The evening world. Newspaper, November 18, 1922, Page 13

WHO'S WHO THE EVENING WORLD, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 19 IN THE CAST. JIMMY BLAIR, out of the war by way of New York and not exactly guited to return and settle down in Carpenterville, VIRGINIA VAN WE! 's and angelic smiles. R TYN of Park Avenue, beautiful and smart and flapperlike and all that and much idolized by MARY DENISON, the homey girl in Jimmy. Carpenterville, who wore print JOE HOLLIS, who was satisfied with Carpenterville and not blind to Mary’s loveliness, MR. PERRY, President of the Carpenterville Bank, who when it came dimmy's time to make an important decision, made it for him. CONRAD, well he's just Conrad. HEN Jimmy Blair got out of the army, which was in the early spring of 1918, he spent one memorable evening in the city of New York. Then, dutitully and somewhat giddily, he board- eda morning train and started home for Carpen- terville, five hours up-State. Jimmy wanted to go home; that is, he had wanted te go home. He wanted to sec his mother and father and Joe Hollis and the Denisons and all the rest. But, gosh, how he actually wished he could stay right on in the big town! Jimmy knew exactly what had hap- pened to him. He could even have Dut it into music. Im words, he had seen Virginia Van Westyn again for the first time in Mifteen months, and, Virginia, as he hhad admitted the fatc to himself, had walloped him cold. She had pasted him straight between the ey: had sent him to the ropes, had hog-tied him, put the Indian sign on him, sewed him up, knocked him for a goal; Virginia, who lived on the twelfth floor of a Park Avenue apart- ment where the rents ran into five figures to tho left of the good old deci- mal point. ~ Yet, as Jimmy swung off the train at the dingy old station he was con- sotous of a funny lump that had risen into his throat. Then, before he could look around, he was engulfed by a wave of turbulent humanity, and all at once he was being kissed and thumped and slapped upon the back, while a machine-gun fire of ques- tions was rebounding from his car- drums, “You old scout, you!" he heard. And then his mother was looking up into his eyes. “Hello, ma!” he eatd, and hugged Rer tight. “Gosh it's good to be beck!” “You're going to stay back now, aren't you, Jimmy? You won't go @way again, will you, dear—ever in your life?” “Same old goose,” sald Jimmy Blair and kissed his mother again. Then: “Why, Mary Denison,” he called over his mother’s shoulder, “I thought you'd be all grown up. Well, I'll be darned. You look just about six- teen.” Jimmy's father laughe changes since you been awa: But Jimmy wasn’t listening. He ad caught Mary Denison's hand and pulled her to him, bear fashion, and Kissed her, And then he was patting her paternally on the, back. "You ook great, Ma he sald it's good to see everybody again! It never occurred to Jimmy that tho paternal pat and the casual “every- body" had completely neutralized the kiss—and everything else. Mary Denison didn’t know Virginta Van Westyn's namo, or whether Vir- ginia was blonde or brunette, or tall or short, or French or English, or what not; but Mary did know, instantly, that there was a Virginia and that she was a person to be hated. . XCEPT for the fact that he was E stil jn uniform, Jimmy was puzzled by the feeling that he had never been away from Carpenter ville at all. The place was exactly as he had expected it to be; that was the trouble, He felt let down He wondered, pointedly, what Vir- ginia would think of it--the some- what shoddy streets of brown and yel low frame houses the two-storied business district; the golf course itself, only nine holes and very seedy; the one white marble building, the bank, at the corner of Park and Main; the two movie houses that smell of pea- nuts; the black soot of the freight “yards hanging over everything like a pall Jimmy press # lips together and shook his head. He would have to break it to his mother that he was going back to New York—going back Jost as soon as he decently could After supper that evening, he re- flected, would the time. Yet during the meal ttself Jimmy felt himself weakening: His mother simply beamed. She had prepared grapefruit, and the tomato bisque that Jimmy loved so well; and there was Bm juicy steak, with baked potate and peas and cauliflower; and a salad sand then lemon meringue pie. Mrs. Blair was going through the cere- mony of cutting this delight when there came @ knock at the door, and Joe Hollis stormed in, with litle Mai Denison on his arm, all wrapped in a soft brown elfin cloak Qhat matched her hair and eyes “Can't leave you alone, you see," Bor proclaimed. ‘Mary said we ought te lay off you, but I drugged her Blong just the sam The girl Jaughed. T fwomen fool you, Joe, As long as mamy wouldn't come to see me, why, BB nad to come to ace him, that’s all at's how we That's the way girls are nowadays, 80 they tell us—very forward.” Sho let her brown eyes rest for an tm- perceptible second on Jimmy's face. But Jimmy Blair was laughing with- out concern, and his eyes were not on hers. “Don't be @ goose, Mary,’* he said. “Since when have we got so formal, and everything?”