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Show . 1 The Magic of j i ii Bg Victor Redcliffe j (Copyright. 1916. by W. G. Chapman.) ' Vance Waldren gave up n good position po-sition In New York city and hurried to Chicago, after receiving a letter from a friend of his only living relative, rela-tive, I'eter Bond, to the effect that the old man was slowly fading away and longed for and needed friendly -attention. It was stated that Mr. Bond might live for a year, but was in poor circumstances cir-cumstances and uuable to earn anything. any-thing. That was what roused up the true manhood In Vance. When he had first started out In life Mr. Bond had some means and generously provided for him while he got well on his feet. Now that conditions seemed to have changed, Vance felt a sense of duty that Impelled him to hasten to the succor suc-cor of his aged relative. He was distressed when he arrived :at the home of his uncle. He found him living alone on the main floor of a great rambling structure located on an alley. It was fronted where a street once had been, now occupied by the elevated tracks of a steam road .and backed up to the high rear back of a great factory, isolated and slit In from all traffic and with only a narrow nar-row pathway leading from the public street. The old man was well-nigh helpless ;and he welcomed his nephew with a wan, but glad smile. "You seem pretty well shut In here, uncle," spoke Vance. "Progress, you seel" explained Mr. Bond, with a bitter tinge in his tones. "Invested my all In this property and had It all rented. The railroad got the street condemned and cut off all Ingress or egress. They offered me "It's Mine, If You Please, and It Fell Out." a trifle for the property, which 1 refused. re-fused. Then they condemned the right-of-way and my tenants left me. That's the sad story my ruined pos--sesslon." "Well, I've come to help you through, uncle," declared Vance cheerily. "I have a little money saved up. As soon us you get well and I can go to work, I can earn some more, and we're going to get on famously." "You good fellow !" murmured Uncle Peter brokenly, and with fervor, the tears springing to his eyes. "It has tieen fight, fight, fight the soulless corporation cor-poration for the last five years and no result, and what I can leave you Is a mere shell, for I have only a leasehold lease-hold here. But I think In after years heaven will reward you for sacrificing your youth, work and comfort for a wretched old man who has no particular particu-lar claim on you." "Old," derided Vance buoyantly "why, you're barely fifty. Wretched 1 ni have you laughing like a glee club In a week. Claim? you forget that your kindness gave me my start In life. Comfort? I'll soon have the lough corners smoothed down around these roomy though neglected apartments." apart-ments." And Vance did. He set to work at once mending up old furniture, putting In new. A little amateur paperhang-Ing, paperhang-Ing, a rug or two, some clean curtains and the sunshine began to seem brighter bright-er to the old man and his soul's vision vis-ion expanded. "i declare!" he spoke, one day, the . first he had been able, to sit up for a month, "1 believe I'm going to cheat you out of being my heir, after all." "Heir'" chirped Vanca "partners we'll be, Uncle, and jovial good ones I Why, today 1 made a contract that Insures In-sures you twenty-five dollars a month indefinitely." "You what?" sputtered the bewildered bewil-dered Uncle Peter. "Just what I said. I suppose It never nev-er struck you, but It did me, that this particular place, passed dally by fifty thousand suburban passengers. Is nearly near-ly the best site for sign advertising along the line. I saw a big billboard company. They are going to cover all the upper stories of this old shack with twelve-foot letters, telling of thq vast merits of 'Soper's Soup.' There is your contract and there Is your first month's rent. Some business, eh?" "You grand fellow 1" cried the delighted de-lighted Mr. Bond and took a new lease on life. In fact, by the end of two months old Uncle Peter was able to get around quite easily. One day Vance was walking across the vacant space between be-tween the old building and the plant fronting on the next street, when a light object struck his head, knocked off his hat and fell to the ground. He picked up a lady's handbag. Then he looked up. Leaning slightly from the open window of the office of the plant was a beautiful young lady. "It's mine, If you please, and It fell out," she called down with a divine smile. "You shall soon have It," replied Vance and two minutes later he was around at the front of the plant and up Its stairs. He found the owner of the handbag alone In a roomy office. "1 was waiting for papa," she explained, ex-plained, with a pretty blush, "and I accidentally knocked the bag from the window. Papa Is In a tiresome consultation consul-tation with his lawyer In the office there," and she pointed to a glass door, "and 1 got impatient, and sat down on the window sill, and out went the handbag." She thanked Vance prettily. He lingered. lin-gered. Her bright ways attracted him. He stepped aside as a man, the father of Lorna Bell, ushered his legal le-gal visitor from his private office. "Now get to work on this matter at once, Downey," he spoke. "Old Pe-j Pe-j ter Bond is u hard fellow to deal with, for he's a sticker, as shown by his j holding out against the railroad com-! com-! pany. Offer him twenty thousand dol lars, but, if It has to be thirty thousand thou-sand dollars, 1 suppose I'll have to stand It. You see, I can get the ground lease extended, and If I can buy the old rattletrap behind here, I'll tear It down and build an addition to th plant." "Excuse me, sir," spoke Vance, stepping step-ping forward with an apologetic ges ture, "but 1 have accidentally overheard over-heard what Interests me. I am the nephew of Mr. Peter Bond, and, a? we are about closing a contract for sign space, It might complicate a purchase pur-chase of the building at thirty thousand thou-sand dollars." "H'm," observed Mr. Jasper Bell, but with an appreciative twinkle In hi? shrewd, but kindly eye. "You have listened to your advantage, Indeed 1" "It seems ten thousand dollars worth!" put In the lawyer. "1 fancy, Bell, we'd better close without delay." "Oh, papa, and all through my dropping my handbag!" cried Lorn? Bell in mock dismay ; and then si explained, and irrepressibly they became be-came a harmonious quartette and the business was quickly dispatched. And then love. What other outcome out-come couid eventuate with a hand some and intelligent young man and a ! charming impressionable yc-ung girl?' "I've won you a comfortable fortune," for-tune," announced Vance to his uncle later in the day, and a great joy came over the old man at the prospect of declining years of comfort and plenty. "I shall bring my promised wife to see the new home we are building," observed Vance six months later, and old Peter Bond felt that the joys of living were, Indeed, complete. Is Ragtime Art? Ragtime is a type of music substantially substan-tially new in musical history. It has persisted, grown, evolved in many directions, di-rections, without official recognition or aid. You may take It as certain that If many millions of people persist per-sist in liking something that has nol been recognized by the schools, there Is vitality In that thing. The attitude atti-tude toward folk-music at the beginning begin-ning of the nineteenth century was very similar. A Russian folk-song was no less scorned In the court of Catharine Catha-rine the Great than a ragtime song In our music studios today. Yet Russian folk-song became the basis of some of the most vigorous art music of the lust century, and uo musician speaks of It today except in terms of respect The taste of the populace is often enough toward the shoddy and outworn, out-worn, but when the populace creates its own art without official encouragement, encourage-ment, then let the artists listen. I haven't a notion whether ragtime Is going to form the basis of an "American "Ameri-can school of composition," but I am sure that many a native composer could save his soul If he would open his ears to this folk-music of the American city. New Republic. |