SHORT STORY
THE TWO KISSES
alike only in THE two sisters were
appearance; in other and perhaps more important ways there were dif- the ferences which widened with years. The warm tints of their hair sunlight on old mahogany Tom Pur- cell had described it were the same, but there was a coldness In Gloria Rumbold's eyes which was missing in her sister's.
Gloria had married at twenty, ter years before; at twenty-five, Mary was still heart-whole. Many men. had loved her, but she was rather old- fashioned and believed' that some- Where was the one man for whom she preferred to wait,
Gloria thought her a fool... and did not hesitate to say s0.
"My dear, you are only young once. If you don't have a decent time now, you never will."
If there were one thing which Gloria envied her younger sister it was just this freedom. this chance of a "good time." Her husband was, as husbands reasonably understanding; but go, even the best of them are apt to be come a little tedious after ten years, particularly to anyone as attractive as Gloria. Walter Rumbold, however, was an exceedingly wealthy man; the fluttered round his young men who wife were not, nor ever likely to be. And Gloria had no sentimental illusions particularly where money was concerned.
or
between
THE CHINA MAIL, OCTOBER 27, 1939......
By Holloway Horn
"Nonsense!" she said.
"And I ask you now," he persisted. "I love you. I've loved you for weeks past. What is more, Gloria knows it
Tom,
of I was bored. I made him kiss me. he said stubbornly. "I came to ask carefully avoiding any suggest
an en- He's never done it before, or shown you to marry me." "vamping." She developed
In- the least desire to do so, and I'm cer-. tirely new enthusiasm for Art. cidentally, her conduct puzzled Mary, tain he won't again. I assure you I which was a much greater compliment don't love him in the least."
"You don't love him?" Mary asked to her skill than was Purcell's uncon-- sciousness of danger. Her husband too," with sudden, overwhelming resent- was completely deceived by her at- ment. titude. He was satisfied that she had no more interest in the artist than that of a good friend.
The climax was reached one after- noort early in June, a limpid afternoon of quiet warmth. Gloria's husband was in town and was not expected back until the following day. Mary had taken a punt and a book; upstream.
Gloria was in the dim hall alone. She could not make up her mind what to do. As it happened, none of her usual young men was in attendance. therefore, was The more welcome, Purcell, when, just before four o'clock, his two-seater drew up outside.
He asked, in his cheery way, where Gloria, with a certain Mary was. amount of truth, said she might be in at any moment.
now."
Mary laughed. "My dear she said. “You've no sense of humour. ~ Not a shred!"
"At the moment I don't think I have. Perhaps no man in love, has."
"The truth probably is that you are in- our type. The attracted by
the next woman. No, dividual woman doesn't matter. Gloria
thank you.
Nothing doing. Only I shouldn't go on kissing Gloria if I Walter will be a nasty fellow to come up against, particular--
"Of course not," said Gloria calmly. "I do!" her sister said bitterly. For a moment or so, Gloria was "My dear silent. Then she smiled: child," she said, "what a simply won- derful opportunity for you! If I had known you were in love with him and had thought of the idea, I'd have done it on purpose!"
"Whatever 'opportunity' I ever had
now," Mary said. "But were you. has gone . . . I'll do my best, for your sake."
"I knew you would, dear. Now I ly after to-day." must rush!"
me .
even
Sorry,
"Oh, damn Gloria!" he said. "I never Alone in her room Mary Foster have kissed her, I've never mechanically completed her dressing. wanted to kiss her!"
"But, you did!" The dinner gong sounded, and, with a'
"I didn't. She kissed me. tightening feeling round her heart, she
As she came Mary. It's a caddish thing to say, but went down the stairs. to the bend she could see the hall it's true. You've somehow dragged it Mary, as a matter of fact, did not below; Gloria's tinkling little laugh out of me!"
The three of
you I' come in from the river until it was floated up to her. Purcell was there, time to change for dinner. She heard and Walter Rumbold.
