The Phoenix index., 1942-02-21
Eccentric Girl
Puzzles Bigger
Midway. man?" ThrOrgh tne
80 ,,,;rror above him he Sd"

49, ,,,;rror above him he sa"
80. hasitate before answering.
ives; that's the one" he poa anSI
+ba ca. into the street ana Iles;u $50
ea1S "a so,ith, driving about thirty -lloT oe
NILES nj an hour. He handled the GO ca
.,,lr ax,ertIv picking up speed at tn7
.oa;noioo of each block and SLOW
inc slightly as he approacneo s,.;ye esvn
street intersection. you wu na;S
we'll" she said "Yessum' ne '''''
proudly.
He watched her through Clle
rear mirror as he drove; sne Woo ,o
kind of pretty, but very llttie. olie
l~oked like a doll in a show as
window: black eyes, white 1ace'
red lips. And she had acted wlie.'
10 FIRST saw her. In fact, she mao
ra,n0te r. look in her eyes. He Stop
,,od the car at 47th Street Tor a REQ
iioht. he did not have 10 So
aeai,, until ne reached F1fty-1rsl
Street where a long line OF cais @
formed in front of him ana d lolAs
line in back. He held the steernie
wheel lightly, waiting for the n1le
to move forward. He had Keen
sense of power when driving; tiie
feel of a car added sonetnlng "
him M He loved to press his 100
aoainst a pedal and sail along,
watching others stand still, seeing
The asphalt road yrwind him. Inc
tights flashed from red 10 green
anJ he nosed the car torwaIo'
"p;goerI" .sYessur1.' Turn at TINS
corner and pull up on sac
street" "Here, mam?" Eyes; mere
Now. what on earth did TINS
mean. He pulled the car OH
Cottage Grove Avenue ana
drew to a curh. He turned 70
look at hcY and was startled
to see that she was sitting oii
the sheer edge of the back
seat. her face some six inches
from his.
ST scare you?" she asked softly,
sniling, "Oh. no'm," he mumbleo
bewildered. He watched her
through the mirror. Her tiny
white hands dangled over the BACK
Of the front seat and her eyes
locked out vacantly. II don't know
how to say what Tn going 20 say"
she said. He said nothing. There
was a long silence. What in all he's
did this girl want? A street ca'
rumbled by. Behind him, reflect
ed In the rear mirror, he saw the
traffic lights flash from green to
red, and back again. Well. what
ever she was going to say, he wish
ed she would say 1t and get II
over. This girl was strange. She
did the unexpected every minute
He waited for her to speak. She
took her hands from the back OF
the front seat and fulnbled in her
purse. Gotta match?" "Yessum.'
He dug a match from his vest
pocket. "Strike it," she said. He
blinked. He struck the match and
held the flame for her. She
smoked awhile in silence.
"Youre not tattle- tale, are
you?" she asked a smile.
He opened his mouth to reply.
but no words came. What she had
asked and the tone Of voice in
which she had asked it made him
feel that he ought to have answer.
ed in some way; but what? I'm
not going to the University" she
said at last. "But you can forget
that. I want you to drive me to the
Loop. But if anyone should ask
you, then I went to the University,
see, Bigger" ''Yessum, it's all right
with me-" he mrlrnbied. 'I think
I can trust you" "Yessum." after
all, I'm on your side"
Now, what did THAT mean?
She was OF HIS side. What
side was he on? Did she mean
that she. liked colored pcopIe?
Well, he had heard that about
her whole family. Was she
really crazy? How much did
her folks know of how she
acted? But If she were really
crazy, why did Mr.. Dalton let
him drive her out?
I'm going to meet friend Of
mine who's also a friend Of YOURS
Friend Of mine!" he could not
help exclaiTning.
On you don't know him yet
she said, laughing. cob"
go to the Outer Drive and to
Is Lake Street" "Yessun."
Maybe She was talking about the
Reds? That was it! But none Of
his friends we're Reds. What was
all this? If Mr.. Dalton should ask
nm II he had taken her to the
university, he would have to say
yes and depend upon her to back
HIM up. But suppose Mr.. Dalton
had someone Watching, lsomaone
Who would tell where he had really
1aKen her? He had heard thai
many rich people had detectives
WORKING for them. If only he knew
What this was all about he would
reel much better. And She had
SAID that she was going to meet
someone who was g. friend of his
He didn't want to meet any Com
nu1lsts. They didn't have anv
money. He felt that it was all
l1gnt for a man to 60 to jail for
fonoery, but to 60 to jail for fool
ing around with Reds was bunk
we'll he would drive Ioa,o. +bA