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Show "DlaACofe ior hv(0 X Bonnet- ( A-m- n0SK letters can wait until fvjk Friday, Miss Johnson. To-Jp To-Jp morrow wo'ro closed, you cpl ltnow." cl?" "Very well, sir," said Qgef7 Miss Johnspn. I2 "You don't seem to bo cs- H ) pcclnlly pleased," contln-v contln-v ucd Mr. Ilfown. "Most of tho girls Wclcomo n holiday. They can sleep and then go out dnnclng with somo flno young man. Ain't you got n young man, Miss Johnson? Perhaps you'vo not been long enough In tho city. Well, well, tnko your time. There's a lot of theso youngsters who enn moko loro nil right, nil right, buA when It comes to furnishing tho lionu they'd havo a hard tlmo doing It on tho Installment plan. Tho snlnrlcs of young men ain't so big these days." Mr. Brown was manager of tho Jones te Cashing Wholcsalo Glass und Crockery company. Ho wns n largo gentleman with watery blue eyes', fat lips nnd pudgy hands. "I suppose you'll he missing tho old folks, eh?" continued, tho gentleman. "I guess I will miss them," Bald Miss Johnson, with letters nnd notebook In hand. "It wilt bo tho llrst Thnnksglv-lug Thnnksglv-lug I'vo been nway. You seo I took my courso nt business collego Inst winter win-ter and went homo for tho summer." "To ho sure." snld Mr. Iliown. "It's only two months since you camo here, but you'vo won your wny Into our hearts," ho ndded with a leer. "And 1 know how you feel," ho went on. "Just longing for the old folks nnd tho ktds. llow'd you Hko somo rcnl turkey, eh? Well, wo'll havo It. You'ro only n child to mo. I'm old enough to bo your father." And with a look such ns no father has ever given before or since, Mr. Brown moved his cfinlr n llttlo nearer. "How nliout n Thanksgiving dinner with mo tomorrow night? My wlfo has gone to seo her old mother, who Is down sick. So let's keep each other company, oh? And havo rcal turkoy. What do you say? "Wo'll go to ono of tho swell places whero there'll bo cranberry sauce, too. And wo'll hear music when wo cat, that Is If wo get tlioso noiseless soup--3po)ns." Mr. Brown thought ho was k humorous man. "I guess I'll go," said Miss Johnson , Mowly. "Oood I I'll call for you nt six shnrp and you havo a good sleep and wrlto homo to tho folks that you'ro going out with a nlco safo old fatherly man from tho olllcc." Mr. Brown really llattcred himself that ho was neither old nor safo. Miss Johnson hnd closed tho door and gono to put her book and letters back In her desk. Mr. Courtney, ono of tho snlesmeh and Mr. Brown's right-hnnd right-hnnd man, had noticed n slight flush on her fuco ns she had passed him. Ho wondered If It could bo posslblo that Mr. Brown had Invited her to spend tho holiday with him. But the' Idea vanished nnd Just nt that moment he was called to tho telephone. 'Tho other glrlir had gono to tho cloakroom nod Miss Johnson entered as they wero preparing for'tho outside world. "What oro you going to do topior-row, topior-row, Johnny?" asked Miss Marks. It was tho namo tho girls hud given her. "I don't know Just yet," sho answered. an-swered. ''Bill nnd I nro going to n Thanksgiving Thanksgiv-ing ball," remarked Miss Angela Carter. Car-ter. VAqa I've got n swell new dress mother's making inc." There svns n gpueral discussion as to Iho wnj-j thq holiday would ho spent and ut t'io downstairs door Miss Johnson John-son separated front her companions and wMt over to tho clovnted. "Courtney," called Mr. Brown, ".res, sir," ho answered. "Did that new shipment como In today?" to-day?" "No Mr," sold Mr. Courtney. "I don't "Most Girls Welcome a Holiday." bellevo wo'll get It In until Monday now." "Oh, nil right, I Just wondered. Sny, young map, don't look so glnm. Get n pretty girl nnd go off for tho day tomorrow. to-morrow. You need cheering up. It's what I need, too, ' And I'll havo It, bo-llovo bo-llovo me, I've got a llttlo pencil for dinner. Quito a sport for an old boy," 11?" "Quite," Bnld Mr. Courtney, quietly i "I don't enro much for girls, that Is, i most girls." I "Hum," grunted Mr. Brown ns tho i younger man left his office. "Falling In love, ch? She'll soon tiro of him,, I whoever sho may be, If ho doesn't get n smllo on his fnco onco In n while." "Has MIsb Johnson left?" Mr. Courtney Court-ney wns usklng of ono of tho stenographers stenog-raphers who -was hurrying off. "Yes, left