Torchy and Vee

on a shoppin' orgie and my being in

son Noir. You know, West Fifty-sixth. And if I'm having a dress fitte

ou'll find me hangin' up outside. And don't make it more'n half

ell," says

doorway at 12:45 when this stranger with the mild blue

, "but haven't we me

d forgettin' names comes into play. After giving him

e same apartment buildin' a couple of ye

And I believe I heard y

ith your mother, from somewhere out on the Coast. We almost go

me to getting acquainted with anyone in New York

tment that hadn't been any use, and how he'd come East alone this time to tie up a big spruce lumber contract with the airplane department. Also he rem

" says I, indicatin' the Maison Noir's display of classy gowns.

indow. "Not a soul," says he. "The fact is, I'm not much of a ladies' man. Been in the woods too much, I suppose. All the same, though,

e plans and specifications all framed u

h. "It's gone further than tha

l!" says I

nd then whispers confident

e idea from one of the dummies? Well, that's p

s if debatin' whether to let it ride

-do they ever put l

it's being done,

"there's one in th

y?" says I. "

r out," says he. "Now, right over in

ngs, ain't you? Or maybe it was only one of

of the eyelids. She was standing back to, facing that mirror, so I could see her face quite plainly. More than that, she could see me. Of course,

enough maybe you'll see her shoved in again, with a different dress on. Say, Mr. Rhodes, no wonder you're skirt-shy if y

the plate glass. Finally he goes on: "If this was the first time, I might thin

ays I. "Then if I was y

ing up a luncheon appetite. And about ten days ago I got a glimpse of this face in the mirror. Somehow I was sure it was a face I'd seen before, a face I'd been kind of day dreaming about for a year or more. Yes, I know that may sound kind of batty, but it's a fact. Out in the big woods you have

ays I, "w

wn or not, I want to find out who she is and h

ct from these boys with chin dimples. It's the Romeo trade-mark, all right, and Crosby had a deep one. "But see here," I goes on, "suppose it should turn out that you're wrong;

s. "I wish you could h

oker?" I asks. "Bl

ul, too, sort of a pale gold. But her eyebrows are quite dark, and her eyes-Ah, they're the

," says I. "But they do get '

sin' that I meet him there at twelve-thirty next day when Vee drifts out a

uite thrilled. "How interesting!" says she. "I do hope he finds out it's a real girl Some of those models are simply

d I?"

t apartment building where w

ty who did all the hard sitting around while hi

ualty cases-there was a boy, you know, and a girl-and I thought then that we ought to look them up and find out.

oms where we had a perfectly punk lunch at a dollar ten per each. But even after a three hour session among the white goods sales Vee still remembered the Stribbles, so about fi

t window, with a pail of suds at his right elbow. Yes, the one mentioned in the casualty list was their Jimmy. Only he hadn't come back a trench hero, exactly. He'd collected his blighty ticket without being at th

" says Vee. "And your

scowlin' up quick. "Gawd k

" asks Vee. "She-she ha

d comes home for some of her meals, but the res

e some chorus girl. I don't know where she gets all them flossy things and sh

that. Oh, my, yes! Chucked it after the first week. And then she began bloomin' out in fine feathers. Won't say where she gets 'em, either. And her always throwin' up

they quits and we hears the street door open. A minute later and in walks a tall, willowy young party wearin' a near

had bloomed out, for a fact. Also she'd learned how to use a lip-stick and an eyebrow pencil. I couldn't say whether she'd touched up her complexion or not. If she had it was an artistic job-just a faint rose-leaf tint under th

e working somewhe

e n

e, going to the

What they want to know is how much I'm gettin' so I'll have to give up more. But it don't work. See! I pay my board-good boar

throw-scarf and tosses he

n to interfere at all. And I've no doub

ays Mame, "until I st

ays Vee, pickin' up the tam. "

Mame. "Well, I

must be very clever. I wish

he wants to. Inside of two minutes she had Mame smil

g dissatisfied with such a father as that. And it's just awful the way they

didn't tell you whe

Vee. "The name was in the h

d little sleuth yourse

Stribbles today. I must have seen her there. Yes, I'm sure I did-t

scription Crosby Rhodes gave me of

ys Vee. "The

doing, posin' in the window?"

et that Mr. Rhodes tomorrow and tell him what you

maybe, but out in the tall timber I expect he passes for a solid ci

e to Madame Maurice that I want you to see the frock I'

sby, makes the date, and we meets on the corne

you know who s

. But listen: suppose she's kind of out of your class-a girl who'

rosby. "I was brought up in a lumber camp

hat you want," s

get to the Maison Noir's

s classy figure in the zippy street dress, with Mame Stribble's hair and eyes.

me. Let's go in and in

dress Vee has bought, and I sure felt foolish standin' t

r approves?" ask

I noticed one in the window that sort of t

e Madame, lookin' puzzl

better po

to the front door there was

says Madame. "A

Miss Mamie Stribble working here, haven't you; a young lady with k

me. "Perhaps you me

says I. "Could I have

e." With that she calls up an assistant, shoos me into a back parlor an

the arm. The lady boss seems somewhat peeved, too. "Tell me," she d

e very one

ie will explain to me later. For t

bad, Miss Stribble," says

ossin' her chin. "She'll get over it

ys I. "What was th

ks at you and thinkin' you're just a dummy. I got onto it one day while I was changin' a model. Co

particular young gent coming t

for a second she stares at me, bitin' her

des," says I. "You've put the spell on him for

nd yet when he was livin' in one of our apartments

ou took notice of hi

n a saggy skirt and a shirtwaist that must have looked like it had been improvised out of a coffee sack. It's a wonder they let me past the door. But they did. For the first six weeks, though, they kept me in the work rooms. Then I got one of the girls to help me evenings on a black taffeta; I saved up enough for two pairs of silk stockin's, blew myself to some pumps with four inch heels, and begun carryi

out Crosb

"And it was some satisfact

f these guys that wants what he wants, and goe

says Mame. "Tell m

says I. "He's fro

hese little straight-through-o

nderstand," says I. "That's h

f the place," says Mame. "

any hymen stuff up his sleeve, I expect you'd better hear that f

ame careless. "I gues

ing act of yours," says

it for my lunch, I felt like I'd done a day's work. What

omes crashin' into the Corrugated general offices, pounds me enthusiastic

I, "that Miss Stribble and

d within a week she's going to be Mrs. Crosby Rhodes. We start for home just as soon as the

t I expect Crosby was too excited to notice. Al

t I saw her, that she wasn't at all as tha

was just practice stuff. A lot

e, "about her meeting the very

et spread kind of wide. The only chance Crosby had of escape was by s