Show 0 F THE Y CHAPTER X continued 13 1 I know L what you sol TO mebin ean sho she said too much servility in it and these courtesies and yet vet one may pay not be servile I 1 always aird your father nud lie ile knew I 1 did it bebau because se I 1 wanted to not because I 1 had to and I 1 eliell do 10 the same with you once wo we understand each other or 1 I we can accept that eliat as n working basis lie agreed she produced notebook oU and penell pencil very cry c well sir air do you wish to dictate grunt grant found a little apartment house on oil a side street overlooking the tha lake 1101 here e wag a place where the vision ion could leap out without being beaten gidick b ack by barricades of stone and brick lie ile rested ills eyes on the distance and assured the inveigling landlady that tile the rooms would do and he would arrange for decorating at ills his OMI oina expense As lie was arranging the books on ills shelf a clipping with the account of zens yens wedding fell to the floor lie he ailt nt down in ills his chair and read ii it slowly through later he went out for a walk I 1 it was in fits long walks that grant found the lie ouy culy real comfort of tits his new life fire to be suro sure it ans not like roaming the lie footh fils there was not the soft boft breath of the chinook nor the deep silence of if the mighty valleys but there was movement and freedom ant and a chance to think tile the city offered artificial attractions in which the foothills had biad not competed faultlessly kept parks and lawns splashes of perfume and color spraying fountains and vagrant strains of must music ile he reflected that some merciful principle of compensation lins lias made no pance quite perfect and no place entirely undesirable he te remembered also the toll of his life in the saddle paddle the physical hardship the strain of long hours and broken weather and here too in a different way ile he was wag in the saddle and he did not know which strain was the greater ile he was beginning to have a higher regard for the men in the saddle of business the world saw only their success or it may be their pretense of success but there was a different story front from all that which each one of them could have told for himself on oil this evening when his fits mind had been suddenly turned into old channels by the finding of the he newspaper clipping dealing with the wedding of YD s daughter grant walked far into the outskirts of the th 0 city paying little attention to ills his course it was lute inte october the leaves lay thick on the sidewalks and through the ille parks there was in all the air that strange sad bad sweet dreariness of the dying summer grant had tried heroically to keep his thoughts away from Tran wife them the past had come buck back on oil ham had rather engulfed him in that flint little newspaper clipping ile ife let wonder tender where she was and whether nearly a year ear of married life had shown her the tolly folly of tier lier decision lie he took it for kr granted anted that lier her decision tind had been folly and he arrived nt at that position without any reflection upon only zen had been in ili love with lihn him with him dennison grant I 1 sooner or later she must dise discover the tragedy of that fact and nd yet lie he told himself lie he was big enough to hope site might never als A A rs oh miss bruce I 1 beg your pardon I 1 am glad to see you cover it it would be best that we she should forget film as he be had almost forgotten hor there was no doubt alint would ke fc best and yet there was a dp delightful andriess jn in thinking of her still and hoping that some soine days day ile he was never able to complete the thought lie he hod had been walking town down a street 0 of f modest homes the bare trees groped into a sky clear nud blue witti with the first presage of winter A quick step fell unheeded by his side bide the girl pin hastied pas tied sued then turned and poke you tire preoccupied mil arant oh was bruce I 1 beg your pardon I 1 ant am glad to ste e yo sot i even at that moment he had been thinking of zen unit and perhaps lie he nut more cordiality into llla ills words ihrig lie he intended but lie he lendir and grown ow n to winve have considerable rai rea kord 0 on 1 her ier oun account for this un A novel of the foothills by ROBERT STEAD author of COW cou puncher the homesteaders neighbors etc copyright ty by ROBERT STEAD usual girl who was not afraid of him ile he had find found that she was what lie called a good head she could take a detached ao 10 lew slie she was absolutely fair she bile was not easily flustered cd her step lind bad fallen into swing suing with ills you dp do not often visit our part fait of the lie city site she escaped you live herel here nearby will you ou come conle cometo tr to ile he turned wi tier at a corner and they went up lip a narrow street lying deep in bend leaves friendly donies tic glimpses could be caught through w vin windows windows dows this Is our home silo she said i ald stopping before a little gate rants oe eye followed fol loved the pathway to a cottage set pet abnel among the trees 1 I lle live here with uth my sister ant and brother and mother rather Is lend dead she went on our hur its as though wishing to place before him a quick digest of the