* “You two sit down," Mrs. Blatr was insisting, “‘and try a bite of this ple. It's the first I've made In @ long timo your favorite, Jim," FTER the last crumb of pie had A disappeared, and they were set- tling themselves comfortably in the old-fashioned living-room rockers, Jimmy's father, lighting his cigar, asked what Jimmy, specifically, was going to wv. “Why, yes," and Jimmy shot a glance at his mother. ‘You see, dad, my major, a dandy chap named Het- hall—he’s a partner in a big broker- age house down on the Btreet, and he sort of thought “Street?"’ asked Mrs. Blair. What street?"’ “He means Wail Street, mother,” the boy’s father explained. “Oh, Jimmy! Down tn New York? “I'm afraid so, ma. But you see the chances down there are wonder- ful—particularly with the social con- nections I had the luck to establish overseas. It's the chance of a life- time, really. “But you were doing so well here, Jim. ‘ot very well, ma, as doing goes. Twelve hundred a year is just a scratch compared to what I can make down there. Besides""— “Twelve hundred a year is a mighty comfortable income," his mother pro- tested. ‘What with this homg and everything.” She turned impatiently to young Hollis. ‘Can't you do any- thing with him, Joe?" Joe "Hollis laughed, “It's a disease," he stated. | "They've all got it." Jimmy Blair levelled his gaze at the other. ‘Haven't your own earnings gone up considerably in the last year and a half? Haven't you got a few big ideas yourse!f? You've got a car now. How about that?" Hollis scrached his head. ‘Sounds like an argument,"* he sald. tll, suppose you're partly right, Jim, But you see, we've actually been doing the work, turning all our spare cash over to the Government and carrying Digger loads than I knew a man could carry, Isn't that so, Mr, Blair?” “Well, yes,"’ sald Jimmy's father. I guess that's so."* Jimmy felt annoyed, but he com- pressed his jaws and managed to smile, His mother was studying him “Seems sort of funny, Jim," she ob- served, “the way you take up for New York, And you spent a whole day and a night there, too, when you could have come up on yesterday's train." What's her name, Jim?" Mr. Blair teased. ‘Blond or brunette?" Everybody roared, for there pad been tenstons, So nobody but Joe Hollis noticed that little Mary Deni- son straightened up ever so slightly, and then, after a second, laughed loudest of all For only yesterday Mary, very pink, had told Joe, as nicely as she could, that she liked him a lot, but that she could never, never think of marryiny him; and Joe thought he knew the reason why, and the reason wor him. But now, seeing Mary lau and watching that toss of her bobbed brown curls, Joo Hollis felt much bet- ter Indeed. Joe was only a man, HE very day Jimmy Blair reached T New York he called up Virginia Van Westyn, only to find that she was all tied up with engagements, but the second day he captured two hours of her time and put her in taxi and took her to the Biltmore for tea: and they danced mmy danced. He danced then he danced through the spring. Whon Virginia went out to Old Westbury he followed her there every week-eud she would let him—which was about one In three, He followed her to Southampton in August. He followed her to Great Barrington in the fall And he danced. Virginia was human, And Jimmy Blair was not unattractive in his own right ‘There were only two things he lacked. One was social position nd the other was money, Both of these were very important When Virginia reached this point in her estimate she would screw up her pretty white forehead in a petulant scowl—and wonder. She liked Jimmy, all right. Well, he might come through, at that, He was working hard tn a mighty good office—and maybe he might make a killing, And socially lots of people were taking him up; though naturally she herself had helped th Anyway, and here V ja wou yawn pretti was leaps and heaps of time-nand there ulways were heaps and heaps of other men. ed There were too. They, bothered