made Nadine smile even more. She went over and took his hand Babe was wearing the long, false nails Millie had left earlier - a bright, blushing pink to match the makeup he had re-done since entering the dressing room.

"Leave that dress on then," said Nadine, putting her arm about Babe's narrow waist in the white, sequinned dress. “Let's go right away. The men are wait- ing!"

When the pair had left, Marty let out a sigh even greater than the one released by David Ren- nick. "That woman!" he hissed, pulling up and fastening his green pleated skirt over his silk blouse. He took off his wig and took up a comb to style his own hair.

David Rennick wavered. Normally, he and Marty, perhaps with Ace and Farrell, would take the girls out for a drink on a pay day. Now, Marty had become one of the girls! He didn't know what to do. "Well," he said with a girlish smile. "Tomorrow we have a matinee show as well. Right?"

******* *

―

In bed, later that night, after reassuring Cindy several times about his maleness in the best way David knew of doing that - he told her how awkward he'd felt in the whole performance. With her sweat-streaked hair pushed back from her eyes, Cindy laughed as David related how the boys had struggled into different articles of women's un- derwear.

"But you know what a garter belt is," she insisted. "You've seen me wear one often enough.

"But I've never worn a garter belt before," explained David. "Not with nylon stockings, either, with those stupid seams

you have to get straight."

"Ah, poor darling," said Cindy lighting a cigarette. "I'll have to give you lessons with my clothes.

There was an uncomfortable pause between them for a mo- ment. "I told Marty you had to see your sister tonight," said David gruffly, taking a drag from Cindy's cigarette. "I didn't think you'd want to go out with him the way he was dressed."

"Oh, I wouldn't have minded,' said Cindy seriously and David pushed himself up on an elbow to stare at her. “I had a long talk with Sally. She's in love with Marty, you know, and she's the one who does his makeup and buys his dresses for him.”

"You wouldn't have minded!” David's voice was choked.

"Oh, not Marty," said Cindy, putting her arm about him. “You I'd worry about, I suppose. But Sally's not worried about Marty. She says he's more of a man in bed with women's clothes than with men's. She told us all about transvestites. It's quite interest- ing really!"

"Cindy!" David stubbed out the cigarette, stretching over her. He dropped on her then and she protested but not too hard. "You know what Sally calls Marty when he's in drag," she gasped, pushing out her arms be- hind David's neck. "She calls

him Cindy if you can believe

that!" David's mouth closed over hers but she got free. “What femme name would you like, darling?" she giggled into his ear. "Sally? or Davida? or what about

." But by then David Rennick had started something really in- teresting and Cindy wasn't at all worried about girls' names for her boy friend.

*****

The next few performances of 'The Great Shoot-Out' went on without much improvement from the first night's switch of parts. The men dutifully swished and pranced like showgirls while Ace Demanski laughed from his position in the girls' row all attired as men. Only Babe Cor- bin showed any improvement in his role. He was revelling in the part of a blonde bombshell and he confided to Clinton Hart that Nadine was going to upgrade his part in a few weeks when she be- gan to alter sketches again.

The return of Shelley and Danielle brought a protesting Ace Demanski back to the boys' dressing room. He put on a wig and makeup like the others, but played his role like something from Wagner a massive Brun- hilda that produced almost no reaction from the audience to the genuinely funny lines that originally had been Sally Rader's.

new

After two performances by Ace, the boys were joined by a dancer in their dressing room. She came in, in an orange mini-skirt and dark-blue, see through blouse. When she took off her top, she embarassed the boys by stripping off her bra, to show her real, full breasts.

“Oh, it's all right,” she said, as she began to make up for the ex- tra rehearsal Nadine had called. "I'm a guy just like you. This is just the hormones at work." She glanced knowingly at Marty and Babe, both with sick looks on their powdered and painted faces "You'll be on them soon, won't you, dears?" she added with a smile. She took up a black bra and got Ace to fasten her up. She was so genuinely female that the boys were embarassed to be in the same room as she

-12-