The Adventures of Sally

. On all the frontiers of herlittle kingdom there was peace and prosperity, and she woke each morningin a world so

r some time to come. It was disappointing, for Sally had beenlooking forward to having him back in New York in a few days; but sherefused to allow herself to be depressed. Life as a whole was much toosatisfactory for that. Life indeed, in every other respect, seemedperfect. Fillmore was going strong; Ginger was off her conscience; shehad found an apartment; her new hat suited her; and "The Primrose Way"was a tremendous succes

olas)--Fillmore would have made the title longer, only that was allthat would go on the brass plate--and was to be found daily in the outeroffice, his duties consisting mainly, it seemed, in reading the eveningpapers. What exactly he was, even Ginger hardly knew.

ry Friday, there was nothing uncertainabout his gratitude to Sally for having pulled the strings and enabledhim to do it. He tried to thank her every time they met, an

hair to the third spot which Sally had selected in thelast ten minutes, "if I didn't sweat

ake you move that chair into the nextroom.""Shall I?"

on earth would I want a great lumberingchair in them for? All the same, I believe the first we chose was thebest.""

t himremorsefully. "I'm giving you a lot of trouble.""Troubl

me that job, and...""Stop!""Right ho... Still, you did, you know."Sally sat down in the armchair and s

me in her life she had the restful sensation of being at home. She hadalways longed, during the past three years of boarding-house existenc

e no flaw in it... except... She ha

the mantelpiece yesterday."His exertions seemed to have brought the blood

he most beautiful thingyou ever saw. Not a bit like me; but what of that? They touch 'em up inthe dark-room, you know. I value it because it l

the beginning. Could you give your imitation of a pack-mule justonce more? And after that I'll make you some tea. If there's any tea--or milk--or cups.""There are cups all right. I know, because I sm

t seems to go with it. How is it that you are ableto spend your valuable time--Fillmore's valuable time, rather--jugglingwith my furniture every day?""Oh, I can usu

h most ofthem. Sometimes he sends me off to a vaudeville house of an evening.""As a treat?""To see some special act, you know. To report on it. In case he mightwant to use it for this revue of his.""Which revue?""Didn't you know he was going to put on a revue? Oh, rather. A whacki

ld havebeen content with hundreds. An inexhaustible fount of optimi

idedly. She was annoyedwith Fillmore. Everything had been going so beautifully, with everybodypeaceful and happ

oney in revues. Over in Londonfellows ma

armchair. Of course it ought to be over by the window. You cansee that yourself

rother was not lessened bythe receipt shortly af

een feeding

themessage which decided her to wait no longer before makinginvestigations. She tore herself away from the joys of furnishing andwen

f tender years andpimply exterior, who thawed and cast off a proud reserve on hearingSally's name, and told her to walk righ

ad to see you, but I am rather busy. I have ahundred things to attend to.""Well, attend to me. That'll only make a hundred and one. Fill, what'sall this I hear about a revue?"Fillmore looked as like a small boy caught in the act of stealing jam asit is possible for a great theatrical manager to look. He had beenwondering in his darker moments what Sally would say about that projectwhen she heard of it, and he had hoped that she would not hea

ference...""I don't want to run your affairs for you, Fill, but that money of minedoes make me a sort of partner, I suppose, and I think I hav

w, is a tremendoussuccess. You have nothing whatever to worry about as regards any newproduction I may make.""I'm no

you've only just gotstarted as a manager, to be rushing into an enormous production likethis.

enough to put upmoney?""Certainly. I don't know that there is any secret about it. Yourfriend, Mr. Carmyle, has tak

life like an advancing tide. There appeared to beno eluding him. Wherever she turned, ther

preted the note of

goes wrong...""It isn't that. It's..."The hopelessness of explaining to Fillmore stopped Sally. And while shewas chafing at th

atthe Big Chief was engaged and not to be intruded upon. In this he was

ngstraws in your hair and listen to me. You're dippy!"The last time Sally had seen Fillmore's fiancée, she had been impressedby her imperturbable calm. Miss Winch, in Detroit, had seemed a girlwhom nothing co

indignantly at the opening of the door, like a lion bearded in

ringly into a swivel-chair,and endeavoured to

ent form you could just walk straight into Bloomingdale andthey'd give you the royal

