The evening world. Newspaper, November 12, 1921, Page 15

— — re, — THE EVENING WORLD'S FICTION SECTION, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 1921, , been hideously deceived and deprived, was seized now and then with over- wholming bursts of joyous confidence; feeling very masterful, a bit of the caveman, he whirled her vigorously. But the old canker-worm began to wiggle. He lgoked »t his watch, It was almost » o'clock, he was already half an hour jate! For the first time in two years, late in his call on Etta! “I guess we'll have to go,” he said She gave h her swift appraising look, and then, as yesterday, came readily. They took the Elevated, to go faster, but when they reached his sta- tion,’ she got off with him,: “I'll go the rest of the way on the Sub,” she ex- ° plained. They stood at the foot of tho stairs, while their train roared away over- head. The din fell away, there was a moment of stillness between two traing ond in that lull she suddenly sighed and said: “Oh, let’s not go home just yet! Let’s go to Kelly’s—they’ve got wonderful music there!” “1 yas was in the way she em- phasized the word ‘wonderful’ something that pricked your heart. Perey hesttated, perched onthe needle-point of his fate. ‘Have they got a phone there?” he asked. “A phone? Of course! At I<elly’s, you mean? Of course!” “Well—all right then.” When they reached Kellys he went immediately to the telephone-booths and called up Etta. He was at the store, yes. They were taking stock. fHe'd have to work all the evening. Her gentle voice, its maternal coo of sympathy, made him feel like the last of miscreants, but just then a puff of the music, forcing itself into the booth, drained him of all sensation except a wild desire to get out of this stuffy place and get to the music. “Good night, dear,” he said. “I have a lot of work to do.” “Good night,” une soft voice answered, far away; and he hung up, and forced himself out of the booth through some complicated door that tried to wrap itself around him, They sat at a small table in a core ner of the big hall. A red-Shaded lamp was at their elbows; al] the way down the effect was repeated—little red- shaded lamps scattered with an effect of secret festivity. The ceillng was low, covered with trellis and artificial vines; the floor below was* like a ius- trous pool carpeted with autumn leaves, and all the space between throbbed dully to the beat, subdued but stubborn, of a miisic which seemed to be playing within one’s own resonant chest. They had been seated but half © minute when a common impulse sprang them up, linked them, and sent them gliding away. Percy no Jonger had to think of his dancing. The’ music had him as if in a flood; he did not feel the floor at all. And in his arms, balancing softly yet with firm rhythm, she flew about with him, light as nothing to his arms, yet a heavy deliciousness upon his heart They danced the entire evening. B tween times, of course, the Kelly sys- tem ran to form, and mysterious fluids passed in procession acress their table --amber-hued, or cloudy green or lu- cent green, or color of silver foam. Three times she smoked a cigarette— most charmingly, he thought When the place closed at 1 A M.—this being during a swing of reform administra- his madness was complete; he d for a taxicab. HEN he woke up in bed a few WV hours later, Perey lay quiet, shrinking from what he knew svould come to him in a moment. He thought he knew. Gen, R. E. Morse would walk in upon him. He would have a head—people always had a head after such a performance, He would #ee] the lack of sleep. His nerves would be on edge. He would realize that he had spent in one evening a whole week's salary, and his heart would «ink into his feet. He would think of Ftta whom he had so basely deceived —oh, Tard! He tay very quiet thus, long enough to give these things all the chance In the world to arrive, then stirred tenta- tively, as an animal stirs who has played possum and ts surprised to find itself not really dead. Nothing, so far, had come. He kicked himself about, daringly—still nothing came. He had no head—or rather what head he had was perfectly clear. A sort of delicious emptiness was at the pit of his being —he was hungry, by Jove! Lack of ti Cé sleep? He felt no lack of eleep. He felt perfectly rested. He wanted to leap out of bed. He did leap, Gee, he had not felt this way for a long, long time—he had never felt this way-- clearheaded, full of life, full of zest and flame! He sprang across the hal! to the come mon bathroom, found It unoccupled by chance, and intrepidly turned on the cold-water spigot Ry Jove, he felt like taking a cold bath—something he had uot felt for five years! Ele did take a cold bath--something he had not done for six years. Still urged by the singular zest which possessed his nerves and