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Show (gg) HEARTS W:J HERITAGE . Joseph McCord WNU Service. CHAPTEE IX A few days after Christmas, as Dale stood at one of the windows in the Locust Hill Trust Company depositing de-positing a modest check that had been a gift from his father, he was conscious of a touch on the arm. A man in the bank's uniform was at his elbow. "Excuse me, Mr. Farwell. Will you please step into Mr. Marble-stone's Marble-stone's office? This way." In some surprise, Dale followed the messenger to a private office at the far end of the ornate lobby. His surprise deepened when he saw Evelyn smiling from a chair near her father's desk. Marblestone greeted his caller with a genial salute. sa-lute. "Hello, Dale. Draw up a chair. I've been intending to ask you In for a chat. Evelyn happened to see you when you came in." The banker cleared his throat impressively. "We'll get down to business. When are you leaving?" "I think about as soon as I can get ready after New Year's." "You're taking over some sort of a school job for the spring months, I believe you told me." "Yes, sir." "Um-m. You know, Dale, I've been thinking about you since we wish that he had not met Lee's father fa-ther under the particular circumstances. circum-stances. , "Dalel" Evelyn exclaimed, when the big roadster was In motion. "You don't know how thrilled I am over the idea of your coming back here to stay. I think it's wonderful wonder-ful for you. I'll like it, too." "It does sound wonderful. So wonderful that I hate to turn it down." "Whatever do you mean!" "It's decent of your father to give me time to think it over. But I know what the answer has to be. I can't do it" "Surely you're joking, Dale." Evelyn swung the roadster to a skillful halt at the curb in front of the parsonage. She shut off the motor mo-tor and sat eyeing her passenger reproachfully. "No,". Dale observed thoughtfully, thoughtful-ly, "I don't think I'm joking. I've put in four hard years preparing for my own job. I like my work. I feel sure that I can make good in it and I don't know the first thing about banking. There's another thing, Evelyn. I want to make my own start in life, first. That's why I know I'm going to decline your father's fa-ther's offer. I don't want to be carried. car-ried. If you know what I mean." "I don't know." There was a CHAPTER Vm Continued 9 "Dale, how lovely!" Lee exclaimed, ex-claimed, as she carefully opened the box and brought to view a mass of pink roses. "How did you know that my mother loves flowers better than anything else in the world?" "I didn't," he smiled happily. "I just couldn't think of anything else good enough for her." "You've no idea how she will appreciate ap-preciate it I wish she were here now to thank you. You must ex-cuse ex-cuse me a minute while I take care of them." "I had the very dickens of a time finding a little something for you," Dale remarked when Lee returned to the living room. He held out a small flat parcel as he spoke. "Save it for tomorrow." "Indeed I won'tl" Lee's brown eyes were shining. "I never could wait until Christmas morning to look at my presents. Please . . ." Her eager fingers were already working with the ribbon that bound the tissue-wrapped package. Then Lee was gazing in breathless delight at a small painting held in her two hands. "Like it?" "It's adorable. I'm afraid I don't know how to tell you. It's so beautiful," beau-tiful," she added softly. Dale gave a relieved sigh. "Then I'm glad. I had just about given it up. Then I was browsing around over in the city and happened hap-pened in a funny little restaurant down in the Village. Some artist had a number of pictures on display dis-play there and I saw that one. As soon as I looked at it, I knew it was you. Do you know what it made me think of?" "Of course," Lee answered quickly. quick-ly. "Our trip to Staten Island. It's that same soft haze over the water. The same coloring and that old house. I wish I knew how to thank you." "Can't you think of a nice way?" was Dale's bold retort. By way of answer, Lee laid the picture carefully on the table, crossed swiftly to Dale's chair, leaned down and touched his cheek lightly with her lips. "There. You're thanked." "Lee!" Dale was still under the spell of that first little kiss when he reached the parsonage and found Pink in the kitchen staring moodily at a dressed turkey that reposed on the table. Mrs. Brady stole a troubled glance at Lee. "Had you heard about it, dear?" she inquired gently. "No, Mother." The brown eyes were watching the needle. "Maybe it's a big secret," Brady observed. "Henry didn't say so, though. He had just been talking to Dale. As I went into the office, Dale was coming out. Evelyn was with him." "Does that mean Dale will not go back to school?" Mrs. Brady asked. "Not as I understand it. According Accord-ing to Henry, he's going to finish his work and come back here in the spring." "I think I am rather sorry to hear that" Mrs. Brady said the words slowly. "So am I," Brady admitted with a frown. "I wanted to see the boy go on with his own work. Always had an idea he might make some sort of reputation for himself." "Kid! Snap out of that!" Dale's , head stirred restlessly on his pillow. A troublesome dream held him. Pink coming to his side, shaking him roughly and telling him he was late for school. His eyes blinked protestingly. Why was the light burning? "Kid! Kid!" It was Pink. A heavy bathrobe thrown over his green pajamas, hair standing grotesquely on end. Calling in a shrill insistent whisper. "What the deuce is the matter?" "Pipe down. You'll wake the dominie. dom-inie. Get down to the phone. That Brady girl wants you." Dale groped his way through the lower hall to the telephone, located it and jerked the receiver to his ear. "Yes?" he called guardedly. "This is Lee." "What's wrong?" "Dale, I need you. Can you come over right away?" "Sure. Want me to get word to anybody first?" "No, no. Hurry! And bring your car." Within five minutes Dale was backing the car from the garage. He had waited but long enough to don his shoes and trousers, supplementing supple-menting his costume with his father's fa-ther's heavy ulster as he hurried from the house. As he leaped up the steps of the Brady porch, the front door swung open. . Lee, her face white and drawn with anxiety, stared at him pitifully. She seemed unable to speak. "What's the trouble?" Dale demanded de-manded in a low voice. "Is it your mother?" "It