flvo minutes ago," wns tho answer. "Ynu hnven't got her homo address?" : ho asked. "No, hut I guess Mr. Brown has It. Ho k,ccps tho addresses of tho wholo stnff, you know." And sho wns gono. Miss Johnson hoarded with friends her mother had met during her ono city trip n week's excursion which hnd tnken In thu -HIpppdromo nnd tho Flntlron building ns wonders never to bo forgotten. Usually sho took her dinner downtown nt n cheap tablo d'hote, for Mrs. Palmer; her mother's friend, did not enro much for cooking and besides It had been nrrnnged that way room nnd breakfast, flvo dollars n Week. But tonight sho would , go straight homo without dinner. Perhaps Per-haps they would bo making preparations prepara-tions for tho great day. ,Sho bought nn evening paper, two bnnnnns and n sweetened roll nnd Btartcd up tho clo-vatcd clo-vatcd flairs. Sho reached homo nnd opened tho door with her latchkey. From every Indication every ono wns out- Sho colled for Mrs. Palmer but no reply enmo. Miss Johnson nto her meager repast nnd then went to tho kitchen for a drink of water, ncr mcnl had been dry nnd somehow It choked her u little. Everything wns so hnrd to swallow. Or was It that tho lump In her throat got In tho way? At last ten o'clock enmo nnd Mrs. . Palmer walked In. "Oh," said Miss . Johnson, '"I1 enmo homo early tonight to know if I could help you with tho dinner tomorrow. I'm going out my-1 self. But mother hns always said I was handy with tho dressing." "Dressing? Dinner?" repented Mrs. Palmer in amazement. "Oh, laud, child, I don't go to no fuss for Thnnks-glvlngl Thnnks-glvlngl What's tho uso? I Just says to Bert Pnlmcr and tho kids, 'Now why should I bo standing over n hot stovo for hours when In no tlmo you'd hnvo nil tho stuff et up?' So I lot's 'cm yfA is) V Wondered If Mr. Brown Had Invited Her to Spend the Holiday With Him. sleep nnd then I runs down to tho dell-cn dell-cn lessen und gets n fow cold cuti nnd n bit of potato salad for n llttlo cxtry. Sny, why don't you go to tho pictures moro? I'vo been tonight to seo 'Tho Wnywnrd Girl's Itcturn Hoinc.' It was sud but oh, so beautiful." But Miss Johnson was not thinking of tho pictures. A fow cold cuts anil potato ruilad for Thanksgiving, sho wns thinking, nnd n football gamo nnd tho theaters nod movies. No family gathering, no turkey, no pumpkin plo nnd cider. No children to bo allowed on that day to cat nil they wanted. Mnybo It wnh.p, day of nntlonnl gorging, gorg-ing, b,ut It wns a funilly dny unywny ncil It was Thanksgiving dny. Sho tried to sleep. Sho didn't want to think of tlin morrow. But sho did, nnd nt tho somo tlmo camo tho vision of Mr. Browi., his wntery oyos leering nt her, and his pudgy hands holding hers so sho couldn't escape, and his Hps thoso fat lips forcing Oh no I Sho Bhlvcml and pulled tho clothes around her tighter. Why hud sho said sho would go? Perhaps he meant to bo kind. But ho hnd always been a HtiJo too kind, u llttlo too considerate, It seemed now. Sometimes sho had noticed n strongo loi k on tho part of Mr. Courtney, es-po;la!ly es-po;la!ly thjtt nfternoon. . . . Sho felt Ned Courtney thought Mr. Brown dliftnted Us and talked more than wan nece&iary. And It bothered her. Bui sho was not sure, and sho didn't Want to loso her Job. It had been so hard beginning with ovcrythlng so new und different. Of nil tne men sho hnd met In New York sho cared mostly most-ly for Ned Courtney nnd his opinion. Ho hnd seemed slnccro and ovury ono In tho office spoke so highly of him. She wondered what he'd think of this, nnd then she wondered why sho wished sho knew. So she thought on. Morning came. Her eyes wero heavy. Sleep had como only In snatches. Sho dressed hastily, nnd then laughed at herself for hurrying. hurry-ing. Sho wrote homo nnd tried to make her letter cheerful. "Lydlnl Lytlta Johnson 1" somo Mrs. Palmer's volco from downstairs. "A gentleman to speak to you on tho phone." Miss Johnson went down tho stairs without hurrying. Sho had never acquired ac-quired tho habit of running to tho telephone tele-phone us if It were on flro nnd must be put out by lifting tho receiver. "Jlello," sho snld. s "Oh, good-morning, Miss Johnson," camo tho volco from the other end, "I hopo I didn't get you up out of bed. No? You'ro not n, Into sleeper even on a holiday? Well, I always knew you wero