III
THE STILL SMALL VOICE
Tommy Borge, in one of the little feature articles which he wrote for hospitable editors of evening newspapers, saved himself no little creative effort by setting down Dorothy exactly as she appeared to him a few evenings after her graduation from Miss Blagden’s School. The article bore the caption “Molly’s a Thursday Night Girl—What’s Your Night?” and it was credited in needlessly large type to Thomas A. Borge. Tommy met Dorothy at the dance of the graduating class to which she had invited Arnold, and to which Tommy had been compelled to escort a kinswoman of no importance. It was difficult to schedule this unprepossessing intellectual for dances, but Tommy had known Arnold at college. As it was diplomatically impossible for Arnold to avoid a dance with Tommy’s impedimenta after a suggestive introduction, Tommy found himself temporarily the partner of Dorothy, who, according to her mother, was the prettiest girl in the class. Mrs. Loamford’s contention may not have been law, but it was defensible.
In the course of a fox-trot Tommy managed to inform Dorothy that he wrote pieces for the papers; that he was writing a one-act play; that he knew several big men intimately, and that he’d like to call sometime and ask her to a first night. Hadn’t she ever been to a first night? What a pity! So many interesting people at first nights! Yes, he knew most of them by sight. One of the critics spoke to him frequently at premieres. Certainly, he’d be glad to introduce her. No, he didn’t care
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