Evening Star Newspaper, May 16, 1937, Page 90

THIS WEEK Magazine Section **MADEMOISELLE IS A BUYER?' BREATHED MONSIEUR POILESSE. “BUT ZAT SEEM SO STRANGE!" ONSIEUR LELONG, head porter of the Hotel Louis Philippe in Paris, Jooked like a cross between a police sergeant and a Park Avenue doorman as he sat behind the huge ledger on his desk ; he was trying, not too successfully, to explain to Miss Arizona West why her trunk was so late in arriving. “It is that le trasn de pelile vitesse marches slowly,” he informed her. “If madame had sent it from Cherbourg by le grande oitesse, all would have been well!” “I don’t care if it comes on a pack-mule,” Arizona declared, “so long as it gets here. See here, pardner, I have a date with the dress- maker, and I’'m afraid he’ll faint if he meets me in this outfit.” M. Lelong did not think it likely that any male, even a dressmaking one, would be likely to faint at sight of Arizona unless it was from sheer joy engendered by the American mademoiselle’s superb beauty. But as he said all this in French, most of the remark went right over the top of Arizona’s big white Stet- son hat. However, she smiled at him her slow, “Much obliged,” she said sweetly, “but if that trunk isn’t here by a quarter to three I'll have a posse after you that’ll change your necktie for you.” This remark, being mostly in American, went right over M. Lelong’s gold-braided cap. But sure enough, at ten minutes past three, a trunk was duly deposited in Arizona’s room. It was an enormous trunk, delivered by a very small porter who wore, as Arizona wcn- deringly noted, a black calico pinafore, and who jabbered delightedly when she gave him a note marked ten francs, but which didn’t look as if it could possibly be werth anything. When the porter had backed himself out, however, like a prairie dog, Arizona patted the big trunk with a sigh of relief. “Well, old clothes-hoss,” she said aloud, ‘“‘you just about made it!” The trunk was new and shiny and bore the legend: “Miss Arizona West, Buyer, Spratt’s Department Store, New York City, US.A.” With a quick gesture Arizona had it open, and then an inarticulate cry of dismay burst from her. Not a single garment in the trunk was hers. For a few bewildered moments she looked through the array of magnificent costumes, trying vainly to remember where she had seen them before. And then suddenly she remem- Y (W \ _ Arizona West goes to Paris —and immediately French-American relations become several degrees warmer. First of a delightful new series of stories about the beautiful Girl from Yuma by NINA WILCOX PUTNAM bered. Tony Spratt, the handsome young son of the house, had shown her these dresses. They were the work of Spratt’s Originations Department and were intended for a Holly- wood production. Tony had been proud of them, because it was he who had secured the order from Colossal Studios. And it had been - Tony, too, who had sent off Arizona’s trunk for her. Somehow Tony had labeled the trunks wrong, and here she was in Paris with one suitcaseful of travel-stained clothes, and a date with the head of the great house of Poilesse within the hour. Furthermore, it was no ordinary appointment, but one which had been arranged by cable through the influence of Old Mr. Spratt himself, and to keep which, she had been rushed across the Atlantic. She was to, if possible, secure the exclusive Ameri- can rights to the Poilesse Spring Collection. Pacing the room in a quandary, Arizona gradually became aware that something was being slipped through the crack beneath the door of her room — a small, dirty gray bit of folded paper. An ad, she thought, picking it up, and she was about to tear it in two when the words * Télégramme Transatlantique’ caught her eye. The contents were virulent: COLOSSAL STUDIOS REPORT RECEIPT TRUNKFUL OF NEW RIDING CLOTHES SADDLE BLANKETS AND STETSONS STOP HAVE YOU COSTUMES STOP IF SO FORWARD IMMEDIATELY DIRECT TO HOLLYWOOD STOP IF YOU DO NOT GET THEM THERE IN TIME CONSIDER YOURSELF FIRED FOR OUTRAGEOUS CARELESSNESS STOP UN- ABLE TO REACH TONY IN FLORIDA STOP DEMAND IMMEDIATE ACTION WM. SPRATT For the next five minutes the hair of M. Lelong stood on end while Arizona harassed him as to the departure of boats for her mys- terious and doubtless barbaric shores. With the net result that Arizona, after some swift calculating, discovered that if the trunk took its departure within twenty-four hours it could still reach Hollywood in time for the scheduled production. She then sent off a cable to this effect and returned to the trunk itself. There was an afternoon frock in it, gray and shimmery and very simple. The satin was of a color to match Arizona’s eyes, and after brief contemplation she took it out and held it against her, facing the mirror. Then she slipped it on, and, miraculously, the dress fitted. Arizona’s eyes shone with mischievous pleasure. I feel like I was painting a stolen hoss,” she told the mirror. “But I need a ceremonial dress to give me courage, same as the Indians at a snake-dance.” Half an hour later, M. Paul Poilesse, seated in the confusion of his private office, gagged slightly on his very black cigar when the most beautiful woman he had ever seen was shown into his presence. It was not only that she was a beauty, you understand, but that she wore a costume épatant! Salin gris, bien arrangé, tout-a-fast simple! Magnifiqgue! He arose and bowed in homage, both to the woman and the dress. “Howdy!"” said Arizona. “Pleased to know you, Mr. Poilesse. I'm the one from Spratt’s in New York.” ‘“Mademoiselle is a buyer?’’ breathed Mon- sieur Poilesse. “But zat seem so strange!” “Yes, it sure seems strange to me, too,” Arizona admitted cheerfully. “This is my first trip and in a way I really didn’t want to make it, because I believe in buying American. But Mr. Spratt wanted me to come over because it seems some of the other girls had been rustling models and putting their own brand on ’em and he knew I'd shoot straight. He’s on the level himself, you see.” M. Poilesse looked slightly puzzled, but he grasped most of it. “Yes,” he agreed. “We had here ladies who copied wizout buying. It is hard to protect one’s collection.” “Well,” said Arizona, *‘Spratt’s will protect yours like it was being passed in a church. That is, if you’ll give us the exclusive on it.” There was no mistaking the sincerity of her promise, but its effect on M. Poilesse was strange. He lifted his eyes heavenward, sighed deeply and ran desperate fingers through his beard and hair. “Mees West!” he cried. “I nevasr give to one house ze sole right! And if I would, I could not, for behold! 1 have a gréve!” A grave? Who’s dead?” said Arizona sym- pathetically. ‘““A gréve, what you call a strike!” he ex- plained. “Ze workers, she’s quit! Ze cos- tumes, zay are throw down half-feenish and my opening ees to be la sematne prochasne, nex’ week! You behold, Mees West, a man in despair!”’ “Shucks!”’ said Arizona. ‘“That’s too bad! Can’t you get in a few strike-breakers?” “Non, non!" he cried. “Ze arliste cannot - ; | | =™