smart. Just thought I'd call you up to tell you wo'll havo that turkey Loulght at six you know. I'll bo around In plenty of- time. Look your sweet- DStI" "Oh, thank you, Mr. Brown. Yes, I'll bo ready n llttlo beforo six." At cither end tho receiver was hung up and each went off discontented. "I wonder If I'm wasting tlmo and money on her," meditated Mr. Brown. "It's nil right to favor that country Idea she has of u holiday hut I llko u llttlo appreciation In return. . . . Rut I guess I'vo got her whero I wnnt her. . . . Only I'd better not loso Started Up the Stairs. out by rushing things. She's a bit different dif-ferent from tho usual run of 'em." Lydln returned to her room, passing by tho Inqulsltlvo eyes of Mrs. Pnlmcr without answer. Later sho breakfasted, or rather lunched, with tho Pnlmcr family. Sho played tho piano a little, nnd then, beforo be-foro returning to her room, decided sho would, satisfy Mrs. Palmer's curiosity. curi-osity. "I'm going to dinner with Mr. Brown of tho llrm," sho said. "IIo's n father of children not youug and worthless." She laughed n little. "Thnt's good," sold Mrs. . Palmer. "But what's ho doing taking you out 'today? Whcro's his kids?" "Awny to seo n sick grandmother," snld Lydln, and as sho snld It sho felt that Mrs. Palmer nodded her head n little too undcrstnndlngly. Lydln Hushed slightly. "Now, listen, dearie," said Mrs. Palmer, Pal-mer, "to it word of motherly advice, (lot ull that's comln' to you. Thoy think moro of you when you mnko 'cm mend and If he's old enough to bo a father nnd tnko you out ho's likely pot enough of tho wherewithal. Say you llko whlto furs. Tel! htm In n real linby tono you did wish you could hnvo n sliver mesh bng. Whllo I promised jour mother I'd look nftor you, tho city's ways nrcn't tho country's ways i leastwise, not so I'd know It. And I wnnt to seo you get on." Sho wns .thinking secretly of n now rug sho plight llko herself. "Just work tho old toy for nil he's worth, but hiko my nil-vice, nil-vice, nnd never full In love. They're dono with you then, and you lose Interest Inter-est In-otliors." Lydln hnd sat pnrtly listening nnd partly dreaming of tho Thanksgiving at home tho long tnblc, her father's Jokes, tho children's ceaseless chatter, her mother hot nnd tired hut beaming. Sho arose. "I'll bo careful," sho said ns sho bit her Up. "I won't fall In love. Don't worry, Mrs. Palmer, I'm not so young ns you might think." Sho went to her room nnd closed her door with n bnng. Then softly opened It. An hour went by nnd then nnothcr. Still another passed and Lydln wns growing Impatient. Her bnt nnd gloves nnd cont wero ready. Sho snt ttere, nervous nnd 'slinking. At last sho heard Mrs. Palmer's shrill volco: . f'Lydln, Lydla." Lydln closed tho door softly nnd then opened It noisily. "Yes," sho called back. "I'm Just going over to seo tho pictures, pic-tures, for nn hour. I'll bo back In tlmo to fuss you up n bit for tonight. Don't worry. I'll only bo gono nn hour." "All right, thank you, Mrs. .Vnlmcr," oho called. Sho waited flvo minutes, then ten nnd nt Inst put on her things. Quietly Sho stolo down tho stnlrs. Sho opened tho door, looked up nnd down tho street nnd then hurriedly walked along. "I guess," sho said slowly to herself, "I'll go downtown." And sho wont up the stnlrs to tho elevated. , "I supposn I'll havo to eat," sho thought grimly. Usually Basis tablo' d'hoto was crpwded. There peoplo wero nlways Tried Hard to Make Her Letters Appear Ap-pear Cheerful. standing wnltlng for scats, looking nn-noyed nn-noyed nnd envious of thoso who wero almost finished bu who took so long over their coffee. Tablo d'hoto diners badno right Jo tako so long over their coffee, their expressions rend qulto plainly. But Sir. Bast was genlnl and nlways held his crowds by n suave smllo nnd a confidential manner of saying to each customer, "I'll !a n tablo In Just n moment for you," But this evening there wero fow nt Bast's, Tho wholo placo - looked strangely empty. ""Plenty of tables tonight," said Miss Johnson. "Yes, miss," Mr. Bast smilingly nd-mlttcd. nd-mlttcd. "But If some folks knew what nn extra menu I glvo for Thnnksglv Ing they would not bo eating home. Trouhlo Isn't that, altogether, but hero l.i tho business section there nln't much going on today. Hnvo your cholco of tobies." And with n