Show F 0 oo wass A story of today and of all rayj r by GEORGE AGNEW chamberlain copyright hy dy the century company SYNOPSIS 2 w alan wayne Is in sent away from lied bad tila homo by hla his undo uncle J Y as a a moral a re clem or Us runs after win him in a tangle if short kit to bid hint him goodby good by CHAPTER II if continued it amount to nn an appoint i allent just jual A jol joh nu all assistant to walton the engineer the contractors contract ora tiro tire sending bending out were going to put up III a bridge somewhere tit in africa it IL I 1 knew it the cap train going away want any money the question cattle camo like solid shot out ot of d a four alan started colored and sullied smiled till nil at tho the sanle time no thail loi air lie ho replied ivo ive got all I 1 need the captain hitched ills chair forward placed ills hands on oil ills his knees leaned forward and glared out on oil the avenue the Lat isings lie ho began lice 1110 a boy reciting a piece are devils tor for drink the lio waynes for or women dont you over ever let lent cm worry you about drink nowadays Nowa dayo tho the doctors call in III ivy thile it awni just plain strong heads for wine I 1 say any dont aurry about drink theres I 1 A safety valve in III every waynes gullet hut flat wor women tion mani the captain slued blued around lilg ills bulging eyes you look out for them As aa your great grandfather used to say any to women only perishable goods sweets flowers and kisses anti and you tuko take it front mo me kisses arent always the cheapest they any und ninde every everything till ng d down ow it to little apples and jersey lightning hut but when be made women the devil liel Itel ped 11 the captains nervous nervousness dropped cropped from ills his ns as lie be deliberately drew out lila ills watch and fob good tiling filing ho bo did too lie added ns as a plea pleasing ming afterthought ile iio leaned back hi ills colini coalee coa pee lacet look boote caula u rt r lila his aann 11 got up to say bay gooslby gadi goo ilby by the nrose too find clasped the hand alna alan beld out ono one moro more tiling thing he I 1 said dont forget theres always a wayne to back a wayno for good or bad there was a suspicion of lots turo ture in his eye ns as he bo hurried his guest 0 kofl ft nack back in his bla room alan found letters awaiting film blin ile read thein and toro tore flie 1 in up nil all but one it was from i clem sho wrote dear ailant nance says you are ara going adry fur far away I 1 am sorry it has been raining here very much in the hollows alt all the he bridges are under water I 1 havo invented a now game earno it la Is called steamboat I 1 play it on old dubbs wo go down into the volley valley and I 1 make maka him go BO through the tha water around the bridges ile iio puffs just like ilka a steamboat and when tio ho gets eda out oat lie ho all over lie iio la Is too fat I 1 hope hopa you will mill come back bach very soon CLEM that evening clem was thrown into a transport by receiving her first tolo tole iti grain nii it read readi you must not play steamboat again it is 19 dwig erous alan ainu she tucked it in her bor bosom and rushed oyer over to tho the itra firs to show it ito a gerry erry gerry and allx alit were allIg summer nt we alio firs where mrs lan aing gedrys widowed mother was still nominally tho ilia hostess they had been married two years year but people still saoko of altz allx naGer rys bride and and in so doing stumped hor with tier own seal to strangers strang cra they carried tho lie air of a couple about to bo be mar lied tit nt tho the rational close of A long engagement grigen ga tent no children or thought of lilloren lill dren had bad como come to turn the alio channel of life for allx alit on gerry marriage sa sat i as an added habit it wits ana begin 1 I nine to look as though lie ho and alix alit drifted together not because they were carried by tho file same currents cur but bo be cause aass they were tied where duller minds would bavo dubbed gerry the ox alan hail had named illin tho the rock and alan wits right gerry had find a dignity beyond mere bulk ile iio had till nil thi the ol of resistance none of articulation chero a pinprick would start an all ox it took an upheaval to move gerry an upheaval was on oil the way but gerry did not know it it was liia yet afar or off to the lansis lansie lansi s in marr lago had always been one of tho the regular functions of a ted life part of tho the general genera of things gerry was slowly realizing that his bis marriage with allx alix was waa far crom a more function had little to do with a regular life alfo and was waa foreign to what he bo had find always considered tho the general scheme of things allx alir had developed quite naturally until rally into it a social butterfly garr gerry y did riot not picture her as aa chain lightning playing on a rock as alan would have bavo done but lie did in it 11 vague way feel lint hat bits of his impassive self were being chipped away red lied boral allx alix arid and bile show showed 01 it the first surn trier after tho the marriage ir lage they had bud spent abroad now allx thoughts and talk turned con set Bt antly toward europe sli shi even sug a flying trip for or the fall but gerry refused to be dragged so far from golf