Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 4 June 1936 — Page 25

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Today's Short Story——— OUR BOARDING HOUSE

WHOLE LOAF | fo me

| BECAUSE OB YO HONESTY AND: By Alma and Paul Ellerbe THOUGHTFULNESS, IN RETURNIN'

2 DE DEED AN’ WILL TO OUR 77 'CUENT, ALDERMAN FATTLETON, ¢~ WE'S BEEN INSTRUCTED 7% TO SEND YO DE INCLOSED ED SWEET, { SKNED—~ N Es SWEENEY AND SWEENEY”/ 7;

i“ { ITM TRYING TO GET UP

-THE STAIRS -1 HAVE SPOOFING ME 2 4 RE Emon Fl=-FivE HUNDRED-DA-DOLLARS [ SPUTT=T=T~ & Y GAD! I.FEEL

7 Sp lore

and color and mystery that are New York at the twilight of a clear day: “You know damn well how!” she could hear his voice saying in reply: “Too much business in your cosmos! I like your nerve, asking

~~ \ /

ARGOT TEALE sat at her desk in the old-fashioned two-room kitchen and bath walk-up apartment on W. 10th-st that had been home to her during the whol» of the brief period of her business - life. She felt uneasy about the most important thing in all her world— her relationship to Philip Wayne. She hadn't seen him for 10 days, but she knew perfectly well that something ought to be done about it. It was, however, airplane time in Margot Teal's career as a publicity woman, and her desire to do something about that was an itch, a frenzy, an obsession, of the kind

that had already, in a mild sort of |

way, made her famous. Her feeling about even Philip Wayne was, just now, as a 16-candle power bulb to the sun to her feeling about the publicity potentialities of the Ariel airplane, the justout, $600 beauty whose hopoff into the public consciousness it was her

- newest job to superintend.

8 ” »

HE knew it shouldn't have been, but it was. In fact, at that very moment, when Phil heaved himself up so extraneously out of her subconscious mind .or somewhere, she was up fo the eyebrows in line drawings, cuts, paintings, newspaper spreads and pamphlets, all about the ‘Ariel. * : - “I'll telephone him,” she resolved, “the moment I'come up for air,” and forgot Phil Wayne, time, space and her own identity in her work. Among the things she forgot was Mrs. Henschel, come from somewhere in the very West Forties to clean house, as she did once a week and had done once a week until she almost faded now for Margot into the wallpaper. _ Margot pondered, scribbled, telephoned, figured, read copy and corrected it, and Mrs. Henschel was telling about a. vacation trip her husband was making, solo; to California. ” ” ”

i A aan you want to go . too?” Margot inquired, a little dazed from the jerk back from imaginary coastings down the long savannahs of the blue in the Arjel. ~ “Oh, I don’t know. It would have been very nice, no doubt. But I .never crave what others get and J dont.” . : : It's probably true, Margot thought. An elderly woman, as remote and still and impersonal ae the attraction of gravitation. An odd instrument for Fate to choose for the stabbing awake of Margot : Teale, ; “I never craved but one thing in

‘my life, and that was the man I

didn’t marry.” “Yes?” Margot said. She forgot the Ariel. * ; “I began to crave him the night TI married my husband. I don’t - know why I didn’t listen to him when he kept asking me to marry him. I guess it was because I was _ so young, and—and pretty — and green here in America. I thought I could have the world. I thought everybody got rich here.

" E was smart and a good worker. His shoes were full of money right then. But something—I don’t know what—made me laugh and put my fingers in my ears and run whenever hé tried to talk to me. . One day he cried, and I called him a big dumhead. After that he didn't come any ‘more. I-‘thought he - would, of course. I thought so for a long time. But he went away off somewhere, I néver heard where. “I don't know how it was I be.gan to crave him the night I married my husband. That was seven years afterward. My husband is a good man. I had respect for him. He said he would give me a home. The brother I had lived with was married my that time and I needed a placetogoto..,.” Mrs. Herschel's words lingered in the air—*. . , a place to go to.” “There's only one place for me to go to,” Margot said, “and that's you, Phil Wayne,” and reached for the telephone. :

2 =» =

UT he had gone, the switchboard operator at his apartment house told her, to dine at the Kentucky Cardinal on Eighth-st. Dining alone, Margot thought, putting on her coat and hat to join him there, at the place where they used to dine together at least three times a week. Poor old boy! She'd given him a raw deal! “Phil, darldng.” she said to him .in. her ought “how did. we get like

me how we got like this!” “We'll be married -immediately,” she’d say to him now when she saw him. “Tomorrow, if you like. Tonight. Any time. An old cleaning woman woke me up, and I won't be half asleep about it ever any more, darling. I promise you.” ” ” ” HE hadn't the least premonition of what was coming, either. She approachéd the Kentucky Cardinal as unprepared for Laura Bradfield as for a royal Bengal tigress—not that the two were alike in anything save unexpectedness. Unprepared, indeed, for any woman, but least of all the women in the world for Laura. : : Stopping in sudden breathlessness at sight of her, she stared at the two of them through the window

