Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 18, 1928 — page 157: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

THE BIG IDEA. of the frying pan of Miss Ferguson’s select school into the fire of this glistening bevy of flappers. To Jed they all seemed at- tempting to flap no matter what their age. Figuratively, Jed tore his hair for having got into such a mess. He stood on one foot, then the other, wondering what to do next. Then he became conscious of being watched by a woman at a little distance. Jed had noticed her before and thought she might be waiting for some one. She must be about the right age. She was pretty well dolled up. Still, how was he to know whether that was the way the injured man liked them or not? Anxious to get it over with and be on his way to Meadowbrook Farm, Jed made a sudden resolve. There was only one way to find out. Quickly going up to the painted doll he spoke. A few minutes before she had been looking at him with a most encouraging friendliness. . “Do you happen to be—” then he re- alized that it sounded a bit too familiar to say just “ Jane,” so he broke off, begin- ning again on a new tack: “ Were you ex- pecting to meet some one here?”’ He wished with all his heart that he had thought over what he wanted to say before beginning. What he had said seemed so absurd. The doll thought so, too. She fixed him with a stony glare, replying in frigid tones: “Tm very certain I was not expecting to meet you!” Jed mumbled apologies. Conscious of defeat he backed away. Yet he knew all the time that she might be Jane. He certainly had bungled it. But what could he have said that sounded sane? He looked around the brilliantly lighted room. How many in all the crowd could answer to the name of Jane? He had a feeling that Jane was not a very unusual name. Shirley, Althea, Ariana, Drusilla would have been easier for him. There must be something unusual going on at the Charleston—something to account for the large number of men and women passing through the hospitably open doors. “Tt couldn’t be worse,” groaned Jed. ‘““ Now what am I to do?” 955 Without feeling irritated over it, for- getting John William Anderson for the mo- ment, studying the matter calmly, how could he find this Jane woman? There must be some answer. But Jed hoped with all his heart that he would never be asked to answer such a Stickler again. Jane certainly sounded very plain, sober, even homely. Probably she was not a dolled-up sort of person. More likely she was a relative from the country. She might be a cousin. At any rate it was now evident to Jed’s impatient reason- ing that she was some one from the country. He toured the various rooms of the hotel with this theory uppermost in his mind. But there was no one who even remotely re- sembled a country cousin. There was no one who was not the very last thing in fashionable attire. And then straight before him Jed saw a sign that made him start with quick an- ticipation. He was facing a door. On the glass pane of this in plain gold letters was written: JANE’S SHOPPE “What do you know about that?” Jed rubbed his eyes and read it again to make sure he was seeing right. At last he had found Jane, the Jane the injured man had expected to meet! He probably called for her each evening and drove her home. Of course it was the fashionable thing to do—to have some sort of a “shoppe” tucked away somewhere. Being a shop with an “e” removed it from anything in the nature of a common occupation. Jed quickly made up his mind. There were all sorts of things on display, things for one who might need an article of at- tire that he had forgotten or found unex- pectedly shapeless on unpacking Stepping briskly inside the little store Jed examined thoughtfully the various neckties. This gave him a chance to take stock of Jane. As he gravely selected a tie he came to the conclusion that the best thing to do would be to tell his predicament frankly. Gomichbooks (E(0)