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Show IfH it If fVWfl CP ttnsttszsz By ROBERT RUSSELL cj fjrHAT'S the situation in a nut- shell, young man!" The successful man of business busi-ness watched Belden Intently, but the young lawyer was gazing out of the window of his small otnee, far across the river. "You have no idea, "Mr. Jordan," he replied, "how much I appreciate your coming to me in this case, but " ' "Well?" "I scarcely know how to put it, but I don't exactly like " "If you do not want to handle the matter, say so at once," said Jordan 'f ' abruptly. 1 !t a PJird struggle for Belden. re was a man who could, and prob- l ;;!! would, give him business enough U nutke him independent if he handled this particular case to his client's satisfaction. satis-faction. But all the ethics of P.elden's profession protested aeainst bringing 1 ')o proposed artion. '".-i :t is oiir i.'bjeriien to enrrying out my wishes ?" nked the older man. "Js thrre anything dishonest in what I h,i ve supfstPd ?' "N si r no; hinc dishonest. Rut It Feems to :ne that it is bpsed on such a t ' rhnicnli t y tlv.it it would be scarcely propnr o po through with it. There are nvuiv iMwyers who would laugh at me 'y fnr taking this stand, nd perhaps I am fnn;s!l." "Tlum you refuse?" The man's tone w;is r: peit:i nt. 1 "Nn," exclaimed the young man at hist. rt;-inc and walking about his ofMre. "I d'n't refuse, l.ct me take a day to ! think the matter nvor." ' , Mr. Jnrd.-in m?, took his hat and coM. ' nodded to Hfl ion, and was enne. Every suit tlvit 1'elden had was finished, And i in r.i-di he had received his f-. This i w;:s ;i tir.ptine chance. There was ab- s-oIuMy nthinc alioad of him. and his I oMVe expanses were nssumtnc Ptartlinsr propdrt iinj. Kathcring up the papers that Jordan had left, Belden passed out of the building. build-ing. "111 stay at home tomorrow," he said to himself, "and think this think over." His mother's inquiries failed to bring out any explanation of his troubled look. Little sleep came to him that night, and the next morning passed without bringing bring-ing any solution of his problem. "I'm going to have some friends in to play bridge this afternoon," remarked Mrs. Belden at lunch. "I hope it won't disturb you in your work." The Beldens lived in an apartment. It was a nice apartment, but small. Belden had never quite realized how small it was until that afternoon when his mother's guests be.can to assemble. "They will be playing in a little while," he thought, as the sound of laughter and conversation came to htm from the front rooms. "Then, perhaps, I cn think this out. Bridc-e is a quiet game, after all." And before lone, as he sst at his table with Mr. Jordan's papers in front of him, there came a silence, and he knew that the game was pn. But every little while, when he seemed to be on the verge of reaching a decision, his thoughts would be interrupted by a word from the players. The thing must be decided. Terhaps another examination cf the papers would hMp him out. Carefully he picked up a bulky document. "Here is my first difficulty." he thought. "What shall I do about this?" '."Bridge it!" came from the next room. A faint smile crossed his face as Belden Bel-den examined another paper. "I suppose. " he muttered, "that if I got Jordan's business I should m.'ike more than T have ever made in any one year." "Doub!!" came another female voice. "The fates se:u with me." Fidn went on. "I puppo? I o-ich: to be " "Content!" from the front room. H- rose quickly end walked up and down his den. "What was it," he said to himself, "that that old lawyer said to me the other day? He hasn't a very good repudiation; repud-iation; but he gave me certain advice and said that if I followed it I would wear " "Diamonds!" came his mother's voice. It was getting past a joke now this series of interruptions from the bridge players. The young man hardly dared think consecutively, lest a spoken answer an-swer should come through the closed door. "I'm getting morbid. The thing is all right. There isn't another fellow in my position that would give the question a second thought. It's not dishonest, and what if it does savor a little of sharp practice? I'll take the case!" "Pray do!" Flushed at the command from the unseen un-seen as it seemed to be Belden bundled bun-dled up his papers, tied them firmly together to-gether and placed them on the corner of the table. Then, in a hurried, flustered way, he resumed his tramp up and down the room, talking to himself as