family affairs and we ve I lcou eel up tip the home by living on with mother its as boarders alint Is grace find I 1 do Illi belt Is still in high school wont you come collie in ile he followed tier her up lip the path and into a little hall lighted only by bya chonce ras falling failing through it a hair opened door slie site did not switch on the curre current nt and grant was as aware of a comfortable sense of tier her nearness quite distinct from any office expert experience as she took his fits lint in the living room tier her mother received him with n ath visible surprise site she was as not old but widowhood and tile lie anres of a young soung family had whitened tier her hair before its time we are glad to see you mr grant giant she said bald it Is nn an unexpected pleasure nig big business men do not often mr air grant Is different different tier her daughter interrupted lightly itly 1 I found him the streets ond and I 1 just retrieved him blin 1 I think I 1 nm am different lie he admit ed na as ills his eye took in the surroundings which alch he appraised quickly nit ni modest comfort attained through many little economies economics and makeshifts phyllls phyllis Is a great help to me and grace the mother observed 1 I hope she Is a good girl in the at this moment grace and hubert came in from the picture show together wd and the conversation turned to lighter topics mrs mis bruce In insisted on serving tea and cake and when grant found that he must go phyllls accompanied him to tile the gate this all seems so funny site she was saying you are a very remarkable man 1 I think I 1 once passed a n similar opinion about you tou she extended tier her hand and lie he held it for a moi moment nent 1 I have hae not changed my first opinion lie he sald said ns as lie he released her fingers and turned quickly down don the pavement CHAPTER YI 1 I I 1 grants first visit to tile the home ot of ills afi stenographer wag not tits his last anil and the news leaked out as it 1 Is 19 9 sure to do in such cases the social set confessed to on ing shocked two schools of arlt criticism c alil developed over the five tea tables one held that grant wits is a gay dog who would settle down arid in ills class alien e had lind ills ieng fling und and the other that phyllls bruce was on nn artful hussy who was quite ready to sell herself for the grant millions and there were so many eligible young youn 4 women on the alie market although none of af then them were mere described its as artful bussies hussies hus sies grants fronts behavior however placed filin under n cloud in so far as social opportunities were concerned on tile the contrary lie he found himself being showered with most of which lie ninna managed god aff decline on oil the lie grounds of pressure proK sure of business when such nn excuse would lia have e too transparent p lie accepted and made the best of it and lie he found no lack of enczur argement in tile the ono one or two incipient timorous amorous flurries burries lur ries which resulted from such pisit positions ions lie always s succeeded uc in extricating himself with a 11 quiet smile at tile the vagaries of life HP he had to admit that some of the young oung women whom lie he had met had cha charms rills of more than pass passing lilg moment he might easily enough find himself clias I 1 ing ng the rain hoAX but his attention was at once to be turned to very different matters A stock market erratic fur for some days went suddenly into a p aroxy sih grant escaped with lis as little loys 1088 as 1068 possible able for himself and hla his clients and after three sleepless Blee plesa nights tits his staff together they crowded into the board room curious apprehensive at anost frightened and he be looked over them with nn an emotion that was quite new to ills his experience even in tile the aloofness which their standards had made it necessary for him film to adopt there had grown up in hla his heart quite unnoticed n tender sweet foliage of love loin far these men and 1 I who were a part of liln fits N now as lie alred fd f d in their facer lie ho realized how elko little ittle children they leaned on hild liow like little children they U 1 cy feared it his Is power and ills displeasure how perhaps like little children alj y had learned to love him too ile he realize j as lie he had find never done before that they were children that hero here and there in tho the mass of la Is one who wits born to lead but the great mass itself must be b children always doing as they anre bid my illy friends lie mia managed ringed to say wo we suddenly hid flud Pur ourselves selves in ili tremendous ment lous times soule boino of yon kaow my illy attitude tude toward this business in which we no are engaged I 1 ila did not seek it tried to avold avoid it yet when the responsibility was forced upon me I 1 accepted that responsibility I 1 gave up lip the life I 1 enjoyed the environment in which I 1 found doil delight glit tile friends I 1 loved well our nation Is now in a soule somewhat what similar position jt it has to go into a business which it did not seek of which it does not approve but which fate has thrust upon it it tins lias to break oft off the current of its life and turn it into undreamed of clinn chennels nels and we ns individuals