The Waterbury Democrat., 1941-03-11
Chapter l

one night club to another from New York to New port and down to the pier when she went off on a cruise.
 She had a big white house on Indian Creek, in Miami Beach, Florida. She had a 10-room apartment here in New York, on Park Avenue, W h e r e three maids did nothing but wait on Beatrice. She had four room-size closets full of evening dresses, sports clothes, lounging pajamas, costume ensembles.
 There were racks full of shoes and shelves of hats.
 She had barrel of junk jew elry; an antique silver case that contained two diamond bracelets, a matched pearl necklace, half a dozen wrist watches and pin watches, @ ruby and platinum brooch that separated into a pair of clips: and 0 huge, square emer- aid ring.
 Beatrice Huntington Davenport had stocks and bonds and real estate. And she had an immense, sprawling store that extended in a solid square from Fifth Avenue to sixth. It was eight stories high, cramined to the doors with exactly the same sort of things Beatrice had ct home diamond bracelets and evening dresses, sofas and silver foxes, silk stockings and suede handbags.
 Beatrice Huntington Davenport had, too, 8 trust company with huge, chased bronze doors and acres of polished mahonany desks at which important looking men in conservative business suits sat presumably managing the stocks and the bonds and real estate.
 She had tight-lipped man whose pictures appeared some- times in the columns of morning newspapers (but she had never bothered to meet him herselD whom the trust company had ap. pointed as general superintendent of the department store. Only this morning she'd seen his narrowed eyes looking out at her from the paper. "The Man Behind Hunt ington's" read the caption. Beatrice smiled.
 The man behind Huntington's had always been and was now, in his jealously laid down policies and far sighted provisions-her grandfather, Michael Kingan Hunt ington.
 Gandpa had founded Hunting tons. He started by peddlin pins and needles and shoe laces from a pack on his back. Then came It. tie store on Grand street. Cutting, prices and indulging in practices which made his competitors choke, Grandfather had seen the little store on Grand Street grow into an emporium on Fourteenth and at last into this imposing Hunting tons which was & New York land- mark.
 Lastly, Beatrice Huntington Day. enport had MT. Curtis Weeming. who was small and bald and 73 years old. Mir. Weeming was given to rubbing his hands and bleating piteously. MT. Weeming-theoreti- cally--managed Beatrice.
 Right now. in lis office on the Abtn floor of a skyscraper on Rockefeller Plaza, MT. Curtis Weem- ing was wringing--not rubbing-his dry little hands. MT. Curtis Weem- ing was pleading. But Miss Daven- port, this is incredible! Miss Daven- port, l must protest! Miss Daven- port, I simply cannot allow"
 Nuts, MT. Weeming!" said Bea- trice Huntington Davenport. She sat in brown leather chair, with her slim silken knees crossed. The mink coat was carelessly thrown back. A cunningly contrived top knot of mink perched on her golden curls. and her red lips smil- ed. You tell those armor-clad knights behind those chromium grilles in that trust company to pay that check-and pay 1t now! Clar- ence must have those polo ponies This delay is silly!"
 Clarence, you see, was her fiance. The rest of his name was Fernando di Grandezzi. Clarence was dark, tall, and fascinating.
 Clarence not only had to have these polo ponies, but he had also acquired, in the last few weeks, a long and speedy racing car; cigaret case the twin of the one in Beatrice,s handbag; and some dozens of custom tailored suits about which MT. Weeming was still debating. Had Beatrice actually ordered these for Clarence-or had Clarence ordered them for Bea- trice?
 MT. Weeming knew that Bea- trice saw nothing unusual about the gifts of cars and airplanes. But clothes? He wriggled uncertainty. He had no way of knowing Clar- ence's superb delicacy. No way of Visualizing the suave, finished manner in which Clarence indi- cated his latest needs. All MT. Weeming knew was that Beatrice paid for things. Casually, natter of-factly, constantly.
 Another thing MT. Weeming