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By Root 8731 0

Street for dinner, he looked worried and haggard. She came out with her sad story and he didn't take it so wel . He said he was hard up for cash, that his wife had every-thing tied up on him, that he'd had severe losses on the market; he could raise five hundred dol ars for her but he'd have to pledge some securities to do that. Then she said she guessed she'd have to go back to her old engage-ment as entertainer at the Palms at Miami and he said, swel , if she didn't look out he'd come down there and let her support him. "I don't know why everybody's got to thinkin' I'm a lousy mil ionaire. Al I want is get out of the whole business with enough jack to let me settle down to work on motors. If it hadn't been for this sonofabitchin'

divorce I'd been out long ago. This winter I expect to clean up and get out. I'm only a dumb mechanic anyway."

"You want to get out and I want to get in," said Margo, looking him straight in the eye. They both laughed to-gether. "Aw, let's go up to your place, since the folks are

-338-away. I'm tired of these lousy speakeasies." She shook her head, stil laughing. "It's swarming with Spanish rela-tives," she said. "We can't go there." They got a bag at his hotel and went over to Brooklyn in a taxi, to a hotel where they were wel known as Mr. and Mrs. Dowling.

On the way over in the taxi she managed to get the ante raised to a thousand. Next day she took Tony to a sanatorium up in the

Catskil s. He did everything she said like a good little boy and talked about getting a job when he got out and about honor and manhood. When she got back to town she cal ed up the office and found that Mr. A was back in Detroit, but he'd left instructions with his secretary to get her her ticket and a drawingroom and fix up everything about the trip to Miami. She closed up her apartment and the office attended to storing the furniture and the packing and everything.

When she went down to the train there was Cliff wait-ing to meet her with his wiseguy grin and his hat on the back of his long thin head. "Why, this certainly is sweet of him," said Margo, pinning some lilies of the val ey Cliff had brought her to her furcoat as two redcaps rushed for-ward to get her bags. "Sweet of who?" Cliff whispered.

"Of the boss or of me?"

There were roses in the drawingroom, and Cliff had

bought her Theatre and Variety and Zit's Weekly and Town Topics and Shadowland.

"My, this is grand," she said.

He winked. "The boss said to send you off in the best possible style." He brought a bottle out of his overcoat pocket. "That's Teacher's Highland Cream. . . . Wel , so long." He made a little bow and went off down the corridor.

Margo settled herself in the drawingroom and almost wished Cliff hadn't gone so soon. He might at least have taken longer to say goodby. My, that boy was fresh. The

-339-train had no sooner started when there he was back, with his hands in his pants pockets, looking anxious and chew-ing gum at a great rate. "Wel ," she said, frowning,

"now what?"

"I bought me a ticket to Richmond. . . . I don't travel enough . . . freedom from office cares."

"You'l get fired.""Nope . . . this is Saturday. I'l be back bright and early Monday morning."

"But he'l find out."

Cliff took his coat off, folded it careful y and laid it on the rack, then he sat down opposite her and pul ed the door of the drawingroom to. "Not unless you tel him." She started to get to her feet. "Wel , of al the fresh kids." He went on in the same tone of voice. "And you won't tel him and I won't tel him about . . . er . . ."

"But, you damn fool, that's just my exhusband.""Wel , I'm lookin' forward to bein' the exboyfriend. . . . No, honestly, I know you'l like me . . . they al like me." He leaned over to take her hand. His hand was icycold.

"No, honest, Margo, why's it any different from the other night? Nobody'l know. You just leave it to me." Margo began to giggle. "Say, Cliff, you ought to have a sign on you.""Sayin' what?""Fresh paint." She went over and sat beside him. Through the shaking rumble of the train she could feel him shaking.