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By Root 8677 0

to feel tired and wilted. She fol owed the twins into the realestateoffice ful of perspiring men in shirtsleeves. The judge got her a chair. She sat there tap-ping with her white kid foot on the tiled floor with her lap ful of blueprints. The prices were al so her white kid foot on the tiled floor with her lap ful of blueprints. The prices were al so high. She felt out of her depth and missed Mr. A to buy for her, held have known what to buy sure. Outside, the benches on the lawn were crowded. Bawling voices came from everywhere. The auction was beginning. The twins on the stand were waving their arms and banging with their hammers. The judge was striding around behind Margo's chair talking boom to anybody who would listen. When he paused for breath she looked up at him and said, " JudgeCassidy, could you get me a taxi?""Ma dear young lady, I'l drive you home myself. It'l be a pleasure.""O.K.," said Margo.

"You are very wise," whispered Judge Cassidy in her ear. As they were walking along the edge of the crowd one of the twins they'd had lunch with left the auctioneer's stand and dove through the crowd after them. "Miss Dowlin'," he said, "kin me an' Al come to cal ?

""Sure," said Margo, smiling. "Name's in the phonebook under Dowling.""We'l be around." And he ran back to the stand where his brother was pounding with his hammer. She'd been afraid she hadn't made a hit with the twins. Now she felt the tired lines smoothing out of her face.

"Wel , what do you think of the great development of Coral Gables?" said the judge as he helped her into the car. "Somebody must be making money," said Margo dryly. Once in the house she pul ed off her hat and told Ray-mond, who acted as butler in the afternoons, to make some martini cocktails, found the judge a cigar and then excused herself for a moment. Upstairs she found Agnes sitting in her room in a lavender negligee manicuring her nails at

-386-the dressingtable. Without saying a word Margo dropped on the bed and began to cry. Agnes got up looking big and flabby and gentle and came over to the bed. "Why, Margie, you never cry. . . .""I know I don't," sobbed Margo, "but it's al so awful. . . . Judge Cassidy's down, there, you go and talk to him. . . .""Poor little girl. Surely I wil but it's you he'l be wanting to see. . . . You've been through too much.""I won't go back to the chorus .

. . I won't," Margo sobbed. "Oh, no, I wouldn't like that. . . . But I'l go down now. . . . I feel real y rested for the first time in months," said Agnes. When Margo was alone she stopped bawling at once.

"Why, I'm as bad as Agnes," she muttered to herself as she got to her feet. She turned on the water for a bath. It was late by the time she'd gotten into an afternoondress and come downstairs. The judge looked pretty glum. He sat puffing at the butt of a cigar and sipping at a cocktail while Agnes talked to him about Faith.

He perked up when he saw Margo coming down the

stairs. She put some dancemusic on the phonograph.

"When I'm in your house I'm like that famed Grecian sage in the house of the sirens . . . I forget hometies, engagements, everything," said the judge, coming toward her onestepping. They danced. Agnes went upstairs again. Margo could see that the judge was just on the edge of making a pass at her. She was wondering what to do about it when Cliff Wegman was suddenly ushered into the room. The judge gave the young man a scared suspicious look. Margo could see he thought he was going to be framed.

"Why, Mr. Wegman, I didn't know you were in

Miami." She took the needle off the record and stopped the phonograph. " JudgeCassidy, meet Mr. Wegman."

"Glad to meet you, judge. Mr. Anderson used to talk about you. I was his personal secretary." Cliff looked hag-gard and nervous. "I just pul ed into this little old town," he said. "I hope I'm not intruding." He grinned at Margo.

-387-"Wel , I'm woiking for the Charles Anderson estate now."

"Poor fel ow," said Judge Cassidy, getting to his feet.

"I had the honor of bein' quite a friend of Lieutenant Anderson's. . . ." Shaking his