TEN__
i
n
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Of the six girls working with
BiU and Gayle, only two possessed
evening dresses, and theirs were
somewhat outdated, Gayle
guessed.
“We must all look our nicest
for the ball,’’ Gayle told the oth
ers. “Fortunately we do not have
much changing of costumes to do
for the first act in 10 minutes,
and I am going to hire six or eight
little boys I know to herd the
crowd from one place to another
that evening. We’ll dress them
as wood sprites or brownies or
something, in keeping with the out
door setting. But the girls—all of
us—must look our prettiest, so we
will get evening gowns and charge
it to expenses.’’
The thought was thrilling.
Two of the six “Merrifield girls
had never owned any sort of for
mal attire. All of them welcomed
the opportunity to get new things.
They discussed the matter with
Gayle and learned, after some in
vestigation, that simple, yet defi
nitely pretty gowns, could be had
for about $35 each. This would in
clude a few essential trimmings.
The total cost of about $250 did
seem like a great deal of money
to Gayle. She shopped and looked
and figured and figured, but she
couldn’t see any way to cut ’•
down. She knew the girls had tc
be dressed well that evening; the
type of guests coming would make
that mandatory, as would the
whole tradition of the Oaks. And
she did not feel that it was fair to
ask the girls to pay $35 from their
own salaries- she herself had no
salary to draw from.
Finally she decided to risk it.
The girls had a veritable picnic
choosing. Most of their selections
were’ based on white—girlish, frilly
materials with assorted bits oi
color. The other six girls all
ganged up on Lola Montesa, how
ever, and saw to it that she had
a remarkable gown of crimson
lace, silK, over a similarly colored
slip.
iou ao your nair so oeautuuuy,
Lola dear,” Gayle said, "so that
it forms a sort of black frame
or background for your face. Use
some makeup that matches the
slip in tint. And on your nails.
Eut the rest of us will all hate
you!”
Gayle told the girls each to add
a hair-do and manicure to the ex
pense list for that day, and inex
pensive but pretty new shoes.
When they were back at The
Oaks again, Gayle went immedi
ately upstairs to Mr. Merrifield’s
study, asked to see him and then
told him what she had done. She
was quietly apologetic, saying she
toped that he wouldn’t think them
wasteful, and that they would
surely make more than enough
money out of the play to pay ex
penses.
Old Mr. Merrifield smiled be
nignly. Then, in an instant his ex
pression changed to the one of
mock ferocity he loved to assume.
"Mr. Weems!” he bellowed loud
ly. “Come in here at once! Do
you hear me, sir?”
“Oh, of course, sir!” The elderly
secretary hastened in from an ad
joining office. He looked mildly
alarmed.
‘Mr. Weems, 1 am ashamed of
you. How long, sir, has it been
since you purchased flowers for
any woman?”
Mr. Weems’ old mouth worked
silently, then—“W-woman, sir?”
“Yes, woman! Of course I said
woman! Don’t you know what a
woman is?”
“Oh, of course, sir! A woman
—is—.”
“I thought not. Mr. Weems, con
fer with Miss Dixon, and ordei
flowers for each of the seven girls
in this house. You hear me?” He
scowled fiercely. “The best flow
ers available, Mr. Weems. For th(
night of the, ah, drama, and f.n
ball. Put cards in each packagi
laying—saying—“From your ad
mirer, Benjamin W. Merrifield.’
Fresh, crisp flowers, Mr. Weems.
Import them, if necessary. You
hear me?”
“Oh, of course, sir. But the cost
of imported—”
“Mr, Weems! I have some finan
cial assets, sir! You—you and
your eternal finicky bookkeeping!
He records every penny I spend,
Miss Dixon! Spend a hundred dol
lars on each box of flowers, Mr.
Weems. You hear?”
“Oh, of course, sir.” Mr. Weems
went out, looking bored. This rou
tine was no whit new to him.
But Gayle Dixon swallowed. And
stared. And bit her Up. And only
nodded wThen the old millionaire
continued to talk affably with her.
She couldn’t say anything. She
just gazed at the old gentleman in
renewed awe. Seven hundred dol
lars for flowers^ when she had
come to apologize for budgeting
$250 for clothes! She stood up,
reached suddenly to squeeze his
old hand in genuine feeling, smiled
at him and hastened on back
downstairs.