of the little restaurant, bent toward each other over a small ta-

oldest and best friend. Why had he gone. back to her? She had dropped out of his life since he had been in love with Margot. “Why don’t you see her any more?” Margot had said, and he didn’t tell her, but murmured vaguenesses about being busy. He had gone on murmuring vagueness and he had not seen Laura. Had he once been in love with her! Margot: had though so. And now— He looked up suddenly and caught her eye through the window, and she gave hima little wave of the hand and walked on, something tight about her heart. For there had been nothing casual or cowardly or natural about his nod, and she had seen the red flow into his face . .. ” 2 2 “ O you remember,” he said

when he came two hours later —she had known he would come and

black gown and got the fire burning brightly under the funny old marble mantel and laid out the cigarets he liked best—‘“do you remember what I said to you at Tony's the last time we dined there?” “Yes,” she said, and ‘looking at him standing there before her fire, taut and worried and serious, the words came back to her: “There’s no blood in your veins now—just ink. I expect to see you come out with your hair tied up in typewriter ribbons, and brass paper fasteners on your clothes instead of buttons. “If you had a husband you'd probably expect to keep him in a filing cabinet somewhere. Snap out of it, girl, before—well, before I do, see? I'm Old Dog Tray and all that. Ill stand without hitching. But I won't stand forever.”

# 2 2

ber, Phil. You warned me repeatedly. I did think I had you— but that was because I knew you had me. I—I did behave as if I had filed you for reference. Have you snapped out of it?” He stared at her for a long, taut moment. “Something’s come back into Laura’s face that had gone out of it—Ilife, hope, courage, the will to live, something. It's come back because when I met her on the street feeling sort of lost-doggy and hopeless, I told her I felt like that and asked her to have dinner with me. Margot,” he said with a sort of painful humbleness, “Laura's in love with me.” “Yes,” she said; been.” “I wasn't sure before; but I'm sure now. It's a man’s world. All

“she’s always

en. Especially women like Laura. Faithful, pure-hearted, patient, oldfashioned, good—sort of magnifi cent.” oF : Fa ‘ HE looked at her intently. “Margot, I could change the world for Laura. It hurt .me terribly ‘to see how much she hopes I'm going to. To see that—that life come

road—whatever it ‘is. Never to hurt it.” 2 The cold sweat sprang out all over Margot Teale. “Do you want to marry her?” “No,” he said steadily. “I want to marry you—if you want me enough. But not as your half-a-loaf. Not——" . : “I want you enough for anything.” ‘He bent over her where she sa beneath the light and looked deep into her ;

her. . §

(Copyright, Svs Syndicate Toes

» As she went into the tenderness

ble, talking earnestly—Phil and his |

had put on his favorite’ violet and |.

“ ES,” Margot said, “I remem-| °

the cards are stacked against wom- |

back into her face. About all the |: religion I've got is ‘to give that ‘the |

“Thank God!” he said, and kissed

FRECKLES AND HIS FRIENDS—

iL LAND SAKES ALIVE! | | WHERE IN THE NAME [] Y OF GOODNESS DID YoU DIG UP THOSE BONES 2

Q (TAG, TM JUST ABOUT AT MY WIT'S END WITH THIS DOG

CARTING ALL

THE LING ROOM! IT.HAS

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—By Blosser

. HEY, THAT YOU,EASY?Z THIS IS SHERIFF IKE PEPPER, IN TURTLE CREEK..HANG THE

ALLEY OOP

IDAHO BUTCH, THE DESPERADO WE CA

PTURED. \

TED OUTA JAIL-TUK THE JAILER'S GUN—BE DON'T KNOW WHERE TH' HECK HE WINT. /

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NEVER

MIND THAT! JusT SEE THAT HE DOESN'T DRAG IN ANY MORE BONES! I WHAT HE LIKES TO WANT You © SPEAK TO

I WouLD, MoM, BUT GEE, I DON'T KNOW

TALK Aout!

Hm!

—By Crane

BY NOW,HE'S PROBLY 500 MILE AWAY, HANG THE LUCK, ID TELL WHO KILT JEFF PICKET.YOUWIL] || SUH. WHENEVER I 1 Eo HAVE A TOUGH TRE CATCHING ger. CATCH HIM, TLL NEVER N | D

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BOOTS {xp HER BUDDIES.

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WHERE GOES ON

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{HERE WE ARE. OKAY-MAN, TM SO AT TH’ PALACE / HUNGRY 1 COULD EAT A FULL-GROWN

THE MURDE

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HELLO, WUR ? WHERES X YES, I'M KING ~HOW'LL TH'—HEY, WHUT TH'-/ ARE YoU

(7DEPEND ON ONE THING,

LEAVE HIM IN JOUR CAR

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GOOD MORNING, OOP.

YOU HAVE YOUR 8 TURTLE EGGS

: TH’ KING?/

=X "= J i 20 1936 BY NEA SERVICE, INC.

WEEKS

“3 & 1 ]

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BOOKED

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