flourish Mr. Bnst still retained Ids manner of pcrsonnl Interest and of n grcnt desire to plensc. Lydln Johnson took her sent and looked nt tho menu. It wns Just about tho same as usual, but Mr. Bast had been truo to his boast- Thcro on tho top wns nil additional sheet of thin paper, pa-per, reading In wntery Ink, "Speclnl for Today." Below was ''Thnnksglv-lng ''Thnnksglv-lng turkey nnd cranberry sauce. Squash pie, applo cider." Lydla ordered them, scarcely noticing notic-ing that they wero n llttlo special In price, too. Olives nnd celery "wero put in front of her nnd n small dish of relish. Sho tasted somo nnd 41s sho put down her fork sho saw Ned Courtney entering. As ho caught sight of her his eyes brightened nnd his step beenmo moro buoynnt "May I sit hero?" ho asked, pointing to tho vncnnt chair opposlto her. "Yes, do," sold Lydla quickly, "I'm all nlonc. I'm kind of homesick, anyway," any-way," sho ndmlttcd, ns her eyes shono a llttlo mistily. "Thoy mako n regular fuss over Thanksgiving day nt home. I'm from tho country, you know.. And I guess I'm still n bit of a youngster. It's my first Thnnksglvlng nwny from homo." "And you'ro here, you poor child," said Mr. Courtney, who wns possibly two years her senior. "Of ull tho Godforsaken God-forsaken places In tho world, tho city takes tho lead on - n holiday when you'vo no special pals and when you'vo been used to tho other kind. It's my flrstrriinnksglvlng dny here." "Mother makes nn nwful fuss over tho dny," said Lydla. "And pop Is Just ns had. Always Jokes wo'ro not going to hnvo turkey nnd wo nlways do, of course." "Of course," ngrced Mr. Courtney, "nnd pumpkin plo nnd elder. I seo you'vo ordered tho specials. Well, I guess I will too. Squash pic, ch? I supposo they haven't nny pumpkin." They nto their dinner nnd each "I See You've Ordered the Special.' talked of tho times nt homo other Thanksgivings. "Do you como hero often?" nsked Mr. Courtney. "Almost nlwnys," sho nnswercd. "I wasn't going to como tonight, nnd then I thought I would. I'vo never seen you hero before." "No, It's my first nppearance, though I guess I know nil tho other plnces llko this. Ono of the boys told mo nbout It nt tho office. Whero did you think you'd go? I mean tonight, If you hadn't como hero?" "Mr. Brown nsked mo to hnvo dinner with him. Ho snld his wlfo nnd two kids wero up with his mothcr-ln-lnw, who's sick. Sho lives In' tho country nnd sojio'd bo all nlono. I guess ho meant It kindly, hut somehow I. Jast felt kind 0' queer nbout going." "Thnnk God you did," said Mr. Courtney with n sudden burst of religious re-ligious fervor. "Wlfo nnd two kids and a mother-in-law all to fool you with I Why he's not even married I I pity tho poor creature who -would over marry him. Ho's nsked nil tho girls In tho ofllco to go out with htm. no threatens to flro 'cm If they don't no cept, but If thoy'ro any good nt their work ho figures on business llrst nnd besides It would look queer to tho partners. part-ners. "I'vo seen him eyeing you," ho continued. con-tinued. "And I'vo snld to myself often, It ho lays a hand on her I'll' Tried to work on your homesickness I Ugh I" Miss Johnson hod turned crimson. "I'vo always been homo Thanksgiving before," sho murmured again. Sho hnd talked a good deal to Ned Court-'pcy Court-'pcy In tho shop and tho girls had teased her about him. But ho had never "asked her out." Sho felt miserably mis-erably friendless. "Listen," sho heard him say, "I'vo cared for you ever since you first stepped Into Jones & Cushlng's, and I'd llko to seo you step out. My father's fa-ther's ready nny day to hand over tho farm to met nnd tho farm llfo Is fho real llfo. Will you will 'you In n llttlo llt-tlo while, marry mo? Mr. Bnown an flro us both. Wo'll never bo nt his mercy ngnln on Thanksgiving day. We'll havo a country Thanksgiving nnd we'll let tho kids ent nil they want that Is later on." Ho grow uncom-fortnbly uncom-fortnbly red. Ho had been rushing n llttlo too fast. Lydla looked at him first a full moment, mo-ment, then looked nwny. "I'vo always wished you cored for mo," sho said softly to tho empty tablo opposite, "That's enough," said Mr. Courtney, "we'll mnlfu.up for this, beginning with Christmas." "Anything clso?" murmured tho wnltcr for the third time. "Oh," sold Mr. Courtney, "black cof-fco cof-fco for two I" j |