and ills club lie iio tuck stuck doggedly to lied till tho the leaves began to turn and then consented to move back to town on their last night nt at tho the firs MM hirs lansing who was complacently aunt jane to waynes rind 14 enter tattled lied hill as a whole to dinner with tho the arrival of dessert to allx alit surprise nance said port all around please aunt jane Lan landings sIngs waynes and elfons were heavy drinkers in it town but it was a tradition as allx alit know knew that on oil cited they dropped it all but the old captain it was as though a amid id tho the scones of heir childhood I 1 they they bo came children and just as a frenchman of the old school will not light a cigarette tit in tho the presence of ills his rather so they would riot not tako take a drink arluk for or drinks sake on red hill so allx alit looked on interestedly as the old butler set glasses and started tho the port when it had gono gone the round nonce nance stood up tip and an with tier her hands on it the tables edge leaned toward them all for a wayne she elio was very fair As they looked at tier her the color adept over tier her bare neck its wave reached tier temples all and seemed to stir the clustering tendrils of tier her hair linar ifer her eyes were grave and bright with moisture innis ture iler her lips were tremulous we c drink to alan ainu she bho said today Is birthday sho she sat ant down they nil all raised their glasses little clem had no wine sho she put a thin hand on gedrys arm please Il onse gerry pleast plea sp gerry held field down ills glass clematis dipped in fit the tip till of tier her little finger and as they flioy till nil drank gravely carried the drop of wine to her lips As judge Ile II caley alcy gray haired lia I 1 red but erect walked up tip the avenue his bis keen glance tell fell on lorry gerry lansing standing across tho the street before an art dealers window gedrys eyes were fastened on a picture that he bo had bad long had in mind tor for a certain nook in the library of tho the town louse house it was tho the second anniversary of ills his wedding and though it was already late tit in tho the afternoon gerry had not yet chosen ills gift for allx alix lie turned front from the picture with a last long look ana a shrug and passed on to n palatial jewelers farther up the abo street vor for many y yeara ars judge had been foster father to ried red in general and to gerry in fit particular with almost womanly intuition he bo read what was tit in gedrys mind before tho the picture and acting on oil tho the judge crossed the sim ut and bought it while tho the judge was still in tho the picture shop G gerry crry came out or of the jewelers elers and started briskly bickly for foe home lie ile had purchased a pendant of bril hunts extravagant for his purse but yet saved to good by it originality in fit design lie iio waited until the dinner hour anti and then afien slipped ills his gift into allx alix hand band as they walked down tho ilia stairs together ge titer silo she stopped beneath tho the hall ball light 1 I cant walt wait dear I 1 simply cant sho elie snapped open the case oho gasped how dearl ilow how perfectly dearl you old sweetheart ill sho she throw tier her arms around ills his neck and kissed hissed him lalni twice then she flow away to the drawing room in search of mrs lansang and tho the judge tho the solo guests to tho the little n U ill ve rs A ry dinner gerry straightened his tio and followed allx tongue was rippling iier her whole hotly body was rippling with excitement and pleasure she bho tangled dangled her ber treas uro before their eyes SUB she laid it against her warm neck and ran to a mirror the light in III her eyes cyca matched the light in the stones eto noa the judge took tho the jewel dud and laid it in tho the palm of fits big 6 strong frong hand band it looked in dauger of being crushed A beautiful thing gerry bo be said and well chosen somo some poet jeweler that twining design and set the stones while tho the dew was still on tho the grass after dinner tho ilia four gathered in ill the library but they hardly seated when am allx up iler her glatice glanco had bad followed gedrys startled gaze lla was staring tit nt the alio coveted picture lie bo had bild been looking at ibalio hi iglio gallery that afternoon it hung bung in it the ottelie in which his bla thoughts had bad placed it allx allm took tier her stand be before 10 re it abo glanced inquiringly tit at lie ha others amro sir lansing nodded at the judge all allx K turned back to the picture anil and gravity stole into tier her race anre then she bho faced the judge audgo with it aile wo live she said in fit 1 i philistine nee dout wo vo never let any philistinism drive pictures from their right place in fix tho the honri heart pictures in art gall galleries erles 11 sho she shrugged her pret ty shoulders shou 1 I have not been trained up to them ithem to me they aro are mounted butterflies in a museum cut flowers crowded at the florists hut but this picture and that nook they have waited for or each other you see the picture nestling down for a long rest and it seems a small thing and then it catches your eye and holds it and you see that it Is a little door that opens on a wide world it has slipped into the room and become