he walked. "A man must take the world as he finds it," he muttered. "One can't fit everything, to one's own ideas. One s must be a bit elastic " "Rubber!" He scoffed at the word. ( "There's only one thing, after all, that makes a man happy. AU New York is striving for it, and I might just as well get on the band-wagon. The very children chil-dren in the streets are after it; it's born in the blood of every baby. It's the greatest thing in the world. Of course I mean " "Honor! " Belden stopped suddenly in his walk. He had heard the word what a different differ-ent one from that which he had been about to pronounce! Somewhere in the back of his brain came the thought of an almost forgotten day when a famed judge had addressed the graduating class of B: I den's law school. The veteran jurist had talked of the duties of those who entered the Ieeal profession, and the word "honor" had been repeated and repeated till Belden feit that nothing else in the world was so inportant. The greatest thing in the world! Was it money, after all? For a long time Belden sat gazing at the legal documents lying before him innocent enough in appearance, but, like the little pen on which his eye fell at that moment, how pregnant with possibility possi-bility of evil ! The bridge players were leaving nuw. Remembering his mother's desire to have him put in an appearance for a moment at least, he walked down tho hall for a farewell word to her friends. "Oh, Mr. Belden," exclaimed Mrs. lira-ham, lira-ham, "congratulate me! I won the prize!" "I do, most heartily. "It was my honor score that brought u p my total." "I don't think you need be so proud about it," snapped an intimate friend. "Having honors is all lurk." "I don't quite ocree with you." was the reply. "At bridge w a'l hold honors, but too often we overlook them and consider con-sider only tl'p points we can make. I believe in playing the game with honors in mind all the time." Beldon beat a hasty retreat. His papers pa-pers were there, and he sli pped them into the pocket of his coat. "Mother," he said, whn the last gur-st had gone, "I am ging out for a little while. BusinPH!" Tre su bwa y took him quickly to Mr. Jordan's home. The old gent i'-mn was about to go in to dinner when the yonn;,-mn's yonn;,-mn's name was hrou i.-ht to hi:n. II entrM the rTr ion -room calm, dirrni-fi'-d h prsor tkn of all that was trup wnr'.hy. "I hop-, Mr. Jordan," beran Tld"-n, "hat I hin rW draining yon fj;n din-r'-r. but I rrr;M not vit to see ou tomorrow. to-morrow. Ji's hot;t that ras." " T " w,-, rjr.y bric. Mr. .Tord -i ?" TY ojov-r -"an look'- at B-dd'-r, .-. if hr- lad do-;: s of hi:-? osier's sanity. "No. I .; o:n jjf.y ca.rds." There was an awkward pause. Belden was nervously anxious, to make- tho other sec his point of view, but scarcely know wdiat to say. From a room upstairs up-stairs there came a low nolo, of music, then a chord struck on a piano. Belden dropped his eyes. "Mr. Jordan," he said at last and unconsciously un-consciously he spoke with tho rhyt bin of the imita'c "1 do hopo that you will understand my motives when 1 tell you that I simply cannot take that cane ymt gave to me. I should never rcHpect my-s'lf my-s'lf if l did something which, though it! t would be according to the spirit of (ho times, is contrary tn--to the Ideal; of my profession. I'm vry sorry." He look the bundle of papers from his pooket and handed them to the other. The musie had ceased, and in the silence there tame the sound of light Mop on tho rst airway. Then a young ;:lrl nloppr d into the room. "Oh. T b;.- pardon!" she cried, u'f'iiig t!i" situation. Jordan turned. "Come in, Alire," he said gently. "I want yon to meet a youm; friend of mine Mr. Belden. See if yon v:m peisuado him to remain and have dim.' r v-ith uw. We have busine. to lajl; over thia re-nini-'. No," h- ronl i rued. ;j dd rr:u m; 'he young man, "1 do not want to diMfu:: this r.j r.e. That is over; but want to rpeak fibout ;-.'-.t;j1 other rna 1 1 f-m. My p'ironal roun.-e) di(l ir ,, y, and We, I Sb -Uhl hi.e t0 f; 1U tO yOU." B' Men look the gjr'.'M har.d. "I'm su re on will s y, Mr. BMn, fJ o r:ijd. "J I -d ould hit " "l"ou ,'; mrfioo'd Jordan, "1 hadn't folly ;; ., H o f.-.ra-, ,.f !... ,-AV.n n.--if. hot yo-i ho-e ,,p((. th-ori very ri' -r to r-e. X .w f 'oio.;ld i!: to ha-.e yo i t'-'F-s uj'O't ('" v.-.-iy io v.ld' ii my (dief t:r.-; i;,v :r,; ' r an-l If." '"And," f! T !JI,T' d r. , n, "I HhOMp be r!ad r.f rh-nu-e to tf-: you bo-it cm'- of the good points of bridge whibU |