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I ^ - - V)£ By NONI C. BAILEY ^1 to those they like. “5*qu dfielTur-• — ♦ • i prised,* Betty laughed. .jj| * On the street car she found e her•C | Inspiration. 4*AIasqm;radc Ice Cor-«* nival,11 the lmndblli read, “North River at BenvcrTiend, Benefit forChildren. Christmas eveOTHER'S coming Christ-inns,” said Cortnidcy entering her circle. In thedepartment store. Fine,”Minn, replenishing spool “I’iii going out to Unclegreatsaidcases.Mail's— can rnsta turkey and mincenow.” Bill and late In-Charlie’s. Thcy*ro having a swell party,” said Ifni tie, sortingdress shields.Betty- ran the comb through the wavy hair of the dunrmr thoughtfully and applied a hair curler. Resolutely she snapped the rub* her hand into place. Betty was n stranger. Her room was comfortable, her salary sufiictent, hut companionship sim had notfouud. Holiday planning was entirely apart from her. She decided with the snap of that ruhher hand that there would he a place in the Christmas chccr—somewhere—for her.Gertrude noticed the change In Betty. “She’s getting human,” she whispered, then, “What’s his name, Sunshine?” she teased, approaching tlmj_ ff|inUhiHj^-at S p. m. Betty’s fingers were busy every night with her costume.White fur trimmed 'the bright red jersey. Golden-hnlred Betty knew what to wear.Christmas eve found her radiant and lmppy, enjoying her favorite sport Masked, she did not seem alone. Suddenly they began changing partners. Betty found herself stalling first with one man then another. They enjoyed her easy glideand graceful turils. A kiltie-cladScotchman seemed always ready to take her hand when another let it go. “Aren’t you tired?” ho asked; ‘•let’s have lunch.” It had not occurred to her to be Ured—her skates were Cinderella slippers. The Scotchman’s request was like the midnight bell. This stranger must not know she was alone, and to accept his invitation would be to invite discovery. “I must find my friends,” she prevaricated, skating swiftly nwpy. Having obtained her wmp from the checkroom she ■ found a sleigh “for hire” instead of a pumpkin chariot nnd sped home over the crispy snow.Betty ch2ll£iLil”lt;L excused, ho reel tfor nor unfinished fun nijd the sua-dcn dismissal of her delightful skating partner; ”1 didn’t dare. I couldn’t bear to have him know I came alone” Happy reflections filled her Christmas day.Next morning in the store glrla were relating experiences while putting their stock In order. ”Wcll* Sunshine, did he come?” asked Gertrude, folding the covdrcloth. Ofcourse he did,” said Betty, caressing, the dummy’s hair. ~ tier happy face made her words ring true.Across the aisle stood the department manager curiously studying the group. As he approached the counter each girl busily sought her own section. He clipped a flake of wax from the dummy’s ear and said, Miss Betty, I think there’sa better head in the stockroom. Come, let us see.”Betty followed him down long aisles between rows and rows of boxes, silently. She trembled. On a table were heads—brown,- blond, red, btnck. Betty studied them critically. ~“Why did you run away last night?” The voice sounded strange nnd uncanny as the dummies looked. Betty started. “Oh, I— what do you mean?”“.Tust that,” he said; ”1 don’t believe you kucw I was the Scotchman.I never dreamed it,” she
Newspaper Details
Mount Pleasant Daily Times
Mount Pleasant, Michigan, US
Wed, Dec 04, 1929
Page 22
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 24 Dec 2022
Other Publications Near Mount Pleasant, Michigan
Mount Pleasant Times and Isabella County Enterprise
Mount Pleasant Times
Mount Pleasant Daily Times
Mount Pleasant Isabella County Enterprise