a darned shame to have to turn « GERALD NU DeLeu S R O:B ERT re Oe For things were not going exactly as he had hoped they Jimmy Blair. » for anything, Some dine yellow envelope for « cornerwise in the mir- the dark entrance hall, tore It open, Tele- ade your heart atop a ough you pretended they His father had been old-fashioned and easy-g0- had been tn competition hres chain stores, each one of ‘They could g¢t to your room. “T tell you, “T imagine T For one thing, there was the job, perfectly good he ought to be but somehow them ran by underbuy him and undersell him, and Blair's popularity for square dealing had wone and got yourself New York eyes. Carpenterville’s a bigger ~and on your map, think for offhand ® got an idea for you."* Jim was being po- Ho really didn't much care. tall torn apart. Why did problems like this have to be put He couldn't leave seized it gingerly grams always tickled to death with tt; a little bit flat. stocks and bonds! Selling a pair of shoes, now—that You'd have some- and you could and his name Kept him in business at all. Tho President of the bank explained Judgment that y take steps to sell the stock on hand and dispose of the store bullding. would give him a few thousand dol- lars In hand and thereby place him in @ position, financially, to meet most This was from Jimmy's mother: Your father facing operation. Not serious, but want you home s00n as possible. Jimmy stood there, knew about his father’s operatio old man had told him six months ago. Just a couple of days in the hospital would be easy. thing in your hand: “These are good shoes. And the other per- son would look, as if he wanted a pair of good shoes—well, But this other thing was not aide of him he f up to a fellow? hia mother now: he knew that. how, how on earth, was he going to be able to give up Virginia? the banker was CONRAD VOLUNTEERED PLEASANTLY. all of his fathe “GOT A LITTLE OF THE OLD STUFF ON THE HIP, TOO,” and then out you'd never 1 been invited t: Jod has worked hin @ retail creamery busi- this whole section of » all going to nd that Conrad bird there was the cost of living. but my idea would be what differenc telegram agaly ud mournfully, istrument that well along in yeurs, forty-quart cans are some could seem to “What's he do? hundred a mont IT don't want to do cost you fifty dollars, and your meals: with that Conrad bird! aid the older ‘4 a whole Tot we don't want to do, when we're y outside of ourselves,” Jimmy said nothing. “Jod's got a good trade worked up, Jim, and he'w willing to sell, r wix hundred dollars, cod suits for called home iiness in my things up for addition to all this the UST before he asking price my's father asked here's what ,500 and $2,000 left hundred and Virginia to ten But tf you te back you that cost you fifteen dollars be » that it's much but if anythin, if anything should happen sell the hous . but I'm willing to uu “Things aren't d thought of that a lttte ing home with your and keeping her happy. in business for yourself, greatest sensation Think tt over, to see me to-morrow dollars in one And you'll be Jimmy's knee, hink about that a long time,’ got out of it f he had done was at last n't think she up the road ward the Cuylerville C: uld tell Jimm that had seen many had done It that last day in New York had seared into his memor . her eyes glea and clutched for The nuree smiledsand nodded other to New ¥ itwelf indelibly Restgning his job had They did not seem surprised did not seem to care. But saying goodby to Virginia heen another story at he couldn't afford a part and it was mighty decent of her had met hirl at the Waldc vad walked up Fifth and. then over to her home Jimmy told her whate he almont t taking over © explained was worth it what Aunt Hat sa g afternoon, listen to your raised hin eyes to those mother week with his father eral times and then talked with the laughed harshly as ae swung tof it to koep up et! EVENING WORLD'S COMPLETE NOVELETTE YOU WE! MYGATT JOHN STON York Went to His Head. What of the Hometown and His Heart: “Most of it," Jimmy agreed weakly banker paused. he finally began. tling filvver alongside the loading platform of the Cuylerville Creamery. Well—and this was this “Bight cans this trip,’ he called out as a man’s head appeared tn a door- way. “And I'll be back for another load thin afternoon,’ 5 Ten mintites later Jimmy and his filvver were roaring and bouncing down the road towan! Carpenterville again. Casually ho looked at his wrist watch. It was just a quarter past seven—in the morning, But Jimmy grinned, The sun was warm and the leaves