sort of had me bothered," Pink offered. "That's the fourth one of them things sent here today by the dominie's domi-nie's flock," the cook explained disgustedly. dis-gustedly. "The ice box is lousy with turks. Come on out on the porch a minute. I want to show you somethin'." The something proved to be a small Christmas tree concealed at the end of the refrigerator. "It sort of had me bothered," Pink offered in some perplexity. "You know the dominie always insisted in-sisted on your havin' a tree, same as he always draws the line against goin' out anywhere on Christmas. Of course you're pretty old for such dofunnies now, but I figured you mightn't be here another time and maybe he'd sort of expect it. x What do you think?" "Mighty thoughtful of you, Pink. I'll help you fix it, if you like." "The dominie looks pretty good these days, don't you think?" "Fine. Why?" "I dunno. Look here, kid. I don't think it would hurt none to tell you he's been glad to have you stickin' so close to the house lately. Goin' places with him and everything. He thinks you're makin' a swell job of yourself. Pretty tough if you ever was to let him down." When the tree was decorated it made a brave showing, its base had that visit at your house. That profession of yours may be very interesting in-teresting and all that. But you won't ever make much money at It. And I've got a good opening here for you . . . No, wait!" He gestured ges-tured with his cigar as Dale started start-ed to speak. "Let me tell you about it. I've often wished Evelyn were a boy, or that I had a son. But it's too late to do anything about that. What I mean is, I'd like to have somebody I could depend on around here. I'm beginning to need someone like that more and more. Mixed up in more things every year. You can understand. under-stand. Whoever I take on will have a chance to get somewhere and to make some real money. See?" "That's awfully good of you, sir. But . . ." "I know. I know.- You're thinking think-ing that you've invested a lot of time and money in a profession and that you can't throw it away. You won't be. Scientific training never hurt a business man. Not these days. It's a good foundation. I'll bet youve learned to look into things closely, study them. You'd pleading note in Evelyn's voice. "I've been so happy thinking what it would mean to you. I never dreamed you would turn down such a chance." "I'm sorry." "Couldn't you try it, if if I asked you to?" "That wouldn't be fair to your father. fa-ther. He asked me to think it over and I will. But I know now what the answer will have to be." "By the way," Cassius Brady Informed In-formed his family casually, as the three of them formed an after-dinner circle about the living room fire, "I heard a bit of news today. Our friend Dale is going to settle down in Locust Hill and become one of the leading citizens." "Put down your paper and tell us what you are talking about." Brady obliged cheerfully and commenced com-menced refilling his pipe. "Henry Marblestone was telling me this morning when I was in his office. Said he was taking Dale Into the bank to learn the ropes." "Yes ... I don't know. She and daddy went away this morning " Lee broke off with a nervous sob. "Take it easy." Dale's hand caught her slim shoulder in a comforting com-forting clasp. "Try to tell me about j it. Where did they go?" "To Trenton. Oh, Dale! Take me there as quick as you can!" Lee freed herself to drag her coat from the hall tree with shaking hands. "Something has happened," she managed. "The police they found our car. It was empty! Oh, you will take mel" "Why, of course." Dale sensed the urgency of the situation without waiting for further explanation. Nor did Lee trust herself to speak until the Farwell sedan was slipping swiftly through the empty streets. "It's so good of you, Dale. I'm all right now. I can think, with you here. You see, daddy left on a business trip and he thought the ride would be good for mother. She was to spend the day with some friends and they were going to drive home before dinner. (TO DE CONTINUED) heaped about with sundry parcels and packages. Jonathan Farwell gave a brief tribute to its beauty when he entered the parlor later, but Dale caught a sudden light in his father's dark eyes that made him understand that Pink had been right. Dale's remembrance from Lee was a small wallet bearing his initials' ini-tials' in gold letters. The memory of their ride to the island prompted the selection. Lee had not forgotten, forgot-ten, either. Rather to his surprise there was a second and bulkier parcel bearing bear-ing the greeting card of Cassius Brady. The contents proved to be a dog's-eared book, but a note within with-in the leaves in the lawyer's crabbed handwriting furnished an explanation. My Dear Dale: When I was about your age, litt old companion teas one of my favorites. It teems to be out of print now, so I'm asking you to accept this disreputable copy with my best wishes. I hope you'll like O'M alley. You remind me of him after a fashion. Faithfully, ; C. D. E!orc he extinguished his light In the small hours of Christmas morning, morn-ing, Dale had taken the Irish Dragoon Dra-goon into his heart It was good of Mr. Brady. And Lee . . . Lee. do the same thing to business propositions. prop-ositions. After you had a little training here in the bank, I'll wager you'd be a hard fellow to put anything any-thing over on." "It never has occurred to me to change my line of work," Dale admitted ad-mitted uncomfortably, conscious that Evelyn was watching him intently. in-tently. "Of course it hasn't I wouldn't be interested in you if I thought you were shilly-shallying around at your age. And I'm not asking for any decision now. You go to your job and give it all you've got Then come back in the spring and see me. And while you're making up your mind to say yes, don't forget for-get this. In two years you'll be making more than you will after ten of fussing with rocks. You'll be somebody." "That sounds very alluring," Dale managed. "I appreciate it, I'm sure." He rose to his feet "That's all right, my boy. Just you keep it under your hat and I'll be looking for you to report on the Job about June. If I don't see you again before you leave good luck!" As Evelyn and Dale left the private pri-vate office, they almost collided with Cash Brady. The lawyer lifted his hat to Evelyn and bestowed a good-natured good-natured smile on her companion in passing. Dale was conscious of a |