.""Revue?" Miss Winch stopped in the act of gnawing her gum. "Whatrevue?" She flung up her arms. "I shall have to swallow this gum," shesaid. "Yo

swivelled round to Sally again. "Say, listen! This boymust be stopped. We must form a gang in his best interests and get himput away. What do you think he proposes doing? I'll give you threeguesse

.""Yes, sir!" proceeded Miss Win

ld like to see me. Oh, ask him towait. Business of flinging on a few clothes. Down in elevator. Brightsunrise effects in lobby.""What on earth do you mean?""The gentleman had a head of red hair which had to be seen to bebelieved," explained Mis

go," said Fillmore, "to

gerial tactics. "Mr. Kemp may have beenthere to look at the show, but his chief reason for coming was to tellme to beat it back to New York to enter into my kingdom. Fillmore wantedme on the s

have had a certain amount of experience in theatricalmatters--I have seen a good deal of acting--and I assure you that as acharacter-actress you..."Miss Winch ros

I knowexactly what has been passing in your poor disordered bean. You tookElsa Doland out of a minor part and made her a star overnight. She goesto Chicago, and the critics and everybody else rave about her. A

and cries 'Gadzooks! An idea! I've done it before, I'll do itagain. I'm the fellow who can make a star out of anything.' And he pickson me!""My dea

action, and let me tell you you've seen me at my best. Give me a maid's

d,notes, or lima beans against Sarah Bernhardt as a tray-carrier. Butthere I finish. That lets me out. And anybody who thinks otherwise is

o it. I only went on thestage for fun, and my idea of fun isn't to plough through a star partwith all the critics waving their axes in the front row, and me knowingall the time that it's taking money out of Fillmore's bankroll thatought to be going towards buying the little home with stationarywash-tubs... Well, that's that

Oh, yes there is. We will now talk about this revue of yours. It'soff!"Fillmore bounded

hthis interference with my business concerns. I will not be tied andh

andwhat happens? A horde of girls flock into my private office while I

!"The door closed with a bang. A fainter detonation announced thewhirlwi

, stunned. A roused and mili

he stick of chewing-gum

pe he doesn't get the soft kind,"

t when the wedding bells ring out." She bitmeditatively on her chewing-gum. "Not," she said, "that it matters. I'dbe just as happy in two rooms and a kitchenette, so long as Fillmore wasthere. You've no notion how dippy I am about him." Her freckled faceglowed. "He grows on me like a darned drug. And the funny thing is thatI keep right on admiring him though I can see all the while that he'sthe most perfect chump. He is a chump, you know. That's what I lo

West, and I've beenadding to it right along. Some folks say lemon-juice'll cure 'em. Minelap up all I give 'em and ask for more. There's only one way of gettingrid of freckles, and that is to saw the head off at the neck.""But why do you want to ge

cure those unsightly blemishes?'--meaning what I've got. Still, Ihaven't noticed Fillmore growing cold to me, so maybe it's all right."It was a subdued Sally who received Ginger when he called at herapartment a few days later on his return from Chicago. It seemed to her,thinking over the recent scene, that matters were even worse than shehad feared. This absurd revue, which she had looked on as a mereisolated outbreak of foolishness, was, it would appear, only a spe

he optimism to say "if"--helost his money, she would somehow be under an obligation to him, as ifthe disaster had b

makeon that subject. Weightier matters occupied her mind. She sat Gingerdown in the armchair and started to pour out her troubles. It soot

she hadfinished drawing for him the picture of a Fillmore rampan

she cried. "How can Ihelp worrying? Fillmore's

eye, and he would waghis tail and crawl back into his basket, but now I seem to have noinfluence at all over him. He just s

say,it's quite likely he's found some mug... what I mean is, it's ju

e paper that somemanager or other is putting on some show or other, when really the chapwho's actually supplying the p

