The Daily Alaska Empire

SYNoPSIS: Last summer
Mary Lou Leslie and Brynmor
Whittamore thought they were
in love. Mary Lou. trusting, de-
mure, and pretty, comes to
London to visit her city cousins
-and Brynmor. He greets her
none too cordially, and leaves
to get theatre tickets for the
evening. Instead of returning
promptly, he spends nearly two
hours in the flat of Clarice
Day, bewitching night club dan-
ceur. with whom he recently
has fallen in love. After the
theatre, Brynmor takes Mary
Lou to the Emerald Dragon,
where Clarice dances. Mary Lou
suspects that Clarice is re-
sponsible for Brynmor's change
in attitude toward her. She is
sure of it when Brynmor ex-
cuses himself to speak with
Clarice .Tony Titherington, ju-
bilant from too much cham-
pagne, sees Mary Lou sitting
alone and asks her to dance.
Mortified by Brynmor's behay-
ior, she accepts.

Chapter 2
"TOO DARN NICE"

Tony danced away with Mary
Lou at double pace.
The faster
he danced, the steadier he felt on
his legs.
Passing Reggie he winked at him
broadly. At once he was sorry for
the girl in his arms, was a nice
little thing. Trustful, he felt, and
"Jolly climate." said Tony.
Between dances Mary Lou found
herself studving her new acquaint-
ace. He was good-looking. if not
handsome, taller than Brynmor.
with brown hair, mischevious blue
eyes and a cleft in his chin. His
mouth was attractive. lopsided, un-
derstanding.
Somehow she liked
him.

"What about a glass of cham-
pagne?" he suggested.
Mary Lou accepted. She wanted
to taste champagne.
Tony led her to his table and in-
troduced her to Reggie Addison.
"What is your. name, my dear?"
Mary Lou Leslie," she told him.
"Who brought you here?"
Mary Lou flushed. "A friend of
mine." she said. "Brynmor Whitta-
more. Hehe had to go out for a
while . . ."
"Sozzled?" queried Tony, under-
standingly.

"Oh, no." quickly. "He left to see
a friend."
Mary Lou sipped the champagne
and liked it. It helped her to for-
get the bitter disappointment of
Brynmor. When · Tony suggested
dancing again, she accepted readily.
They scarcely had started when a
button burst off one of her slip-
ers and she couldn't continue.
Tony suggested the cloak-room
woman might be able to sew it on.
On her way to the cloak room she
passed a half-opened door that led
to Clarice's dressing room. From
naive. Obviously she was not at
home in a night club.
"I should like you to meet my
aunt." he remarked. He wondered
whether she would laugh at him.
Any other girl would have.

I'd like to," Mary Lou said sin-
cerely. "Is she here tonight?"
Tony nearly collapsed.
Aunt
Ethelberta, the old puritan head
of the Titherington family and
controller of the exchequer, here!
If she ever suspected he went to
such a place, she never would fi-
nance his proposed flight.
Er not to-night." he murmured.
They danced in silence. Then
Tony hazared, "Is your father a
parson?"
"No,why?"

"Just thought he might be," Tony
mumbled.
"He's a doctor," Mary Lou told
him. "We live in Devon."
She heard Brynmor's voice.
"Of course, Mary Lou's all right
in her way," he was saying. "A nice
enough girltoo darn nice. There's
no excitement to her. Frankly, she
bores me stiff."
Mary Lou swayed a little, and
ner face turned pale. She shut
her eyes so the tears wouldn't come.
Nice. am I?" she whispered, as
she tugged off her slipper in the
cloak-room. "rn show him just how
nice I'can be."

'When she returned to the dance
flocr, Tony said accusingly, "You've
been crying-why?"
"I haven'." Mary Lou retorted
"All right, you haven't." said
Tony. Yet he knew she had. What
was her escort doing. anyway, to
leave her alone for so long?
Before the dance was over. Bryn-
mor had returned to their table.
"Is that your partner?" Tony in-
quired.
Mary Lou nodded.
"By all appearances," murmured
Tony, "he doesn't seem to be taking
kindly to me. Had you better go
back to him?"
"Let him wait!" said the new
Mary Lou. She threw back her
head with a gesture of indepen-
dence.
It annoyed Brynmor to return
and find Mary Lou dancing with a
stranger. apparently indifferent to
his absence.
"Hello, Brynmor,"
Mary Lou
greeted him at the end of the
dance. "So you did get back?"
Brynmor glowered. "Who was
that fellow? Know him before?"
"No." said Mary Lou. "but he's
rather a darling-dances divinely."
"Dances?" snorted'Brynmor. "He
doesn't look as if he could walk
straight!"
"What do you mean?" Mary Lou's
cheeks flushed.
"I mean the fellow's drunk. No
nice girl would dance with him."
Mary Lou laughed.
"Thank heavens, I'm no longer
nice."
"At least." he said stiffly, "I feel
responsible to your father for the
acquaintances you make. I brought
you here."

"Yes," said Mary Lou.
"You
brought me and treated me as
though I had the plague. Then,
because I danced with some one
else. you think you have a right
to protest. You haven't. I was keen
on you, but you've cured me of
that. Im going to enjoy these two
weeks in town, but I'll enjoy them
without you, thanks."
Before he could stop her. Mary
Lou rushed over to the table where
Tony and Reggie sat.'
Brynmor rose to go after her.
Perhaps his behavior had been a
bit thick. He began to feel guilty.
As he approached their table, he
heard Mary Lou say to Tony. "I
couldn't stand him any longer. Oh,
he's handsome enough, but he bores
me stiff."
Brynmor stopped in his tracks.
So that's what she thought of him.
And all the time he had felt sorry
for her.

"Come, Mary Lou." he said sharp-
ly. "I'm going to take you home."
"Sorry, I'm not ready yet," Mary
Lou said casually.
"Tootle off, old chap," Tony said
airily. "The lady's not interested."
Brynmor struck first. Tony felt
a fist in his face. He blinked once,
and the next minute Brynmor lay
sprawling on the dance floor. Danc-
ers crowded around them. Mary
Lou shrank back into her chair,
conscious that all eyes in the room
were turned upon her.
The next moment she heard
someone shout, "The police! The
place is raided."

(Copyright, 1930, Maysie Greig)
Follow this "nice" girl's ad-
venture with her strange
friend-tomorrow.