Photoplay (Jan 1921)

£ADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE -NINETEEN O /it < J J v PHYLLIS She placed Her little hand on Andrew s arm, and they floated away into Paradise. til and love — and real dress suit — rst diamond ring! By LULIETTE BRYANT WHERE'S that Andrew?" demanded Uncle, belligerently. "Up in his room," was Auntie's placid reply. "Oh, he is, is he? 'Taint possible he's going to bed. for once in his life, at the proper hour for a boy like him to go!" "No," admitted Auntie. Voice and look hovered over Uncle indulgently, as if he were a very small and fractious child. "He's getting ready for the party." "Getting ready for a party! At this time of night! Eight o'clock this minute! Eight o'clock, and going somewhere! Just starting! Not started, even! Just getting ready to start. at eight o'clock!" Uncle's accusing glare vibrated between the placid face of the kitchen clock and the placid face of Auntie. Neither of the faces showed a quiver of emotion. The clock kept on ticking, and Auntie kept on knitting. "I don't know why you have him go out every single night!" Uncle went on popping his violent little sentences against the wall of Auntie's placidity. "A boy like him ought to be home and abed nights. When I was his age — " "When you were Andrew's age," came one of Auntie's rare interruptions, "you spent every single evening of your life on my father's front porch, or in the parlor, talking to me. Unless we went to singing school, or to prayer meeting, or a strawberry festival or a corn husking. And I haven't a doubt that your father said to your mother 'what makes you have him go out every night?' And she told him 'that's what you did at his age!' Nineteen's been nineteen ever since the beginning of creation, Daniel. If Andrew didn't want to dress up and run after the girls and know more than us old folks about everything, I'd worry about him!" "Urr-umm-ph ! " grunted Uncle, rather ineffectively. He was spared the necessity for any more adequate retort by the appearance of Andrew himself, on whom he now turned. Nice time o' night to be going out! And I suppose you think you look about right! White pants! Well, you will admit. Alviry, that I didn't wear white pants when I was nineteen!" "No, neither did anybody else in our village. But you had the first pair of them tight, creased ones, in bright blue, that any of us ever saw. You wore 'em first to Ellen Perkins's birthday dance. My. wasn't I proud of you! I guess Phyllis is going to think you look about right, Andrew." The boy flashed a grateful look at her. He was a slim, straight youth, immaculately fresh and clean now, from his shining hair to the tips of his white canvas shoes. "My tie all right?" he asked, anxiously. "Looks pretty as can be," she assured him. "If you behave as well as you look you'll do very well." A little, reluctant smile tugged at the corners of Uncle's mouth as the boy went, whistling, down the street. "My mother always said that to me, too," he admitted, " 'bout behaving as well as I looked. Well, the boy aint so bad, Alviry. only he prinks too much, and he's sort of fickle. Seem; like he's got no persistency in anything!" "Persistency! Daniel Cavanaugh, did you notice his hair? It's took six months of solid effort to get every hair on the top of his head to lay in just the opposite direction from what the Lord intended. But he's accomplished it. And how many hours do you think he practiced before he could knot a four-inhand tie like that?" "But why don't he use his persistency for something sensible?" urged, Uncle doggedly. "Why? Because he's nineteen, that's why!" chuckled Auntie. "Well. I hope he hasn't kept Phyllis waiting." As if any man, however late he was, ever kepi a girl waiting when she was going to a dance! As Andrew rang the bell Phyllis stood in front of her mirror, adroitly rolling her blond curls into a fluffy knot for the fourteenth time, the previous 43