W who up the alie notion nation roust must do the came I 1 have already enlisted and expect th eliat nt within it a few hours I 1 shall be in uniform some of you are single men of military ago age you will I 1 ain sure adre take similar steps for the rest the bustness business will be wound up as soon ns possible so that tant you may be released for some form of nati national service you will alf receive three mont lis salary in lieu of notice mr air murdoch will look after aft erthe the details when mat hills has been danei denemy almy wenith wealth or such part of it its as remains will be placed at the disposal of the government if we win it will be well invested in a good cause if we lose it would have peen been lost anyway 11 no one knew lust just how the meeting broke up but grant had n confused remembrance of many handclasps hand clasps and some tears lie he was not sure that lie he had not perhaps added one or two to the how flow but they were all tears of friendship and of tin an emotion born of high resolve As aa lie he stood in ills his own office again trying to get the events of these last few days into some sort of perspective phyllis bruce entered ile he motioned dumbly to a chair but she came and stood by ills his desk her face was very white and her lips trembled with the words slie she tried to utter f P 1 I cant go she managed to say at length 6 cant go I 1 dont understand hubert lins lias joined she said hubert the boyl boy why ho he Is only in school ile he Is sixteen and large for his age lie ile came home confessing and saying it wits was ills his first lie and the first important thing he ever did without consulting mother lie ile said he knew he be able to stand it it if he told tier her first foolish but heroic grant commented be proud of him it takes more than wisdom to be li heroic crole and grace croce Is going to england she was nursing you know and so gets a preference we cant all leave mother ile he found it dini cult to speak you yon wanted to go to the front lie managed of course where else tier her hand was on tile the desk ills fits own slipped over oer until it closed on nn it you are a little heroine he murmured I 1 no im not im a little fool to tell you tills this hut but how enn can I 1 stay why should I 1 s tay stay when you are gone site she was looking town down but after her confession she raised tier lier eyes to ills and lie wondered that lie he had never known how beautiful she was ile he could have taken tier her in ili its ills arms but with the rower rowe of invisible chains I 1 held him back in that supreme mome moment ift a vision swam swain before ailin a vision of a mountain stream backed by bv tawny foothills and a girl as beautiful as evel ahls phyllls who had find film n li lir hr r arms and said we trust must go end forget anil and lie he had not forgotten when he d did ld not respond slip brew herself slowly away you will hate nip she said that Is impossible he corrected quickly 1 I nm am very sorry if I 1 have let you yo if think more than I 1 intended I 1 rare enre for you very very lucli indeed I 1 care for you so much that I 1 will not let you think I 1 care for you more can you vou understand that yes you like me but you love some one else ile he was disconcerted by her antul ion an anil the terse frankness with which she stated the cuse case 11 1 I will take you into my illy confidence Ill if I 1 may inny he said nt at length 11 1 1 I 1 do like you vou I 1 did love some one else and that old attachment Is still ro strong chrit it would be hardly fair it would le be hardly fair wily you itu marry arry her horr she che demanded because some one else did oh V I 1 her bands found tits his thi this time tin rm sorry she salo sorry I 1 brought this up sorry I 1 raised these memories but now you who have known will know 1 11 I know I 1 know lie he murmured raising her fingers to his llis 1119 s time they Is a healer of all wounds perhaps no it la Is better that you should forget only I 1 shall see you oft off I 1 shall wave my illy handkerchief to you I 1 smile on you in ili tile the crowd then you will forget four years of war add only four fou years to the lie life of a man according to the lie record in ili tho family bible it 1 lie ho happen to spring i from stock in which that sacred document Is preserved lint hut four years of war add twenty years to tile gray matter be ellid tile the aes ues cyal learn to dream and ponder strangely and sometimes to shine with a hardness unit that tins has no part with youth when captain grant and sergeant under stepped off the train at grants old city there then was vils however little to suggest tile the ageing process that conin commonly ionly went vent on oil among tile soldiers in the lie great war grant rant had twice stopped tin an enemy bullet but tits his line fine figure and sunburned health now give gave no evidence of those experiences under counted himself lucky to carry only tin nn empty sleeve they lint biad fallen in with each other in ili france old and the planted in the foothills of the range country lind had grown through tile strange prun arun ings and graf tings ot of war into a treo of very solid timber under lander might that was wa when they potted him in no mans mani land have told you of the he time his fits |