The Syracuse Journal, Volume 19, Number 29, Syracuse, Kosciusko County, 18 November 1926 — Page 7

The GirTin the Mirror

By ELIZABETH JORDAN (d by Th* Ceetsnr c«ps«y.» WNU Service I STORY FROM THE START Laurie Devon. suceeezful P>aywrlgHt. but' somewhat inclined to wildness, attends the wedding of hls sister. Barbara, to whom been left ‘be great Devon fortune. Laurie had been a gay young chap, but for the last year lie has been toeing the mark, through the efforts of Barbara. Laurie, who Is wealthy, refuses to settle down to work, announcing 4 his intentton of resting and seeking adventure From hie window in New York he observes L the reflection of a beautiful girl in a mirror in the residence opposite. CHAPTER ll—Continued As they looked, she suddenly stirred and moved backward, as if occultly warned of their survey. They saw her close the window, and. drawing a chair close to It. sit down and stare out through the pane, still with that intent. Impersonal expression. Hangs -strolled back to the dressing case acS resumed his Interrupted toilet Lanrie, fumbling vaguely with bL> brushes, kept hls eyes on tha girl m the mirror. “She’s a wonder. Prettiest girl I've •ever seen. I think." he reflected aloud. Bangs snorted. “She’s probably a peroxide." be said. “Even If she isn’t, she can’t bold a candle to your sister." "Oh. Barbara--” Laurie consid errd the question of Barbara's beauty as If It were new to him. “Babe is good-looking.” he handsomely conceded. “But there’s something about thia girl that’s unusual. Perhaps It’s her egprraslou. She doesn’t look happy.” Bangs sighed with ostentation. “If you want to study some one that han’t happy, look at tne.” he invited warmly. “If that play of mine isn’t •at of me pretty soon. I'll have to have ah operation!” Laurie made no reply to this pathetto predict lea, and Bangs sadly shook bls head and concluded bls toilet, meditating gloomily the while on the unpleasant Idiosyncrasies of every one tee knew. To see Devon turn suddenly Into a loafer upset all his theories as well as bis plana. Laurie. so» some reason, dawdled more than usual that morning. It was after eleven before he went to breakfast. An hour earlier Bangs departed alone for their pet restaurant. The girl In the mirror remained at her window for a long time, and laurie watched her in growing fascination. It was not until she rose and disappeared that he felt moved to consider so sordid a question as that of food. He joined Bangs just as that youth was finishing his after-breakfast cigar. Keen under Its soothing influence, he was tn the mood of combined exasperation and depression with which his friends were becoming familiar. “If we had begun work as soon as •we got back to town after your sister’s wedding." he told Laurie, “we d have had two acta reedy by now. in the rough.” “No reason why you shouldn’t have four acta ready, so far as 1 can see.” murmured Laurie. cheerfully attacking his grape fruit. "Ail you’ve got to do Is to write ’em." Bangs' Ups set. "Not till I’ve talked 'em over with you and got your ideas.” he declared, positively. “If you'd just lot me give you sn outline—" Laurie set down bls cup. "Do I get my breakfast In peace, er Aoa't IF he demanded, coldly. “Ton do. confound you I” Range bit off the end of a fresh edger and smoked ft in stolid silence. He was a person of one idee. If he couldn't talk about the play, he couldn’t talk at aIL He meditated, •considering his characters, his situs tloas, his partners and bis own position. in a mental jumble that had lately become habitual and which was eeriomdy affecting his nerves. Laurie, as he ate. chatted cheerfully and at vaudom. apparently avoiding with ■care any subject that might interest bls partner. Bangs rose abruptly. "Well, I’m off." he said. "See you at dinner time. I suppose." But Laurie, it appeared, had engagements. He was taking a party ot friends out to Oedney Farms that evening. tn bls new car, and they might ■decide to stay there for a day or two. Also, though he did not confide thia fact to Bangs, be had an engagement for the afternoon, at a place where the card rooms were quiet and elegant and the stakes high. The attraction of these diversions filled his mind. He quite forgot the girt In the mirror, and it was no thought of her that drew him back to New York that night The plans of bis guests had changed, that wan all. The change brought him home at eleven o'clock. He fell asleep with surprising ease, and immediately, as It seemed, he saw the girl In the mirror. She was walking toward him. though what apj«eared to be a heavy fog. Her hands were outstretched to him. and be hurried to meet her; but even as he did so the fog closed down and he lost her. though he seemed to hear her voice, calling him from somewhere far away. He awoke late in the morning with every detail of the dream vivid in his mind, so vivid, indeed, that when be approached 'toe mirror after bis morning plunge. It seemed almost a convinuatioo of the dream to find the girt there. He stopped short with a chuckle. The curtains of his French window were drown apart, and tn the ninw be saw the reflection of the girl as she stood tn profile near her own an curtained window and slowly dressed hair. It was wonderful hair, much more woaderfd! down than up Laurie with ms th* Foaoniri mass that fell down over the girt's white garment Then, with a little <h<M-k. he realised that the white garment was a night-dress, it was evlfew*, that *be giri thought hersaif safe