"I used to hope it was," Mary, ad- Gloria moving about in her room as them were on the terrace; Mary saw
mitted, relenting, "I ... I'm glad." she passed, but had barely reached them through the open French win-
Which upshot amused Gloria-but her own when her sister followed her dow.
Purcell caught sight of her first, and in,
hurried to meet her. They came face it also gave her something to think to face at the foot of the stairs. He about. took her hand in his.
"Where on earth have you been?" she asked. Mary saw at a glance that something had upset her.
What's
"On the river, of course. wrong?"
"Look here, Mary most awkward hole.”
"Mary
I'm sorry," he said in a low tone. "I feel a most unspeakable
I'm in a cad."
.
"It isn't altogether your fault," she said.
The Rumbolds usually spent the early summer in an old house on the river at Pangbourne. Rumbold's money and Gloria's personality made it one of the social pivots of that part of the
"Whatever do you mean, Gloria?" river. There had been several more
At dinner Walter Rumbold insisted less harmless affairs
"Now I suppose I've got to make a Gloria and the various young men long explanation," the elder sister on proposing the health of Mary and He rather fancied himself who came her way that season, but said impatiently. "If you were only Purcell, it was after a wilder escapade than like other girls you'd understand at as a speaker, and regarded the occa- usual that her sister, who was spend- once! The trouble is just this: Walter sion as an excellent opportunity. Gloria town unexpectedly was obviously bored. Purcell sat list- ing a few weeks with her, protested; came back from
He said he wasn't ening uneasily, not daring to look at "I'm perfectly certain Walter wouldn't this afternoon.
coming back until to-morrow morn- either Gloria or Mary. At the end of like it, Gloria."
the speech, after the health was drunk, ing."
Rumbold, who could never leave well alone, demanded a speech from Pur- cell in reply.
"Thanks very much," said painter, which, as a speech, was far than his host's had more effective been.
"Naturally," Gloria laughed. "He's my husband. But what harm is there in it? After all, a harmless flirtation was occasionally allowed even to the Victorian young women."
"If I were Mary.
married. ." began
"I know," her sister interrupted. "You woudn't look at another man, and within six months your husband would probably be bored to tears with you. And it would serve you jolly well right!"
"You really think this sort of thing makes Walter fond of you?"
"Yes. And keeps him fond. Once a mangis absolutely certain of a woman he loses interest in her."
"Anyway, I've told you what I think about it. You'll burn your fingers if you aren't careful. Walter is obvious- ly getting jealous and suspicious, and it's foolish to go on as you do. I be- lieve you only do it to annoy him."
"We can't all be prim and proper little maidens like you," her sister laughed.
"Well?" "He came into the hall sauntered in."
just
"It's his hall," Mary pointed out, coldly.
"Yes, I know," said Gloria angrily, "But he blundered in at the moment when Tom Purcell happened to be kissing me!"
"Gloria!"
"Now, for goodness' sake, drop that outraged innocent air. You've got to get me out of this mess!"
"Me?"
"Yes. If I hadn't had my wits about me, there would have been a rare old scene."
"I should think there would have been one in any cases."
"No. I told Walter that Tom 'had just become engaged to you-and that I was congratulating him."
"You told him that? In front of Tom?" Mary gasped.
19
the
It was a lovely night, and when they went out on to the terrace after dinner the Thames was a river of my- stery, alive in the moonlight.
"Come on, Gloria. I want a stroll- by the water," said Rumbold with an elaborate wink. The line of demarca-
tion between geniality and vulgarity was not always very distinct in him.
Gloria put the best face on the situation that she could, and the two of them strolled off, leaving Mary and Purcell alone on the terrace.
"Cigarette, Mary?"
"No, thank you."
"Is it true?"
"Yes. It's you I love want to kiss."
WOMEN WANT WAR JOBS
So many women have applied to the
Society for- Women's Engineering
work that the training in munition society now has a long waiting list.
