Page 31 - 1932 Hartridge

The Senior Class Prophecy
Bridges Darling:
I know that as the most sophisticated and sought'after woman in New York
you will hardly have time to notice this. But do rescue it from the hands of your
social secretary if you have any curiosity at all about our class. The most amazing thing in the world has happened, and happened so curiously that most of us who are in business have been seeing quite a lot of each other. I know that you’ll be eager to be in the midst of it, too—hence the letter. I guess I’ve kept you in suspense long enough. Here is my news, ’’hot from the news griddle,” as Mary Helen Crusan says.
It was Mary Helen and Crampie who informed me of it. Mary Helen is a reporter on the “Typhoon,” the biggest paper in the country, and Crampie illus' trates her daily columns—they are perfectly inseparable and you can always sec Libbie trotting patiently after Mary Helen, who moves in a whirl of dust. I think
they are the most talked-of pair in the newspaper world. Well, to get to the point, they whirled up to my studio one afternoon to tell me about Mary Rowland. Crusan is awfully obliging about giving me all sorts of stories, because I’m always needing
new ideas for my novels, and this is a corker. Mary—our quiet, unobtrusive Rowland —is up for murder! If it weren't tragic it would be funny. She murdered her husband in cold blood, as far as I can see. It seems that Mary got homesick for Savannah and decided to make some of that glorious Savannah fudge. Well, she made it, and when her unsuspecting husband arrived, she offered him some. He took
it, of course, but when he tried to bite it, it was as hard as a rock. He must be a brute (or have been one) because rumor has it that he laughed uproariously. That was really the end. Mary’s blood was roused—you know how gentle people are when they finally get furious—and when she realized what she’d done she called
Doctor Stillman right away, but it was too late. Ruth feels terribly about it, not only because she couldn’t save Rowland’s husband, but also because, she said, Mary had never shown any signs of violence when they roomed together at school.
As soon as Crusan got that far, I stopped her and we all jumped in my car and drove over to the jail and court room. I wanted to see the rest of it myself.
Judge Blanding was just rapping for silence when we entered, and I must say that it gave me a decided thrill to have one of New' York’s cleverest and most promi­ nent woman judges recognize me. She is really marvelous and is able to keep her
lorgnettes on her nose for as long as three minutes at a time now. After having rubbed her poor little nose vigorously with her ever-ready handkerchief, she signaled the court secretary to stop typing and read the case. Frannie arose in a dignified way and read the case, first in English and then in French. She is looking remark­ ably well and enjoys her job immensely. She takes it very seriously though, and she didn’t even bat an eyelash when she saw us. When she finished, Rowland
walked in.
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