Indianapolis Times, Volume 35, Number 224, Indianapolis, Marion County, 27 January 1923 — Page 8

8

ALICE ADAMS by BOOTH TARKINGTON Copyright, 1921, by Doubleday, Page & Cos.

Begin here Because VIRGIL ADAMS' salary is insufficient to provide such luxuries for his daughter, ALICE, as are enjoyed I.V her friends, MILDRED PALMER and HENRIETTA LAMB, she is thinking seriously of going on the stage. Since meeting ARTHUR RUSSELL Alice resents her habit of presenting to the world a rosy false self, but thinks she must continue to play her make-believe part. Her brother, WALTER, hears from JOE LAMB that it is expected Arthur Russell will marry Mildred Palmer and upon her father's death will take his p.aee in business. Circumstances caused Alice to give up hope of Mr. Russell calling to see her, but one evening, wtai'e meditating on the little veranda, he srnves unexpectedly and explains why this is the first opportunity he has had to mine since he last saw her. Go on With the Story e H, she!” Alice said, ■ V sharply, but she recovered X. M herself In the same Instant and laughed. “She wanted to show you to the principal business women, I suppose.” "I don’t know. At all events, I shouldn’t give myself out to be so much feted by your ‘fellow-citizens,’ after all, seeing these were both done by my relatives, the Palmers. However, there are others to follow, I'm afraid. I was wondering—l hoped maybe you'd be coming to some of them. Aren’t you?” “I rather doubt it,” Alice said, slowly. “Mildred's dance was almost the only evening I’ve gone out since my father's illness began. He seemed better that day; so I went He was better the other day when he wanted those cigars. He’s very much up and down.” She paused. “I’d almost forgotten that Mildred’ is your cousin.” “Not a very near one,” he explained. “Mr. Palmer’s father was my great-uncle.” “Still, of course, you are related.” “Yes; that distantly.” Alice said placidly, "It’s quite an advantage.” He agreed. “Yes. It is. “No,” she said, in the same placid tone. “I mean for Mildred.” “I don’t see ” She laughed. “No. You wouldn’t. I mean it’s an advantage over the rest of us who might like to compete for some of your time; and the worst of it is we can’t accuse her of being unfair about it. We can’t prove she showed any trickiness in having you for a cousin. Whatever else she might plan to do with you, she didn’t plan that. So the rest of us must just bear it!” “ ‘The rest of you!’ ” he laughed. “It’s going to mean a great deal of suffering!” Alice resumed her placid tone. “You’re staying at the Palmers, aren’t you?” "No, not now. I’ve taken an apartment. I’m going to live here; I’m permar ent. Ddidn't I tell you?” ‘I think I'd hea*-d somewhere that you were,” she sain. “Do you think you’ll like living here?” “How can one tell?” “If I were in your place I think I should be able to tell, Mr. Russell.” “How?” “Why, good gracious!” she cried. “Haven't you got the most perfect creature in town for your—your cousin? She expects to make you like living here, doesn’t she? How could you keep from liking it, even if you tried not to, under the circumstances?” “Well, you see, there's such a lot of cirumstances,” he explained. “I'm not such I'll like getting back into a business again. I suppose most of the men of my age In the country have been going through the same experience; the war left us with a considerable restlessness of spirit.” ‘You were in the war?” she asked, quickly, and as quickly answered herself. “Os course you were!” “I was a left-over; they only let me out about four months ago,” he said. “It’s quite a shake-up trying to settle down again.” “Yvu were in France, then?” “Oh, yes; but I didn’t get up to the front much—only two or three times, and then just for a day or so. I was in the transportation service.” “You were an officer, of course.” “Yes,” he said. “They let me play I was a major.” “I guessed a major,” she said. “You'd always be pretty grand, of course.” Russell was amused. “Well, you see,” he informed her, “as it happened, we had at least several other majors in our army. Why would I always be something ‘pretty grand?’ ” “You’re related to the Palmers. Don’t you notice they always affect the pretty grand?” “Then you think I'm only one of their affectations, I take it.”