his veins, he went through — the calisthentc with which he had started life in New York when first he bad come, and which had lasted just three weeks, His knees creaked a lit- tle; down and up, down and up he went, til the creak had ceased. Then he went shadow boxing about the room, driving before him some poor imaginary opponent bewildered with his speed. He hated to stop at all. He hated to put on his clothes. In the midst of this agitation, disconnected visions came to him of last night's do- ings—but these flitting pictures seemed only to increase the lightness and the joy in his heart, He had slept only five hours—well, who wanted to sleep more than five hours? He had spent lots of money—what was money for, “SAY,” THE MANAGER or to show mo silks?” But the con- sensus of opinion was really expressed by two much younger women, in a short dialogue delivered in the elevator cn the way down, “Say,” spoke the one, “don’t you think he’s just a bit tresh? ‘‘Woll,” the other hesttated, “maybe-ee. But he’s nice, though--aw- fully nice. I like hin!” ‘“Well—I do, too!” drew $20 from the $364 which had been supposed to become $500, but instead had lately become §344, and by this new act became $324; and at 6 o’clock he telephoned to Etta, ex- plaining that he was, to-night, still taking stock. So, at once ballasted and lightered, he met Rosie O'Flare in front of Vegetariana, and this time with no questioning whatever, ho took her to dinner, They dined at their A T noon he went to the bank, and GROWLED, “WHAT'S BEEN GETTING-INTO YOU LATELY, ANYWAY? WHAT'S THE RECIPE, EH?” onyway? And there was Etta—well, Etta was un awfully good girl, of course, an awfully good girl. But quiet —Kee, too quict! He went down to breakfast a perfect vacuum, and ordered ham and eggs and hot cakes, In a vase, ieft over from the dinner of the preceding night, was a faded cnrnation, He slipped it in his buttonhole as he started for the store, and his hat went a little askew upon his head. The @onderfui feeling remained with him throughout the day. Something bubbled within him, something sang; It was difficult to hold from humming, and he did catch himself snapping his fingers like castanets once. To his de- light, he found that he was no longer afraid of his customers. He wasn't afraid of them at all; he could stand on one foot in a position that possessed a certain elegance, and could discuss their choice with them in most debo- nair fashion. He did not avert his eyes when they raised plaintive lashes up to him; on the contrary, he iooked at them with interest, warmly—and the lashes drooped again. The best thing about this smail sport was that it usually brought a decision. “Well, I suppose I will take this,” she would decide, “You say it wil! go well? How much shall I need-—ten yards?" They took his advice; they surrendered alto- gether Into his keeping, He had never sold so much in one day, nor So easily, nor so pleasantly. He did meet one amall Waterloo when a voluminous lady, of the kind which itn his mind he called a dowager, although he had no idea what dowager meant, with pro- truding eyes, and a chin like a water- fall, falling on a bosom like a rampart, brought him to sharply,.with: “Well young man, are you pald to look at me, the place of iow stone vaults, then hurried to Kelly's, where they danced most of the night. : Percy’s life now became a_ whirl Gone out if it were the Young Men's Protective Club, the courses in Span- ieh, ‘stenography, in will power and mnemotechnics; gone the simple affee- tionate evenings in Etta's smal! Jor. Dally he met Rosie O'Fiare ; with her danced the night away, When the stock-taking excuse had worked overtime, he invented a new and more Gurable one: He was taking a course in elocution at the club, and had joined the debating society. This would take all of his eventngs, but, on the other hand, the course was short--just three months, “Just three months, dear, and then I can come every night once more; every night, and make it all up to youl” And she, with her awect common sense, her determination to do everything possible for hig future suc- cess—which some day would be ber success—seeing him spring, in three months, from his new course, a full- fledged orator, “understood,” and con- sented. He still went to see her evety Sunday. He went with her to church, and they warbled, their rounded mouths close, their cheeks almost touching, thetr hands moeting on the book. In the afternoon they sanz col- lege songs in the front parlor, and stole out to see the bears. But it must be said that Percy often nodded over the “Spanish Cavalier,” and blinked suspiciously before the grizzlies, ACH Sunday, had she E blinded by the Etta would have discerned in not heen light onlled love, ao change. (But the wouian. who loves se@s not the man she loves! When she looks at