♦ from observation and was quietly making her toilet for the morning. Well, she should be safe. With a quick jerk. Laurie drew together the heavy curtains that hung at the sides of the long window. Then, smiling a little, he slowly dressed. His thoughts dwelt on the giri. It was odd that she should be literally projected into his life In that unusual fashion. He had never had any such experience before, nor had he heard of one just like IL It was unique and pleasant. It was especially pleasant to have her so young and so charming to look at. He wished he knew her name and something more about her. His thoughts were full of her. Before he left the room he parted the curtains again to open the window wide, following his usual program. As he did so he glanced into his mirror He saw her open window. but it was lifeless. Only his own disappointed face confronted hiss. CHAPTER 111 laiurie Meets Miss Mayo Laurie thought much that day about the girl In the mirror, and he was I again home at eleven that night, to the wonder of Mr. Pangs, who freely expressed hla surprise. "Something pleasant been coming your way?” he tactfully asked. Laurie evaded the question, but he felt that something definitely pleasant had come his way. This something was a new interest, and he bad needed a new Intereat very much. He hoped he would dream of the girl that night, hut aa he and Bangs unwisely consumed a Welsh rabbit before they went to bed. he dreamed instead of something highly unpleasant, and was glad to be awakened by the ciear sunlight of a brilliant January day. After breakfast he strolled across the square into the somber hall of the studio building on Its southwest corner. The hall was empty, but he found and rang a bell at the entrance of a dingy elevator shaft. The elevator descended without haste. When It had reached the floor, the colored youth in charge of it Inhospitably filled its doorway and regarded the visitor with indifference. This young man was easy to look at. but he was no one he knew. Laurie handed him a dollar and the youth’s expression changed, first to one of surprise, then to the tolerance of a man who Is wise and Is willing to share his wisdom. The visitor went at once to the point of hls visit "A young lady lives here.” he began. “She Is very pretty, and she has reddish hair and brown eyes. She has a studio In one of the upper floors, at the front of the house. What's her nameF The boy's face showed that he had . instantly recognised the description, but he pondered dramatically. “Pat young lady?" he then said. "Dat young lady mus’ be Mias Mayo, in Twenty-nine, on de top flo'. She Jea' moved in here las’ Tuesday." “Where does she come from, and what does she do?" The bov hesitated. What did all thia mean? And was he giving up too much for a dollar? Laurie grinned at him onderstandlngly. "1 don’t know her.” he admitted, "and I don’t expect to. I'd like to know something about her—that's sil.” The youth nodded. He had the air of accepting an apology. T reckon she come sum some fur’n place. But 1 dunno what she do.” he reluctantly admitted. “Mebbe she ain't doin' nothin' yit She’s home moe’ de time. She don* go out bardiy ’tall. Seems like she don’ know many folks” “One fine got me guessin'.” he muttered doubtfully. "Det young lady, she don't seem f eat nothin'!” “What do you mean F Laurie stared at him. The hoy shnlfied his feet Ho was on uncertain ground. "Why, jea' what I said.” he muttered. defensively. "Folkses here either eats In or <ley eats out Ks dey eats in. dijrhu stuff sent in—roils an’ eggs an' milk an' stuff like dat. Ks dey eats uuL dey goes oat. reg’lar, to meals. But Miss Mayo she don i seem to eat in or out. Nothin’ comes In. an* she doo' Ago out Dough to eat , reg’lar. I bln studyin' 'bout it cen- | siderTle.” he ended; and he looked | unmistakably relieved as if be had passed on to another a burden that I was too heavy tol carry atone. Laurie hesitated The situation was presenting a nyw angle and a wholly unexpected mie. It began to look aa if he had come' on a sentimental errand and had stumbled on a tragedy. There was a chance that the boy might be /all wrong In hls inferences, although thls chance. Laurie mentally admitted, was slight He knew the shrewdness of this youth’s type- the precocious knowledge of human nature (that often accompanies such training and environment as he had had. Probably be susoected even more than he had revealed. Something must be done. Laurie drew a bill from his pocket. "How soon can you leave the elevs tor F he asked. "'Bout one o'clock.” "All right. Now. here’s what I want you to do. Take this money, go over to the Clarence restaurant, and buy a good lunch for that lady. Get some hot chicken or chops, buttered roils, vegetables, and a bottle of milk. Have ft packed nicely in a box. Have them put in some fresh egg* and extra rolls and batter for her breakfast. Deliver the box at her door as if it came from some one oatside. Do that and keep the change. Understand?” “Yeah. ash!" The boy’s eyes snd teeth were shining. “All right. <to to it. 11l drop tn later this afternoon for your report.” Laurie turned snd "walked away. Even yet the experience did not seem real. It was probably all based on some foolish notion of the youth’s; and yet he dared not assume that It was a foolish notion. He had the dramatist’s distaste for drama anywhere except In its legitimate place, <m the stage ; bus he admitted that sometimes It did occur In life. This might bn «M of those roro occasion*