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“Yes, you seem to be the most successful one they’ve got!” Alice said, lightly. “You certainly do belong to them.” And she laughed as if at something hidden from him. “Don’t you?” “But you’ve just excused me for that,” he protested. “You said nobody could be blamed for my being their third cousin. What a contradictory girl you are!” r Alice shook her head. “Let’s keep away from the kind of a girl I am.” “No,” he said. “That’s just what I came here to talk about.” She shook her head again. “Let’s keep first to the kind of a man you are. I’m glad you were in the war.” “Why?” “Oh, I don’t know.” She was quiet a moment, for she was thinking that here she spoke the truth; his service put about him a little glamour that helped to please her with him. She had been pleased with him during their walk; pleased with him on his own account; and now that pleasure was growing keener. She looked at | him, and though the light in which \ she saw him was little more than starlight, she saw that he was looking steadily at her with a kindly and smiling seriousness. All at once it seemed to her that the night air was sweeter to breathe, as if a distant fragrance of new blossoms had been ' blown to her. She smiled back to him and said. “Well, what kind of man ; are you?" “I don't know; I’ve often wondered," j he replied. “What kind of girl j are you?” “Don't you remember? I told you ■ the other day. I’m just me!” “But who Is that?” “You forget everything,” said Alice. “You told me what kind of a girl I am. You seemed to think you’d taken quite a fancy to me from the very first.” "So I did,” he agreed, heartily. “But how quickly you forgot it!” “Oh, no. I only want you to say what kind of a girl you are.” She mocked him. “‘I don’t know: 1 I’ve often wondered!’ What kind of a girl does Mildred tell you I am?, What has she said about me since she; told you I was ‘a Miss Adams?’ ” “I don't know; I haven't asked her.” i “Then don't ask her,” Alice said, quickly. “Why?” “Because shes’ such a perfect I creature and I’m such an imperfect one. Perfect creatures have the most; perfect way of ruining the imperfect j ones.” “But then they wouldn’t be perfect. Not if they—” “Oh, yes, they remain perfectly perfect,” she assured him. “That's be cause they never go into details. They’re not so vulgar as to come , right out and tell that you’ve been in , jail for stealing chickens. They just look absent-minded and say in a low voice, ‘Oh, very: but I scarcely think you’d like her particularly;’ and then begin to talk of something else right away.” His smile had disappeared. “Yes,” he said, somewhat ruefully. “That does sound like Mildred. You certainly seem to know her! Do you know everybody as well as that?” “Not myself,” Alice said. “I don't know myself at all. I got to wondering about that—about who I was —the other day after you walked home with me." He uttered an exclamation, and added, explaining it, “You do give a man a chance to be fatuous, though! As if it were walking home with me that made you wonder about yourself!” “It was,” Alice informed him, coolly. “I was wondering what i wanted to make you think of me, in case I should ever happen to see you again.” This audacity appeared to take his breath. “By George!” he cried. “You musn’t be astonished,” she j said. “What I decided then was that i I would probably never dare to be 1 just myself with you—not if I cared to have you want to see me again—and yet here I am, just being myself after all!" “You are the cheeriest series of shocks. Russell exclaimed, whereupon Alice added to the series. Tell me: Is It a good policy for me to follow with you?” she asked, and he found the mockery In her voice delightful. “Would you advise ms to offer you shocks as a sort of vacation from suavity?” "Suavity” was yet another sketch of Mildred; a recognizable one, or it would not have been humorous. In Alice’s hands, so dexterous in this work, her statuesque friend was becoming as ridiculous as a fine figure of wax left to the mercies of a satirist. But the lively young sculptress knew better than to overdo; what she did must appear to spring all from mirth; so she laughed as if unwilling, and said, “I mustn’t laugh at Mildred! In the first place, she's your —your cousin. And in the second place, she’s not meant to be funny; it isn’t right to laugh at really splendid people who take themselves seriously. In the third place, you won’t come again if I do.” “Don’t be sure of that,” Rusao3 said, “whatever you do.” “ ‘Whatever I do?’ ” she echoed. “That sounds as if you thought I could be terrific! Be careful; there's one thing I could do that would keep you away.” “What’s that?” “I could tell you not to come.” she said. “I wonder if I ought to.” “Why do you wonder if you ‘ought to?’ ” “Don’t you guess?” “No.” “Then let’s both be mysterious to each other,” she suggested. “I mystify you because I wonder, and you mystify me because you don’t guess why I wonder. We’ll let it go at that, shall we?” “Very well; so long as it’s certain that you don’t tell me not to come again.” “I’ll not tell you that —yet,” she I said. “In fact—” She paused, reflect- 1 ing, with her head to one side. “In ' fact, I won’t tell you not to come, ! probably, until I see that’s what you j want me to tell you. I’ll let you out ; easily—and I’ll be sure to see it. Even j before you do, perhaps.’^ “That arrangement suits me,” Rjs- ; sell returned, voice held no trace of had become serious. ‘lt si. if you’re enough in eaifcfrijy\nnan that I

DOINGS OF THE DUFFS—

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can come—oh, not whenever 1 want to; I don’t expect so much!—but if you mean that I can see you pretty often.” "Os course I'm in earnest,” she said. ‘‘But before I say you can come ‘pretty often,’ I*d like to know how much of my time you’d need if you did come 'whenever you want to; and of course you wouldn’t dare make any answer to that question except one. Wouldn’t you let me have Thursdays out?”

OUT OUR WAY—By WILLIAMS

THE OLD HOME TOWN—By STANLEY

"No, no,” he protested. “I want to know. Will you let me come pretty often?” “Lean toward me a little,” Alice said. “I want you to understand.” And as he obediently bent his head near hers, she inclined toward him as if to whisper; then, in a half-shout, she cried: “Yes!” He clapped his hands. “By George!” he said. “What a girl you are!”

TIIL INDIAN APOUB TIMES

“Why?” “Well, for the first reason, because you have such gaieties as that one. I should think your father wold actually like being ill, just to be in the house with you all the time.” “You mean by that,” Alice inquired, “I keep my family cheerful with my amusing little ways?” “Yes. Don’t you?” “There were only boys in your family, weren’t there, Mr. Russell?”

Danny Meets the Boss

Play This in Winldimr-March-Timo

“I was an pnly child, unfortunately.” “Yes,” she said. “I see you hadn’t any sisters.” For a moment he puzzled over her meaning, then saw It, and was more delighted with her than ever. “I can answer a question of yours, now, that I couldn’t a while ago.” “Yes, I know,” she returned quietly. “But how could you know?” “It’s the question I asked you about

FRECKLES AND HIS FRIENDS—By BLOSSER

OUR BOARDING HOUSE—By AHERN

whether you were going to like living here,” she said. ‘‘You’re about to tell me that now you know you will like it." “More telepathy!” he exclaimed, “Yes, that was it, precisely. I suppose the same thing’s been said to you so many times that you ” “No, it hasn’t,” Alice said, a little confused for the moment. “Not at all. I meant ” She paused, then asked in a gentle voice, "Would you really

t) Li, JLLwJ

—By ALLMAN

—By AL POSEN

like to know?” "Yes.” “Well, then, I was only afraid you didn’t mean it.” "See here,” he said. “I did mean it. I told you it was being pretty difcult for me to settle down to things again. Well, it’s more difficult than you know, but I think I can pull through in fair spirits if I can see a girl like you ‘pretty often.’ ” (To Be Continued.)