"We started special classes to train women for this work some time ago,' Miss Caroline Haslett, the hon. secre- tary, told the press.
"But so many women have applied for training during the past few weeks arrange for that we are having to more classes to be started.
"Our first class, which was held in London, was a great success, and we are hoping soon to start similar classes in various parts of the country; in- and cluding Birmingham, Glasgow, possibly Manchester.
"Wherever else there is a real de- pre- mand for these classes we are pared to negotiate with the London' Polytechnic, with whom we are in co-operation, to get them started.
"At the moment we are training the type of women who could take up positions as forewomen if required, and who would also be able to help
A silence, Mary, was looking out, train others." to where Gloria and her husband were dimly silhouetted against the glisten- ing river.
:
**I'm 'I'll go back to town in the morning, Mary, if you'd rather."
She shrugged her shoulders. "Why upset your arrangements? It seems almost a pity to deny Gloria the plea- sure of your company."
"
W
**Yes. Tom acted up, splendidly, That's the best of dealing with an in- Tom Purcell could not, fairly, be telligent man. He seized on the point The classed with the usual young men who at once- suppose he had to! wasted their time with Gloria. Neither only danger was that you would come of the girls had known him long, but barging in and spoiling the effect."
"But I don't understand. he was amusing, and that is an im- portant thing in life-nowadays. Mary
"Nonsense. It's quite simple. For a
"I deserve everything you say, had met him first at an exhibition day or so you are going to be engag- ..of his pictures in town; he had been ed to Tom Purcell. He'll be quite nice Mary. I've been all sorts of a cad, enthusiastic about the colour of her to be engaged to. At the end of a but will you believe I know it's put- to Gloria that I hair and begged to be allowed to paint week you can discover that you have tingit all on
made a mistake and break it off. He's wouldn't have "dragged you into this her.
dinner this evening, for anything? I'd rather have had a Rumbold liked him; indeed, he was coming in to
he's frightfully row with Rumbold." almost the only, one of his wife's Walter asked him
"Aren't you exaggerating the whole friends whom he tolerated without an bucked about it! He would be!" effort. He commissioned a portrait of "I won't come down, Gloria. It's stupid affair?" she asked coldly.
"No," he said. Gloria, and by the time it was finish- madness!" ed Purcell, who was staying on a "Mary, if you give me away over house boat at Goring, was accepted as this, I'll never forgive you," Gloria a friend of the family.
said desperately. "What does it mat- He was in the neighbourhood of ter? You needn't say much. In any thirty, and curiously enough, perhaps, case, shyness suits you perfectly. The had never had arious love-affair in whole affair of the engagement is just his life. The subtle contrast between a joke! Treat it as a joke! You and the two sisters, was clearer to him Tom Purcell can have the laugh of "than it would Have been to a less sen your lives over it”
sitive man; but few men, however clever, knew more about Gloria than she wanted, them to."
"I won't. I can't thing is contemptible!"
The whole
"Why not? There's nothing to do, She 'very soon realised that her For goodness sake don't put on this usual methods would not avail with stiff, puritanical air!" Gloria snapped. Purcell, and became natural, frank, "The whole allly business amounts to and comradely when he was with her, nothing. He's amusing, but that's
"I think you are. You must know of you and Gloria? what I think
in Walter's house!" Here
"You've made it quite clear, Mary," he said quietly.
"Surely you didn't expect me to be enthusiastic at having one of Gloria's young men foisted on to me, even for a day or so?”
"No. But really you aren't fair. I some here this afternoon to see you.", didn't think you admit that I were the type that makes love to another man's wife, under his own,
and learns," roof. One lives.
"I came to see you this afternoon,
PLEASE, MOTHER-
I WANT POWDER THAT'S ANTISEPTIC
MENNEN
BORATED
Rollayon leritation, prio
best and
PHIS