a part of life A ff strange stillness followed on allx alit words to tho the judge and to gerry it was as tilo though ugh the picture had bad opened a window to her mind then she closed the window come gerry alto said eald turning make your bow to the judge and bark 11 gerry was excited though lie ho did riot not show it you havo have dressed my thoughts in words I 1 cant equal lie he said and strolled out on to the little veranda at the back of the house ile iio wanted to be mono for a moment and think over this flush flash of light that had followed a dark day for the first time in a long while allx alix had revealed herself lie ile did not begrudge tho the judge ills his triumph lie knew instinctively that coming from him film instead of from the file judge the picture would not have struck that intimate spark the next day gerry gave his fits consent to allx plan for a flying trip abroad but with ft a reservation the reservation was that she should join some party and leave him behind judge heard of this arrangement only when it was on oil the point of being put into effect in fact lie ho was only just in time at the steamer to wave goodby good by to allx alit leaning over tho the rail with her high color moist red lips and big excited eyes making play under a golden crown of hair and over a libao h ugo armful of roses alit aier presented a picture not easily forgotten the judge turned to gerry she ought not to bo be going without you my boy oil its all right said gerry lightly ashes well chaperoned its a big party you know hut but during the weeks that followed the judge sani saw it was not all right gerry had less lesi and less time for golf and moro more and more tor for whisks and sodas the judge was troubled and felt a sort of relief when from far away alan wayno wayne cropped into his affairs and gave him something else to think about when angus mcdale of mcdale and mcdale called without appointment the judge know knew at dofice that he was go going ink to hear something about alan lucky to ond you in puffed mcdale it business exactly or id havo have phoned I 1 was just passing by well what hiir visitor a trean fresh cigar its this that boy alan wayne sort of of yours he yes in a way yes said the judge slowly frowning what has alan done now its like this said fedale six months ago wo we sent mr air wayno wayne out on contract ns as assistant to daltou walton no sooner got on the ground than ho fell sick lie ile put wayno wayne tit in chargo charge and then he died now this Is the point mr wayne seems to have promoted himself to waltona an pay flo had the check to draw his own as well lie ile wont bo be hero bore for weeks but his accounts camo came in today I 1 want to ito J c 00 what has alan done now know if you see rny puy reason why wo we ila havo ve that motley money back to say tho the least the judges face cleared ho he tell you why he drew waltons pay not a word said hod hed explain account I 1 a aben ho he got here but that sort of 0 thing takes a lot of explaining well said tho the judge 1 I can tell you waltons pay went to his widow through me hie ivo ive been doing some flomo puzzling on this cast caso already now will you tell me how alan got thi th without drawing ou on you oli oh thero there was plenty or of motley money lying around tho the job cost ten per cent less lesa than waltons estimate it hed como come back wed have hauled him over the coals for tho the blunder thero there woe was tho usual reserve for work in inac mac ces find and thou then ti lie e people p e op le wo did the job for paid ton ten days bonns bom for N that much ahead of contract time the judge mused wili was the job satisfactory to the people out there he bo asked yes it was said manile bluntly most satisfactory hut but there was a funny thing thero there too they aliey wrote that while they did not approve of mr waynes timesaving time saving methods the finished work had their absolute acceptance cep tance 11 the judge was silent for a moment you want nay my advice yes not for our own sako sake but for waynes waynea well said the judge tm im going to give it to you for your sake when you stumble across a boy than can cut ten perk per cent off the working and time estimates of an old hand like walton you ou bind him to you with a long contract at any salary lie he wants and just ong thing more when alan wayno wayne steals a cent from you or bofty thousand dollars you come to mo me and ill pay jt it t Mc Dalos eyes narrowed and he puffed nervously at his cigar ile he got goi up to take his leave judge he said your head Is on right and your hearts in the right place na As well I 1 begin to see that widow business wayne sized us ua up for a hardheaded hard headed firm when it cornea comes to paying out what we ve dont have bavo to and we are it law but he was right waltona Val tons work was done just as it if hed been alive even a scotchman can see that you vou worry A ronn man unit back for fifty thousand Is good enough for mcdale mcdale log M it was allx alix that discovered alan its aa the clenic steamed slowly down the solent lie ile was vas already comfortably established in his chair with a small pile of fiction beside him she bho paused before ashe approached him alan hat had always interested her allx aft had bad thought of him |