were green and the birds were singing by tho roadside. And the earlier you got ntarted the more mille you sold, and the more milk you sold —Jimmy's right hand straggled into the pocket of his blue overalls, and there sounded a pleasant jingling of small change. After all, life could be worse H” WAS doing a real business, He had made a new contract with the creamery to take its entire buttermilk output; and as a side line he sold print butter and honey. At half past seven of a week-day evening Jimmy would pilot his little bun Into the back yard of his mother's house and kill the engine, Then, with the shadows long across the cool, sweet grass of the lawns, Jimmy would unburden his overalls pockets ot his day's earnings. His mother would help him then, and generally Mary Denison, and they would count, smoothing the bills out in neat, thick piles, xtacking half dollars and quarters and nickels and dimes, And Mra. Blair would beam All over as they tallied the score, and little Mary Denison would Iterally jump up and down with happiness and excitement Vor Jimmy was making noney. His profits, with bie butter and all, were running over twenty dollars a ay. Of course the car with ts up- keep was coming out of that, but Jimmy was very well saticfed, In fuct, he had already arranged with his friend, the President of the bank, to finance a second car and a helper, on commission; for Matr's butter- milk was becoming known, and ¢ hoes and Troy lay to the south, But so did New York. Jimmy Blair felt strangely guilty about New York; he felt, in fact, as if he were being disloyal. For New York—and what Jimmy really meant was somebody in New York-—-was not so constantly in his mind as he thonght it ought to be. Tast Sunday he had written a long jotter to Virginia Van Westyn, writ- ten her for the first time in almost, a month; and the writing of it had made him feel better. She was the most wonderful girl in the world, no told himself hotly, and some day why, right now he was on the track! HEN, out of a clear sky, Vir- 7 ginia's telegram came, and Jimmy found himself shaking as he read {t, Bhe was motoring through to-morrow, she Informed him, on her way to her father's camp in the Adirondacks, and she would stop for him at 2 o'clock and pick him up and take him atong for the week- end, Where should she meet him? “Woek-end!" Jimmy laughed. ‘Fat chance ve got with the Friday and turday deliveries, Sull, 1 can se her anyway.’ He hurried to the tele graph office and wired his reply. He would be at the Cuylerville Creamery from 1 o'clock on. Jimmy smiled covertly at his choice of the Cuyler- ville Creamery as a meeting plac Might as well let Virginia think tho place was somehow bis! = Then abruptly he scowled Bhucks! He'd promised Mary Deni- son to take her along on the route to-morrow. Mary enjoyed it so, Just like a kid, and she'd been helping him a lot. Already she had lined up about half the housewives in Carpen- terville as steady customers, and to- morrow she was planning to start in on Cuylerville, Well—-he'd have to make some excuse and put it off. He'd tell her most of the truth, that he was expecting some New York friends of his to pick him up along tho road Mary looked at him av steadily with these soft brown eyes of hers and sald; “Of course, Jimmy. What does It matter?’ But tt made Jimmy feel like a cheat Jimmy cut his morning deliveries short next day and raced back to the house at noon to change hia clothes, You’) ruin that nice suit,’ his mother reproved him mildly, ‘And w can you handle the cans with ff white collar on, Jim? Won't New York people notice you in your working otothes? Oh, 1 feel better in these things said Jimmy But he did An he drove back up the Cuylerville road, with his empty flivver rattling under him felt suddenly foolish, out of pli nettled, He, Jimmy Blalr, ashamed of the clothes he worked in! He wished hotly that he had left flan- nel shirt and stained ove: on “It whe doesn’t like ‘em,’? be in self, ‘she can lump ‘en formed that's all He reached the creamery at one snd then he began to wait, One of men there good-naturedly loaded his truck for m; and that again ny feel ashamed Ws 1 a eigaret and looked at h He smoked another and an ther and another He walkest around, sat dewn, steod up. walked ' ¢ He looked at hin Great Seott—haif past ‘ 4 gone by, a we kK quart t efore niny #COY At past four a sleex Delft-Diue touring car slid to a bi C by the creamery gate. Jimmy Bilal> ran out “Helio, Jimmy, old thing,’ @ald Virginia, She was as generous as ever, her fawn-colored hair fluffing out above a fawn-colored motoring ooat “Hello, Virginia, Gosh, it's good te seo you! Oh, hello, Conrad! How are you?’ Jimmy extended his hand. It surprised him that his feeling toward this quondam rival was for some rea- son quite cordiat “Hop tn,"' the gorgeous girl eom- manded. ‘Where's your bag? We're two hours late now, Make it snappy, Jimmy." “IT know darned well you're two hours late,’ Jimmy heard himeelf saying coolly. “But I can't go along with you, Virginia—can't leave the Job. I wired you that “Oh, forget it."’ the girt directed petulantly. ‘‘You and your stupid old Job! You make me sick. Come on—- e're golng to have a great party. You know the gani “Got a little of the old stuff on the hip, too,"' Conrad volunteered pleas- antly Here!'' From somewhere be- neath his feet he produced a quart bottle half full, ‘More where that came from," he added. “You tempt me,” laughed Jimmy, “but [ cam't, I'm awfully so.ry. | hope you didn't misunderatand my wire, Virginia. I just wanted to say hello." “Well, if you can't give up a bloom- ing old job for me I'd lke to know geod you ars, anyw: Vir- ginia stated irritably. Can't you see I can't? Jimmy pleaded. Then suddenly he knew he was angry. He found himself appraising Virginia almost Indifferently, For the first time since he had known her it occurred to him that she was a spoiled, selfish young person, Her nose, he now noticed, was a trifle wind-blown, It made him want to laugh. What a fatuous boob he'd been! Why, this girl's world was as far apart from his as—— He almost laughed aloud! She was pressing her foot on the starter. ‘“'l think you're the most fish thing I ever knew,’ she said as the engine caught. “Think away, old dear,’ said Jimmy with a genial wave of his hand. ‘All we hicks think about is the almighty dollar, you know. Take a drink for me, Conrad—a couple of ‘em."* Well, you certainly are a hick," Virginia announced, for she was an- noyed. “T certainly am," said Jimmy pleas- antly. ‘fl certainly am, from the ground up Virginia was ‘throwing in the gears. “So lon folks," Jimmy called, And they were gone. IMMY BLAIR walked slowly bacit J to the creamery, ‘Darn fool!’ he was muttering. ‘‘Well, that's the way life goes, I guess, Darnel good thing.” He scowled, ‘And to think of me, old Jimmy Blair, falling for a chicken like that—yeh, falling and scraping my nose on the pave- ment. Why, put her up against a girl like Mary Denison—wait a second, He seated himself on the splintere:t sun-warmed boards of the creamery delivery platform, and there, for per- haps ten minutes, he swung his legs and alternately frowned and grinned Then he stood up, shook himself, and stalked into the office, where stood « telephone “Sell that sour old stuff to-mor- row," he murmured cryptically. “To- day goes to profit and loss.’ Then he called u Carpenterville number. ‘That you, Mary?" he asked. “Say, Mary, wait for me--will you? I'll ge at your place in half an hour.’* Jimmy Wlair made it tn twenty- two minutes. On the way he re- hear over and over, just what he was going to say. He was going to tell Mary about betng in the ser and seeing Paris and New York, and getting big ideas, and being all ckoo and getging all balled up about life and its ramifications; and he waa ging to tell her—and Jimmy knew it now—that he had been in love with her all the time, which was a fact, and that he hoped—gosh, how he hoped!=-that she'd let him hang around and try to show her that he was just an ordinary guy who would try like the dickens to prove himself worthy to kiss the hem of her dress— or something like that, anyway. But when he pulled up at the Deni- son house there was Mary at the top of the porch steps, sort of holding her hands together at her throat and staring at him with that funny que: tion-mark look in her big brown eyes. And Was dressed in that brown ail white checked thing that he liked so much, and her brown hatr, all fuzzing out around her face, made her look just like a kid, and the sunlight was throwing leaf shadows across her so that she looked just like the heroine Jiminy Blair killed the engine, dead, and jumped out of his flivver and raced up the steps. He heard himaelf stammering, in « husky voice that didn’t sound like his own at all “Mary, kld-—look at me—no, look at me, right in the eyes! Say, Mary, do you think you could manage to fail In jove with a guy who knows he's a blame fool? And then-—now hadn't he been « fool?—little Mary Denison was lean- ing against his shoulder and crying 1 he was patting her on the back. apy righte-All Rights Rosary Printed, by errenqement with Newepager,