Show I T TELEGRAM FICTION FICTION- I JUDITH LANE 1 T 1 v J By J Jeanne ea n Bowman CHAPTER CHAFFER I. I I PERFECT STENOGRAPHER SP ING rain pelted at the office 0 windows of the Bevins Construction Construe tion lion company It sloshed on the big B ran in a trickling stream through n o and C- C o C m sheeted d the sill then shot 18 stories to the asphalt pavement pave pave- ment Judith Lane looked at the window even as her fingers lingers beat a r on n her typewriter She should have known better than to w wear ar a new brand w suit on a n mornIng mornine morning morn morn- II ing ine when the wind was bound to blow blowup blowup up a storm shed she'd have to caR call a taxi ra tat and her hat hat maybe she could buy buya a magazine big enough to cover it while she dashed from lobby to curb S such a 11 duck of ot hat deUt delft blue and perky so few hats these days looked good on her boyishly boy boy- cut black hair hair rata tat color made her eyes look almost blue instead of gray With quick fingers she whisked the sheet from the roller slid it across the desk to her employer Tom Bevins switched on his desk light with one hand and with the other reached for tor forthe forthe the telephone which whirred impatiently Bevins Devins Construction company Miss Lane speaking Oh yes es Jack Jackson son n. n Ill I'll tell him You'd better belter park Ithe the car and meet him in the lobby I She turned from the telephone Jacksons Jacksons Jack sons son's here with your car Mr Tom The big head with its shock of iron gray hair turned with reluctance reluctance- Tell him to go back home Ive I've got three hours' hours work ahead of oC me Ill I'll call him when Im I'm ready But Mr Tom youre you're scheduled to go to the Clement dinner Mrs Bevins called this this this' afternoon and asked me to see that you yon left lell here by 5 Its It's now Confound the Clements Linen and chatter and not a thing fit for a man manto manto manto to cat eat Ill I'll be so almighty glad when we get into the field and I can have real grub of off an oilcloth table cover say that reminds m me take this letter Judith reached for her notebook snapped a rubber ban band over ove the first i pages chose a finely pointed pencil and waited Dale Lampere Morrison Better address this to Lampere make it informal Dear ah dear Morton Mor Morton ton I 1 spoke to you some time ago about the Rio Diablo project In Irs case youve you've forgotten str strike ce that out To refresh your memory about 10 O years ago aco a night fly realty company conceived the idea ide of ot damming the Rio Diablo a n temperamental tempera temperamental mental stream in southwest Texas I north and cast of ot the Rio Grande a particularly desolate region The idea of ot the dam was all right I have no doubt but what irrigation and controlled water supply will turn II it into one of ot the leading citrus fruit sections of ot the world However after af at afi ter they'd talked bIKed a lot of poor suckers suckers' strike that out into Investing investing in tn v vesting their money In the land had bad built a railroad spur into the country to carry these poor ah ab ers there they decamped When the at affair air put In another I word for affair Judy came to my notice I made a quick trip down there I found a alo about o t a hundred of th these still there because th they y didn't have any place else ele to go They had sold their old hom homes s to invest Inthis in inthis inthis this desert land and were there grubbing grubbing grub i bing a mere existence out of the soil The spur had been abandoned and their condition was pitiable I 1 decided decided after my survey that I would build that darn dam dam out of my say own capital if necessary and with this end in view will vilI leave here June 1 with my ray engineers to make a n complete com com- survey of the project I 1 am going to want legal protection protection tion every very step of the way for it is possible that the original promoters finding they may make some more money out of ot that country will try to horn in you'll have to find some other word for horn in Judy I 1 am going to want someone from your our office either cither you or one of your partners to accompany me on this trip for lor the purpose of searching I Continued on P Page Pae se Three T TELEGRAM LEGRAM FICTION M JUDITH LANE I By ey Jeanne Bowman Bo C Continued from Page Pue One i titles Hies etc My Mp secretary Miss Lane will be available a for any stenographic work in connection with the project both here and in the field and will be familiar with all details pertaining to the expedition should you OU call caU at nt the theoffice theoffice theoflice office during my temporary absence immediate I 1 will appreciate your attention to this matter and wish wih to know at your earliest convenience which one of you better make that which member of your firm will accompany accompany ac ac- ac company the expedition expedition- Judith snapped the band on her book book Mr Mr Tom Torn you must go on homel home she entreated Not till I sign h he be countered countered countered coun coun- With