Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1946-03-01

In Los Angeles she learned to
typewrite, and took the first job that
offered itself through the employ
ment office Of the business school.
It happened to be minor clerkship
in law office, where a large part
OF the business was concerned with
the contracts of Hollywood actors.
This was before the days Of the great
agencies, and actors were supposed
to handle their own contracts with
the advice of privately retained law
yers. Elizabeth's work was mostly
routine, answering the telephone and
copying legal documents, but the
moving picture business was young
and even her own small contact
with its bounding growth was inter-
esting enough to demand all her at
tention.
When she woke up in the morning
she no longer faced the darkness
OF an empty day, and at night she
was tired enough to 60 to sleep. She
had an apartment consisting Of one
room with bath and kitchenette,
but she was not uncomfortable.
With the other girls in the Office she
talked about the immediate affairs
OF the day. She never talked about
Arthur. They had not known him
and could not be interested in him,
and this was the reason why she had
come to California.
AS for the men in the office, they
might have been sexless for all the
fhnI10ht che f1nvo Tho Grct
time one Of them asked her to have
dinner with him she felt startled,
with curious undertaking of re-
sentiment; but it was the most ordi-
nary sort Of invitation from a friend
ly young fellow who disliked eating
alone, and she accepted, though still
with sense of strangeness. But
they had pleasant evening, talking
about nothing more personal than the
bad temper of their boss and the
unreasonableness Of all actors, and
when she came back to her apart
ment she looked at herself in the
glass thinking, II do believe I'm get
ting normal again."
She was getting normal again; she
could feel it, like the return of equi-
librium after dizziness. Her fellow
workers liked her and she was be-
ginning to enjoy their companion
ship. When she got promotion and
a raise she felt justification of her
self that was real delight. As her
job in the office brought her into
contact with a great many en-
ployees Of the moving picture in
dustry, her acquaintance increased
and with 1t her invitations. She lost
her sense Of strangeness at going
about with men who were not Ar
thur. There were plenty Of them
to 60 out with, and there was moth
ing unpleasant in discovering again
that she was an attractive woman.
She did not try to pretend to herself
that she was happy, but she was
not unhappy either. There were still
hours when she ached for Arthur,
but she was grateful for what she
had.
She had been in California two
years when she met Spratt Herlong.
Spratt worked in a studio publicity
department. 1t was sometimes nee
essary for him to visit the office
where Elizabeth was employed, to
get information about screen play
ers under contract to his company.
The girls in the Office liked him, be-
cause while he was always friendly
he never stared meaningfully at
their legs while he talked to them,
or sat on their desks killing time
that they would have to make up by
staying an extra hour to finish the
days assignment. Though she had
not been long in Hollywood, Eliza
beth had already had sufficient ex-
perience of both these habits to APP
preciate the lack of them. She OBJ
served also that Spratt worked hard
and got results in the form of a
great deal of magazine and news
paper space for the actresses he was
paid to publicize, and her own brief
career in the business world had
taught her to admire anybody who
concentrated his attention on doing
his job well.
AS Spratt was invariably good
humored and reasonable in his re-
queStS-in contrast to some of his
colleagues, who were too impressed
with ideas of their own Importance
to take the trouble of being either
pleasant or reasonable with office
clerks-she responded by giving him
all the assistance she could, even
when it meant extra effort on her
part. Spratt was grateful, and
proved it not only by telling her so
but by sending her tickets to pre-
mieres, coming by to drive her
home in the evening, or calling up
for lunch or dinner. Elizabeth liked
him increasingly. Before long she
found herself hoping, when she start
ed for work in the morning, that
there would be call from him to
enliven her day.
Spratt was very unlike Arthur.
Later, Elizabeth thought that one
reason for her immediate pleasure
in his company had been that he
reused her interest without at the