Jill the Reckless

vid city. She stood at the station entrance, a tiny figure besidethe huge pillars, looking round her with eager eyes. A wind waswhipping down the avenue. The sky was a clear, brilliant tent of thebrightest

l this medley ofstreet-cars and sky-signs and crushed snow and drays and horses andpolicemen, and that vast hotel across the street, towering to heavenlike a cliff. It even s

Thatwas the right way to behave on being introduced to a greatmetropolis. She stood and sniffed reverently. But for the presence oft

n East Fifty-seventh Street. There would be just time tocatch him before he

ad parted for ever. Moreover, this wasundeniably a stupendous city through which her taxi-cab was carryingher. At Times Square the stream of the traffic plunged into awhirlpool, swinging out of Broadway to meet the rapids which pouredin from east, west, and north. On Fifth Avenue all the automobil

an obvious millionaire--or,more probably, a greater monarch of finance who looked down upon meremillionaires and out of the goodness of his heart tried to check atendency to speak patronisingly to them. He was concealed to theeyebrows in a fur coat, and, reaching the sidewalk, was instantlyabsorbed in a large limousine. Two expensive-looking ladies followedhim. Jill began to feel a little dazed. Evidently the tales one h

an army. He was a brilliant spectacle. He wore nojewelry, but this, no doubt, was due to a private distaste fordisplay. As there was no one else of

ral arrested for a moment the rhythmic action ofhis jaws,

stering haughty contempt, thenshe saw wh

pher Selby.""Not here," said the associate of ambassadors and the pampere

inghad "seemed to swim" in front of the heroine's eyes, but never t

s prismaticoutlines to their proper sharpness. Already the bustle and noise ofNew York had begun to induce in her t

e eye of thestranger, it is unpleasant to have to record that he lived in a worldwhich rather neglected the minor courtesies of speech. People did notoften say "please" to him. "He

.""What was the first name?""Christopher.""Christopher?""Yes, Christopher.""Christopher Selby? No o

's on thefourth floor. What name shall I say?"He had almost reached the telephone when Jill stopped him. This is anage o

hat was in her best interests--"Mr Sipperley's on thefourth floor. Gentleman in the real estate business," he addedinsinuatingly. "He's got blond hair and a Boston bull-dog.""He may be all you say, and he may have a dozen bulldogs . . .""

e!""Mr Sipperley used to have a friend staying with him last Fall. A MrRobertson. Dark-comple

th floor. He's a broker down onWall Street. Short man with a

mistake. I was quite surethat this was the add

h anaffectionate eye till she was out of sight, then, restoring hischewing-gum to circulation, returned to the perusal of his paper. Amomentary suggestion presented itself to his mind that what Jill hadreally wanted was Mr Will

the Park and on the other by the green-roofed Plaza Hotel and theapartment houses of the wealthy, ends in the humbler and moredemo

very broken remains of the twenty dollars which Uncle Chris hadsent her at Brookport. She had nowhere to go, nowhere to sleep, andno imme

She was as sure of theaddress he had given in his letter as she was of anything in theworld. Yet at that addres

at the point where that street breaks out into aneruption of automobile stores, found her

r the passer-by. Itreminded Jill of looking at fishes in an aquarium. In the center ofthe window, gazing out in a distrait manner over piles of apples andgrape-fruit, a white-r

from its protoplasmic beginnings as astream of yellowish-white liquid poured on top of the stove to itsultimate Nirvana in the interior of the luncher in the

ody in the place shouldhave called her name. Except for Uncle Chris, wherever he might be,she knew no one in New York. Then the v

d her instantly. Those big,pathetic eyes, like a lost child's, were unmistakable. It was theparrot girl, the girl whom she and Freddie R

t feeling of emptiness and panic, the result of her interview wit

unexpected friend's t

"But when did you come over?""I landed about ten days ago. I've been down at a place calledBrookport on Long Island. How funny running into you like this!""I was surprised that you remembered me.""I've forgotten your name," admitted Jill frankly. "But that'snothing. I always forget names

y Roof, andhad a quarter of an hour to get a bite. Can I sit down?""Sure. This is my friend, Miss Mariner

eam on the Keith Circuit.""Oh, hush!" said Mr Brown modestly. "You always were a great littlebooster, Nelly.""Well, you know you a

Only eighteen bows second houseSatur

It's like another language.""You're from t

nded a week ag

? Well, you'll learn American soon, if youstick around.""I've learned some already," said Jill.

elly. "Did you go down to Ike, as I told you?""Yes.""Did you cop?""Yes. I never felt so happy in my life. I'd waited over an hour onthat landing of theirs, and then Johnny Miller came along, and Iyelled in his ear that I was after work, and he told me it would beall right. He's awfully good to gi

, thefellow I saw when I went down to the office hadn't! Can

ingto be any of our sort of work in the show. Said he was making aneffort to give the public something rather better than the usual sortof thing. No specialties required. He said it was an effort torestore the Gilbert and Sullivan tradition. Say, who are theseGilbert and Sullivan guys, anyway? They get written up in the papersall the time, and I never met any one who'd run across them. If youwant my opinion, that show down there is a comic opera!""For heaven's sake!" Nelly had the musical comedy performer's horrorof the older-established form of entertainment. "Why, comic operadied in the year one!""Well, these guys are going to dig it up. That's the way it lo

abrisk passage of arms between himself and the best little girl'ss

d be any chance for me if I asked for work at

ill hesitated. She disliked discussing her private affairs, butthere was obviously no way of avoiding it. Nelly was rou

t my money,

rpolated Mr Brown judicially. "I broke once way out in atank-town in Oklahoma. The manager skipped with

look came into Nelly's eyes. There had not been an hoursince their parting when she had not thought of that immaculatesport

he sighed e

hot a keen g

d Mr Brown. "He sounds just thesort of little pal I'd like to have!""You remember hearing Freddie say something about losing money in aslump on the Stock Exchange," proceeded Jill. "Well, that was how Ilost mine. It's a long story, and it's not worth talking about, butthat's how things stand, and I've got to find work of some sort, andit looks to me as if I should have a better chance of finding it onthe stage than anywhere else.""I'm terribly

y, you couldn't!""I don't see why.

,that's the only sensible thing to do. Where's the sense of hangin

tside these offices, waiting to getnoticed and nobody ever paying any attention to them. You push theoffice-boy in the face if he tries to stop you, and go in and make'em take notice. And, whatever you do, don't leave your name and

do exactly as you say. Where canI fi

ing?""I am!"Nelly scrib

""I'll come and see you. Good-bye, Mr Brown.

d Jill depart

tell her to do

hing, didn't I? Well, Iguess I'll have to be

urs, Nelly. There's no yellow s