.

"Come, my dear," she said, "you must have dinner with us."

Mrs. Sprockett hurried after her husband, who had started toward their
home with the baby on one arm and the other around Alma's shoulders.
John took Consuello's hand and whispered to her, "You wonderful,
wonderful girl."

Inside, while Mrs. Gallant rearranged the dinner table and prepared
portions for three instead of two, she related to him what had occurred.

"On the way to the studio this morning," she said, "I bought a copy of
your paper to read what you had written about--about what happened last
night. I saw in the paper the photograph of this girl who was missing
and, just by chance, I noticed the address of her home and realized it
must be close to your own. For that reason, I suppose, I gave the
picture more than a passing glance, although I thought little of it.

"I had no sooner arrived at the studio than this girl came running up to
me and begged me to help her become a motion picture actress. Because
the picture was still fresh in my mind I recognized her, although it was
some time before I got her to admit that she had run away from home. I
talked to her and told her what a mistake she had made and finally she
said that, if I wanted her to, she would return home. So I brought her
home and, truly, you would think I had done something wonderful by the
way your mother and Mrs. Sprockett thanked me."

"You did," he said, realizing that by her act of bringing home the
runaway Alma she had, unknowingly, won his mother to her.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because everything you do, everything about you is wonderful," he said,
justifying himself for the evasion by knowing that his answer was
truthful, at least.

* * * * *

In his imagination John enjoyed picturing the four principal streets of
Los Angeles--Broadway, Spring, Main and Hill--as different types of
girls much in the same way that he looked upon houses, particularly old
ones, as people.

Broadway he pictured as the ultra-modern girl, gay, sparkling, witty,
brilliant, temperamental; busily enjoying every minute of life; clad
always in the most down-to-the-moment styles. He imagined her as
popular, colorful, a wonderful companion for a happy, festive mood; a
street that looked upon her companion streets as a debutante looks upon
her older sisters.

Her faults he placed as tempestuous, born of an excess of nervous
energy; a desire to stay up too late and k