Whatever it was, it haunted him He lunched with Bangs that day. sad was so silent that Bangs was moved to comment. “If you were any one else." he remarked. *Td almost think you were thinking!" Laurie disclaimed the charge, bat his abstraction did not lift. By this time hls imagination was hard at work. He pictured the girl in the mirror as stretched on her virginal cot in the final exhaustion of starvation; and the successful effort to keep away from the studio building till four o’clock called for all hls will power. Suppose the boy blundered, or wasn’t tn time. Suppose the girl really had not eaten anything since last Tuesday ! These thoughts, and similar ones, obsessed him. At four be strolled Into the studio hall, wearing what he hoped waff a detached and casual air. When the elevator appeared, he entered It with the others who were waiting. He looked aloofly past the elevator boy as be did so, and that young person showed himself equal to the situation by presenting to this newcomer a stolid ebony profile. But when the lift had reached the top floor and discharged its passengers, the two conspirators lent themselves to the drama of their roles. “Well?” asked Laurie eagerly. “Did you get ItF "Yaas. Bah." “What happenedF J The boy stopped hls descending cat midway between two floors. He had no intention of having his scene spoiled. He bulged visibly under the | news he had to impart. T got de stuff you said, and I lef it at dat young lady's do*.” he began Impressively. “Tee." "When 1 looked de nex* time, it was gone.” "Good! She had taken it In.” Laurie drew a breath of relief. "No. sah. Dat ain’t all." The boy's tone dripped evil tidings. “She brung it back I” "What !” His passenger was staring at him in concern. “Yaas. sah. De bdl rung sum her flo.' aDd' when I got up de young lady was standin' dere wid dat basket in her hand." He paused to give Laurie the effect of the tableau, and saw by his visitor's expression that he had got it fully. “Yea? Go onI" "She look at me mighty sharp. She got brown eyes dat look right thoo you." he Interpolated briskly. "Den she say, 'Sam. who done lef dat basket at my do’?* I say, 'I done It. miss. It was lef in de hall, an' de ca'd got yo' name on IL Ain’t you order It?' I say. “ 'No.' she say. ‘dis yere basket ain't fo’ me. Take IL an’ es you cafb’t find out who belong to it. eat dis yere lunch yo’aelf.* He paused. “I et it,” he ended, solemnly. Laurie's lips twitched under conflicting emotions, hut he cloaed the Interview with a fair Imitation of indlf ference. "Oh, well.” he aald carelessly, “you must have been mistaken about the whole thing. Evidently Miss Mayo. If that's her name, wasn't as hungry as you were.” The boy nodded and started the cat I on Its downward journey. As hls pas ! sen ger got off on the ground floor, he gave him a new thought to carry away with him. "She’d bin cryin’, dough," he mut tered. "Her eyes was all red.” Laurie stopped and regarded him ' resentfully. * "Confound you !" he said, "what did you tell me that for? I can’t do any thing about it!" The boy agreed, hurriedly. “No. | sah,” he assured him. "You cain’t I caln't. neither. None of us cain’t," be sdded as an afterthought. Laurie slowly walked away. Hl* thoughts scampered around and around, like squirrels In a cage. The return of the basket, of course, might i mean either of two conditions—that i the giri was toe proud to accept help, or that she was really In no need ot It. I-a uric had met a few art students. He knew that, hungry or not. almost | any one of them would cheerfully i have takes in that basket and consumed its contents. He had built on , that knowledge in providing It. If the giri had taken it in. the fact would have proved nothing. Her refusal to touch It was suspicious. It swung the weight of evidence toward the eleva- ■ tor boy’s starvation theory. I.a urie’s thoughts returned to that Imaginative youth. He saw hire consaming the girl's luncheon, and a new suspicion crossed his mind. Perhaps the whole business was a bit of graft. Bat hia intelllrence rejected that suggestion. If this had been the expla natioa. the boy would not have con eluded the episode so briskly. He had got the strange young man where he might have “kept him going” for days I and made a good Income in the proeI eea. As it was. there seemed noth Ing more to do. And yet—and yet— I how the deuce could one let the thing drop like that? If the giri was really la straitsThus the subconscious argument went on and on. It worried lomrie. | He was not used to such violent mental exercise. He dined alone that ! night and it was well he did so. Hls : lack of appetite would certainly have attracted the attention of Bangs or any other fellow diner, and Bangs would as certainly have commented upon it. The next morning he deliberately kept away from the mirror anti! he I was fully dressed, but be dressed with a feeling of tenseness and urgency be wwald have found It difficult to explain. He only know that today be meant to do something definite, aomettelng that yrould settle ooee for all the question that filled bis mind. But what ronld he do? That little point was still unsettled. Knock at the girl's door, pretend that It wan a blunder, and trust to inspiration to discover in the brief encounter if anything was wrong? Or put money tn an envelop and push it under her door? If be did that she woald probably give the money to 3am, aa aha had given him the food. Tha girl In the mirror acts—• I and speaks. ‘ <TU BK COjrriNUMD-1

TUB SYRACUSE JOURNAL

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