resignation the girl turned to the typewriter and sent her fingers fingers fingers fin fin- gers flying over the keys The margin bell echoed the final period and again a letter whisked across the polished surface of the desk and again the telephone whirred Press ress Interested fiB B e v I 1 n s Construction company Miss Lane speaking R Really drawled a feminine voice voke Miss Lane this is Miss Sanford of 01 the Houston Tribune Will you ou have dinner with me this evening Judiths Judith's lips which had curved into a the sound of Clia CBa Sanfords Sanford's voice framed a quick answer Delighted I Waita Wait a minute warned the other theres a joker in this invitation The dinner is on the Tribune Im I'm to interview a perfect stenographer Ill TI enjoy r t that at returned Judith quickly Shed She'd been wn with una zia on other assignments Who is she You Yo answered Clia and before Judith could protest meet me in the lobby of the Rice at Judith turned from the telephone with such an expression of bewilderment bewilderment bewilder bewilder- ment merit that Bevins Bevies looking up from the letter he had just signed laughed Bevins Bra Bragged ed wrong Judy 1 Nothing in particular she faltered faltered faltered fal fal- only Clia Sanford said she was going to interview a p perfect stenographer this evening and that I Iwas Iwas was was was- was was-or she paused Torn Tom Bevies Bevins Big Tom as his men affectionately called him had Hushed flushed to the roots of ot his hair I let you in for that he confessed A discussion of stenographers came up at the engineers' engineers luncheon today Kline of the Amalgamated said there was no such thing as a perfect stenographer stenographer ste ste- ste- ste because such a person would have to have the brains of at an Einstein the patience of ot a Job and the endurance of ot a robot Judith there was small boy defiance dc dc- de- de fiance in iii his voice I not only admit admitted ted you possessed these qualities I bragged about it Carlson of the Tribune Tribune Tribune Trib Trib- une sat across the table from me and he must have listened in And OlAnd to think youre you're noted internationally internationally inter inter- nationally for your accuracy chided Judith What would happen if you exaggerated on a bridge specification like that I should ask for lor a raise on cn the strength of what youve you've said but youre you're already giving me more than Im I'm worth so please Big Tom do go on home before Mrs Bevins gets after me Oh all right He rose rose walked slowly to his locker pulled a slouch hat over his hair at a defiant angle and nd ambled out slamming the door behind him 0 The moon-faced moon clock on the tower of f the Tribune leered at Judith Big Dh Tom would be late and Mrs Bevins would nag at him Poor Big Dig Tom Determination Succeeds i. i It would td be a relief to get him Into the he field again where he could relax Mrs Irs Bevin didn't seem icem to realize that hat a man couldn't work at white heat all day then dine and play cards all night Of Ot course she was considerably considerably consid consid- younger She admitted being 42 Big Tom was wai past 60 Not that this thi was any of ot her business business busi busi- ness Judith reminded Judith She was only his stenographer per per- perfect feet stenographer di dinned ed the memory memory mem mem- ory of Clias Clia's voice She laughed To think that in this city of ot three hun bun with Its usual ratio o of stenographers she he should have been called the perfect one Five years ago she would have classified a stenographer its as liz some sor sort of an an unskilled business domestic She She- was in college then intent upon fitting herself to become a civil engineer en engineer and her fathers father's partner Sh She had all aU of the practical education necessary having traveled with him since her mothers mother's death when sh shwas she he was 12 but had wanted to perfect he her ber technical training She had foregone the pleasure of ot a South American trip for fr this purpose and one year b before tore her course coure was completed Emil Lane succumbed t ta to toa toa a slow tropical fever which had be been bes n robbing him of both life and savings Tom Torn Bevins was in Austin when the dean broke the news to Judith When he learned of ot the passing of ot his friend and early partner he hurried to the girl and after her grief ha had hads s subsided helped h her r readjust her lh He admired her independent atut attitude dc and when she refused financial help suggested she use the meager mcager life me insurance insurance in insurance in- in as tuition at a business co col lege where she could be speedily sup supplied plied with stenographic training which would enable her to care fo for herself Equipped with a diploma and determination determination de de- de termination she progressed from po position position po- po 0 to position until Big T Toms Tom's ms m's se secretary see sec married and she was called t to take her place Copyright 1934 by Jeanne Bowman Tomorrow a man comes Into Judiths Judith's life me |