. Carmyle, is providing themoney."This d

say!" he

pleased that she had at lastshaken him o

r was s

bit off,"

kless plunger into delicate subjects. "The blighter's in love withyou."Sally flushed. After examining the evidence before her,

all, if he hadn't wanted to. As far ashaving the stuff goes, he's in a position to back all the shows he wantsto. But the point is, it's right out of his line. He doesn't do thatsort of thing. Not a drop of sporting blood in the chap. Why I've knownhim stick the whole family on to me just because it got noised aboutthat I'd dropped a couple of quid on the Grand National. If he's rea

ne way or the other. You're engaged to anotherfellow, and when Bruce rolls up and says: 'What about it?' you've simplyto tell him t

, and no amount of arguing will make it anything else. Do let'schange the subject. How did you like Chicago?""Oh, all right. Rather a grubby sort of

ve about, isn't it?""You talk as if you had been dashing about the streets with your eyesshut. Did you meet somebody you knew?""Chap I hadn't seen for years. Was at scho

e.""And you were really at school with him?""Yes. He was in the footer te

looked

half is the half who works thescrum and...""Yes, you told me that at Roville. What was Gerald--Mr. Foster then

But he would not learn togive the reverse pas

bundled intotouch, is to give the reverse pass.""I know," said Sally. "If I've thought that once, I've thought it ahundred tim

enerally barredat school. Personally, I never had any use for him at all."Sally stiffened. She had liked Ginger up to that moment, and later on,no doubt, she would resume her lik

arette without a care in the wor

hardly help being fairly popular. But this blighter Fostersomehow--nobody seemed very keen on him. Of course, he had a few of hisown p

ice it if you weren't thrown a goodish bit with him, ofcourse, but he and I were in

at friend of mine."But Ginger was intent on the lighting of his cigarette, a delicateoperation with the breeze blowing in

"He spoke with the absent-minded drawl of preoccupation, and Sally coul

rry."Ginger's head came slowly up from his cupped hands. Amazement was inhis eyes, and a sort of horror. The cigarette hung limply from hismouth. He did no

s voice. "It isn't true?"Sally kicked the leg of her chair irritably. Sh

air of a man bracing himself to a dreadful,but unavoidable, ordeal, he went on. He spoke gruffly, and his eyes,which had

ed, brooding overthe room like a living presence, even the noises in the street hadceased, as though what he had said had been a spell cu

sometimes felt in nightmares; and notfor all the wealth of America could he have raised his eyes just then

rting out the news so abruptly. And yet, curiously, in his remorsethe

arrier that had been b

. The fingersloosened their grip, tightened again, then,

iolently. Her voice, coming suddenly out

r match. It sputtered noisily in thestillness. H

d bright-eyed, the chin tilted like a flagflying over a stricken field. His mood changed. All his emo

oice sounded small and far

He was shocked to findthat he was smoking. Nothing could h

ghed. Something was sticking in hi

nd?""Yes.""Elsa Doland." Sally drummed

ily on themantelpiece. Out in the street automobile horns were blowing. F

hough she had been projected into another worldwhere everything was new and strange and horrible--e

n out of herself and to beregarding the scene from outside, regarding it coolly and critically;and it was plain to her

And Sally felt thatsympathy just now would be tortu

ry depths of her. There he sat, saying nothing and doing nothing, asif he knew that all she needed, the only thing that could keep her sanein th

n almost dark now. A spear oflight from

ur had gone, and she was back in the world of livingthings once more. She was afire with a fierce, tearing pain thattormented her almost beyond endurance, but

g."Ginger came to life like a courtier in the palace of the Sl

Sally switched on the light and set him b

tered for a moment. She held out herhand. "Ginger," she said shakily, "I... Ginger, you're a pal."W

have done that an hourago... We will now boil you