forty
cents.
Something will turn up" she
murmured. If you willed it as hard
as she did, it had to.
Proposal
"EUN'S fun but I refuse to &C
L cept this as our last party with
Cecily," Jean Tuthill said, yawn-
ing. "And I suggest that we call
it day and continue it in October.
I've got to get the Chronicle on the
newsstands at the usual hour to-
morrow.
They all laughed. Jeans job was
a great joke to all of them but
Jean.
"You take me seriously, don't
you, Cecily?"
Cecily said she did.
"And when you get any news
that | might use in the society page
about the goings-on at VickerS-
port, will you send me every
item?"
Cecily, unable to foresee what
far reaching consequences that
promise lightly made was to bring
about. agreed to it.
Then she said, do you mind if
| slip out without any fanfare? I
guess l must be getting sentiment
tai but | hate goodbyS."
Ted Pryor said he minded and
when she stood in the door and
waved to them calamity, lifting
her head little as she was learn
ing to do too often now, he got his
hat.
The Pryor purse had been near
ly depleted with his share of the
party and so they rode up Fifth
Avenue in the early morning on
top of a Fifth Avenue bus.
They had been talking about
Hilda's new job with an advertis-
ing agency when Ted cleared his
throat and said. "Cecily, Pm not
getting much money yet but I'll
get a raise as soon as business
picks up and if you'd that is
. you might think it over. mean
I'd think it was swell if you'd
marry me-"
"Ted!" Cecily couldn't think of
much more to say. Ted wasn't in
love with her, she knew, but they
got along" She was d eply
touched. No man had ever been in
love with her. She hadn't known
any men except those in their lit
tie group which was marked with
spirit of camaraderie rather than
romance.
Thanks, Ted" she said.
"Okay. But if you ever need any
mon :. that is. if you ever need
any help you know the gang is ="
81 know" she said softly. She
thought: I'm not poor!
It was difficult not to think that
she was. Her pride was so closely
intermingled with her other emo
tons during that time when her
simple, protected world had coll
lapsed about her. And she had
thought that no one knew what
she was feeling and thinking!
Sensitiveness tn a t she didn't
know she possessed made her
aware Immediately that Olivia's
attitude toward her had changed
as soon as she heard that Cecily
was entirely without funds to
maintain herself.
| She had repeated ner invitation
at once. And as quickly as it had
been graciously accepted, she fit
ted Cecily not into her family, but
into her staff.
The only difference, c ely
thought, not ungratefully, was that
Olivia'S maid and Olivia's secre-
tary were permitted to live their
own lives, to have working hours
within limits. and to ceiv e
wages.
| Cecily had found within two
days that she was to enjoy none of
these privileges. Nevertheless, she
put the thought from her as be-
ing unworthy return for her auEfs
kindness and decided tn 1t her
conclusions were colored by pride.
have uyo,, o1,ay. On oop,aS md Joc4