* * *
Bill and the seven girls spent
most of one morning addressing
envelopes. They had only 500 to
address and stamp, stuff with
neatly printed cards, seal and mail
but they made a morning’s task
of it, laughing and talking and
enjoying it. Jeremy Tucker was
coerced into helping for a While,
but at 11 o’clock he had tq leave
them and go for a horseback ride
with a couple of boy friends Vjhc
had “taken” to him.
The envelopes carried invitation
to “The Wit to Woo” and its after
dance at $5 per person, R. S. V. P.
Ten dollars a couple! Gayle was
amazed at the temerity of Bill, set
ting such a price, and she told
him so.
“Listen, missy,” he grinned,
“you be the heroine and backstage
boss; I’ll direct, and blow up the
ballyhoo. Look—we got $1.50 be
fore, and they ate it up. We’ve
had ten times as much attention
for the new event. Everybody’s
talking. Everybody, I tell you! The
social sets of the town like a sen
sation once in a while, and we’re
it. We might as well make it
pay.”
‘‘Yes, but $10, Bill—”
‘‘Don’t forget there’s a dance
afterward. All for charity. Any
how, its worth 10 smacks to see
seven delirous damsels acting—
ha!”
But in spite of his hearty confi
dence, Bill Bailey had certain pri
vate qualms. He wondered what
the 500 invitations would produce.
He might have sent the full 800 or
even more, for 800 couples, but he
had a hunch that psychology dic
tated a little stand-offishness.
In that hunch he was wholly
right.
Two days after the mailing, the
society folk of the city were lit
erally scrambling for the 500.
‘‘What am I bid?. . . What am
I bid?. . .$25; do I hear $30?. . .
Going. . . going. . . ” Cholly Far
rington’s muchly read column in
he Chronicla-Post proclaimed it
that way. "... not quite gone, in
fact I’m holding out for $50. But
the truth is, I have an invitation
to ‘The Wit to Woo’ and incidental
merriment at the Merrifields’. In
these parlous times I might as
well scalp as the next fellow. And
brothers, scalping is being done.
“Not half enough invites were
mailed. I have one— keep getting
back to that—but have you?. . .
Too bad. Maybe you don’t rate. Do
you know anybody who knows any
body who knows Bill Bailey or
that beauteous Gayle, or grand
son? Mayhap, if you’re somebody
in finance, you can approach the
old gent himself. What am I of
fered for mine?”
Cholly was having his fun, and
recording society gossip and emo
ions at the same time. As usual
he struck home. Tickets that are
talked about and talked about—
and that are hard to get—become
(Continued on Page Eleven)
■
THIS CURIOUS WORLD V.JJSST
■
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T M. PEO- U. S P»T OFP.
1 AN.VWER: The Gulf coastline: 674 to 472.
BELA LANAN—COURT REPORTER By L. Allen Heine
^ Founded on Actual Court Records and You Can Be the Judge
AS SOON AS SHERIFF SILL SKAGGS HEARS f
of the trouble at the sank ..the bank's I
STRANGE OFFER COMES To HIS MIND ! $5000 I
FOR DEAD ftOBSERS/BUT NOT A CENT FOR I
UVE ONES? AND SO.. INTO ACTION ! B
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WE WANT
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HEV, JERRY ! |
PICK OP DOC I j '
AND MEET ME I
AND BERT AT I
the bridge/ H
THE CITIZENS Tj 1
BANK JUST HAD g
AHOLD-UP! J