him she sees merely something dazzling like the sun.) Raeh Sundap he came, altered a little; Rosie O' Mare had taken him in hand, and was grad- ually reconstructing him, Before meeting hor, hia taiioring had been a simple matter, He bought a sult every six months, always of blue serge. The last bought he wore on Sundays and holidays; the other he wore every day, When the every-day suit became quite worn, the Sunday sult moved down to take its place, and ®& new blue serge came to grace the Sundays. But now. at Rosie O'Flare’s suggestion, he purchased a suit of brown tweeds, which went remarkably wel withthe reddish glint that played in his hair, and—this a real revolution —he put it right away to everyday wear, keeping the older blue serge for Sundays—and Etta. ([t doesn’t follow because a woman in love sees not the man she loves, but only a shining Ilght, that she does not see the clothes he wears.) Rosie also towered his collars and loosened his ties, while rather height- ening their color. She turmed her at- tention to his halr, which he wore very short, Leaning across their table, she gave a delighted gurgle, and cried, “Why, it waves!" “What waves?’ he said, thinking of the flag. “Your hair, your hair! When you going to get it cut next’”’ He said he was planning to have ft cut to-morrow. “Oh, wait,” she pleaded. ‘Don't have tt cut yet. Don’t have ft cut again ure till I tell you. Promise me, now; promise me!” He promised, and waited three weeks, upon which she told hin to have it only lightly trimmed and to comb !t'back. He obeyed, and came out of the operation a distinguished young man. She now felt herself strong enough to attack his hat which was, of course, the stiff “derby” worn by Manhattan’s two-millfon standard young men. This was a more delleate venture, demanding more of her per- suasive diplomacy than had the other “changes, but she succeeded; the bowler was “canned;” he appeared before the world with a soft wide brim. She was delighted, and in her delight, dropped a few words of the system along which she was dirceting his reformation. “What you want to look like,"’ she said, ‘is like some of those Washington Square guys. Not the dirty ones, you know, what need a shampoo all over. Ssut like those that ain’t too much-- you know. Not ow-tree, but just a touch—that’s what you want!" At the Emporium, he was becoming a celebrity. Customers asked about I'm, Lofty ladies, of the floorwalker: ‘And who is that interesting-looking young man in the silk department?” Less lofty ladies, of one of their own kind: “Who's the swell kid behind the ailk counter?” Don't know—ain’t he the artistic one, though?" I should say. Aint he just the goods? The im- provement in Percy was not all sar- torial, As has already been explained, it was also psychological. But there was also an element which might be called physiological: he was living on beefsteaks instead of excelsior, EVESTEAK, however, those days, cost did dancing and what goes with it--terrapin and Welsh rabbit and things. As all can see who read, Me rey was on the toboggan to ruin. He ke pt irawing on his bank-account, He had adopted there a new method that aved worry: He had ceased deduc ting even in money, and so op the stuba of his check-hook, aad hence did net know at all how stood the accounting; that is how reckless Perey Skinner had become. His mind, ina whirl, carried, as a matter of fact, ho concern except one, and that one eame to him but seldom and with little insistence; It was the approach of the end of the mythical Club course in elo« eution, He was wishing now he had made it slx months instead of three, © Sunday, June 15, he helght of folly, Up to this date, he had reserved his Sundays for Etta. But hts morning, early, after directing a took of distaste at the day before him --the church, the caramels, the college reached the songs and the bears—he suddenly selzed the telephone and called up Rosie, ‘Say, little Rosie” he said (that is how well he knew her by that time), “what do you say we go out fomewhere to-day, eh?" “Oh, I'd love to!" the breathless swer came, “Oh, let's go to Coney They went. Summer had broken out sike an explosion; the day was wari; all] New York was out In lawns and ip ducks. They shot the chutes, glided the rliders, scenic-railwayed, peppered the shooting galleries, bought festoons of “dog,” and in the afternoon went swimming. Thig wos fine. She was a rear little swimmer; he was not. She swam three times out to the raft, but after that they lay in the sind side by s‘de, and watched the ships going by Vhey dined on @ veranda, they danced —afid took a late traia back. On Monday morning, of course esis stood waiting for him. an- Nem- She had probably the last of her patief at this last outrage of steale g poor Etta’s Sunday Anyway, she Order Your Evening World in Advance /