The Wilmington morning star., 1944-01-05
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llkAk@Ah ~ LORENA CARLETON o.
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WRITTEN FOR AND RELEASED ASSOCIATION

1 tavos'' and 'cincuenta" m e n t
nothing. She filled her palm with
change and signaled the cantina
keeper to take what was due him.
She used the same tactics on
two little boys at a gasoline sta
ton, who filled her tank by the
primitive fashion of first filling a
large tin can, then dumping it into
her gas tank through a funnel.
An arduous job, doubly hard be-
cause the little fellows were gig
Cling so hard they scarcely could
stand up. Mallory began to feel
ridiculous. 1 can face tiers of spec
tators in a theater, but not two
giggling Mexican children.
While they toiled and saickered,
an Indian boy, travelling along the
road, slid off his burro and came
over to watch. But ne d On" zig
gle. He just stood there watching
with the same lack of expression
she had seen on Indians along the
road down. He wore a suit made
of gunny sacks and was barefoot
ed. On his head was the usual
sombrero. Not until Mallory had
paid and was in her car, ready
to pull away, did she catch a flash
of smile on that stony, hand
some face. That was when another
word came to her mind, one from
a character song.
"Adios!" she sang out, some
what embarrassed. The little In
dian boy smiled then; there was
a flash of the fine teeth she was
beginning to take for granted. The
two tiny gasoline statesmen burst
into fresh giggles and threw them
selves upon the dirt, where they
rolled for as long as Mallory could
see them il her rear vision mir
ror. Boy, am l getting places
with my Spanish" she derided.
The scenery began to be more
tropical. Veritable forests of pal
metto palms, ferns, thick, unfa-
miliar vines clinging to trees-even
the very air had changed; it now
was lush and thick. Mallory stay
ed in Wales that night, in the
heart of the tropics. Before the
hotel she strained her eyes to see
if there were a black sedan with
white sideWall tires. When there
was not, she parked, walked past
a musical fountain, on across a
wide stone porch and into the lob
by.
The clerk said sympathetically,
What a dull trip you must have
had"
'Oh, brother, if only you knew"
she thought, but aloud, Mallory
said, 1t has been very pleasant
Before the war" the man said
with sadness, it was nothing for
$50 cars to be waiting at the Gus
toms, all at one time"
Again Mallory waxed sarcastic,
inwardly. 1T couldn't have taken
me longer to get through if there
had been $50 cars
To the clerk she said, Those
days will come again."
I hope so. l hope so,' he said.
still looking sad, answering h r
smile with difficulty.
Mallory had dinner in the hotel
dining room. Tropical breezes roll
ed through the room through the
screens. There were no glass WIN
dows. The ceiling was made of
thatch, painted a heavenly shade
of blue. Her room was spacious,
filled with modern furniture duti-
fully copied from the old Spanish.
Her bathroom was large, ornately
tiled.
She felt happy, without a worry.
But was she, she demanded, peer
ing at her pale reflection in the
mirror. Some barb was deviling
her brain. Some memory h t
Knocked her security. She knew,
all of sudden, what it was: That
soprano that Tod Patrick had pro-
NOTED, trying to make her more
ameaable - that awful big -hipped