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OUT OUR WAY By J. R. Williams
7s ~ | WKV, VOU l«T THINS/ f^.J1\ ^
YOU GET RIGHT AT IT AMD ABMT THAT BIG \
MEND THOSE STOCKINGS Y?a^/c TU^Trrv: I
| AND WASH THOSE LEGS / M^ITai icpth' I
THE VERY IDEA, PUTTING BIG BECAUSE. TH
INK ON YOUR LEGS TO AVr
HIDE THE HOLES/WHY t MOVE/
YOU LOOK LIKE A V
PAINT HORSE / J £jT J|f||
__ 7/fnfT’/ |£m|t ■*
OUR BOARDING HOUSE . . with . . . Major Hoopfe
AND THEN THERE WAS THE'SEROW, OR
"GOAT ANTELOPfc'’ A VERN RARE BEAST INDEED/
Vi KAMBING GRUN IS THE MALAY NAME FOR HIM, BUT
a THE ZOOLOGISTS CALL HIM. NAEMORHAEDUS/ BECAUSE j
% OF HIS EXTREMELY SHY HABITS, THE SEROW HARDLV /
fk EVER FALLS TO THE RIFLE, AND I AM ONE OF
If THE VERY FEW WHITE MEN EVER TO SET
EYES ON A LINING
SOON
LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE __ Taken In I
Y IT IS VERY
V KIND OF YOU, BUT THAT 1
I MRS. SLAGG, BUT AWFUL ROOMING I
I YOUR HOME IS NOT HOUSE WHERE I
I A ROOMING HOUSE- YOU'RE STAVING fi
E NO-NO-IT WOULD ISN’T FIT 8
B NOT BE RIGHT- , FOR ANYBODY |
kif—I—
I WE HAVE A . W YES- ITS A 1
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I DON'T USE AT ALL- USE THAT-ROOM. I
I BERT AND I HAVE SAM-WE WANT 1
I TALKEO IT ALL V YOU TO COME- I
[ YOU ARE 1 tut!tut! H
I INDEED FRIENDS 8 YOU’LL BE NO |
I IN NEED—IF 8 TROUBLE AT H
I YOU REALIY FEEL | ALL— I ONLY ffl
I I WOULD NOT BE A HOPE YOU’LL M
^TOO MUCH TROUBLE^LIKE THE J^fj)
r IT ISN’T FANCY, f YOU'LL mjl
BUT IT'S CLEAN AND I IN TONIGHT
AIRY-IT-IT USED | EH.SAM
TO BE BILL’S ROOM. SL-L
BEFORE HE WENT W THANH
AWAY- " i YOU —YES
WASH TUBBS A Right Handy Man By Roy Crane I
[SO THATS HELSA WOLFE', you DID A SWELL
JOB, EASy. HER CAPTURE IS THE OWE
BRIGHT SPOT IM THE LAST 04 HOURS
WE WERE PREPARING TO
GRA8 THE OTHER SECRET
AGENTS WHEN THEY DIS
APPEARED. THE RESTAURANTif
ABANDONED... EVERVTHiN6'S
GONE. THE ONE PERSON WE
CAPTURED REFUSES TO
TTTAUKr^^i
NEITHER THAT'S JUST IT. \NE HAVE
WILL THE MASTERMIND, BUT THE
HELGA ORGANIZATION CONTINUES '
TO FLOURISH. THERE'LL BE
OTHER MASTERMINDS AND
ON AND ON IT WILL <30
(On
If MAYBE THIS WILL BY uEORGE;EA$v;'|
HELP FIND ’EM, WILSON- YOU SOLVE
ITS A LITTLE BLACK BOOK EVERYTHING I
THAT HEL6A HID AFTER
THE CRASH... ITS FULL O’
NAMES AND ADDRESSES
l AMD ALL SORTS OF
b HIEROGLYPHICS
BOV, THIS IS A
BIG IMPROVEMENT
OVER ships:
I MOVE IT BE
MJOf PPC’MAUPWT
W SHE WAS ALVWS
V SOU KNOW, ME M' SOU COULD ABOUT
.1 gUN THIS PART OF THE OFFICE.
GASOLINE ALLEY The Cat s Away I
and anything else w want 1 f
10 KNOW ABOUT THE ROUTINE |
AROUND HERE-JUST ASK ME, I
r-r MISS GUP . §
THE GUMPS True Confession Is Good For The Soul
MV MANE, HENCEFORWARD, l|R
\MLL BE. BUT AN U&lV SYEAR
ON THE BRIGHT OUYP III
ESCUTCHEON-AH,YE5-Ti s m
k Truly sa>d-twe tree of H
' KNONNCEDOE (5-WATERED I
BY THE TEARS M !
.OF EXPERIENCE/) i|
I i
BRICK BRADFORD—Seeks the Diamond Doll " By William Ritt and Clarence Graf |
IT'S LATE ENOUGH, EVERYONE SHOULD BE IN BED
LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT THOSE RELICS SALISBURY
-( HAS HIDDEN/ -j
that h 11 ii 1111 Hum
HFRE F0R M health
— IF H£ ONLYKNEWJ^—^^^q^^^^M
I AM I DREAMING OR DID I HEAR VOICES JUST ) 1
NOW ? SOUNDED AS THOUGH THEY CAME v' S
FROM THE RANCH YARD / y—-' s
HERE'S SOMEONE FLASHING A LIGHT AROOlw I
TORE-HOUSE-I'D BETTER LOOK INTO TH. _|gT |
• ^.^asr KlIH 1