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Show JptTCCIW PUMCHER VRf By Robert J.C.Stead Ay i'C" kitchener, and olRer poems J vjj''& 'it Illustrations by IrvinMyer. wrai&T v wnt am.ij; "To a inouo;M.:y ot .--Perhaps not. But it gives me the right id a fair chance to win a monopoly monop-oly uf your atientions." He was speaking low and earnestly, and liis voire had a deep, rich timbre in It that thrilled and almost frightened fright-ened her. She could not resent his straightforwardness. She felt that he was already asserting his claim upon her, and there was something tender and delightful in the sense of being claimed by such a man. "I must have a fair chance to win that monopoly," lie repeated. "How did happen that Conward was present?" pres-ent?" "I don't know. It just happened. A little after you telephoned me he called up and asked for mother, anil the next thing I knew she said he was coming up to spend the evening." Dave dropped into a sudden reverie. It was not so remarkable as it seemed that Comvard should have telephoned ! CHAPTER IX. Continued. ! 14 j Night had .settled when Dave left the ollice. A soft wind blew from the southwest; June was in the air. June too, was in Dave's heart as he walked the few blocks to his bachelor quarters. quar-ters. What of the drab Injustice of business? Let him forget that; now It was night . . . and she had called him Dave. He dressed with care. It was not until he was about to leave his rooms that he remembered he must dine alone; he had been dressing for her, unconsciously. The realization brought him up with something of a shock. "This will never do," he said. "I can't eat alone tonight, and I can't ask Reenie, so soon after the incident with her mother. I know Bert Morrison." lie reached for the telephone and rang her number. Her number did not answer. He thought of Edith Duncan. But Edith lived at home, and it was much too late to extend a formal dinner invitation. invita-tion. There was nothing for it but ifpP ft ' lkP iuis. xiarov almost immeuiaieiy auer he had used the line. Conward's telephone tele-phone and Dave's were on the same circuit ; it was a simple matter for Conward, if he had happened to lift the receiver during Dave's conversation conversa-tion with Irene, to overhear all that was said. That might happen accidentally acci-dentally ; at least it might begin innocently in-nocently enough. The fact that Con-ward Con-ward had acted upon the information indicated two things : first, that he had no very troublesome sense of honor which Dave had long suspected suspect-ed and, second, that he had deliberately delib-erately planned a connection with Dave's visit to the Hardy home. This indicated a policy of some kind ; a scheme deeper than Dave was as yet able to fathom. He1 would at least guard against any further eavesdropping eavesdrop-ping on his telephone. He took a card from his pocket and made some figures on it. "If you should have occasion to call me at the office at any time please use that number num-ber and ask for me," he said. "It is the accountant's number. 'There's a reason.' " The cups were empty; the sandwiches sand-wiches and cake were gone, but they lingered on. "I have been wondering," Dave ventured, ven-tured, at length, "just where I stand with you. You remember our agreement?" agree-ment?" She averted her eyes but her voice was steady. "You have observed the terms?" she said. "Yes, in all essential matters. I come to you now, in accordance with those terms. You said that now we would know. Now I know ; know as I have always known since those wonderful won-derful days in the foothills; those days from which I date my existence." "I realize that I owe you an answer now, Dave," she said frankly. "And I find it very hard to make that answer. Marriage means so much more to a woman than it does to a man. . . . Don't misunderstand me, Dave. I would be ashamed to say I doubt myself my-self or that I don't know my mind, but you and I are no longer boy and girl. We are man and woman now. And I just want time just want time to be sure that that" "I suppose you are right," he answered. an-swered. "I will not try to hurry your decision. I will only try to give you an opportunity to know to be sure, as you said. Then, when you are sure, you will speak. I will not reopen the subject." His words had something of the ring of an ultimatum, but no endearments endear-ments that his lips might have uttered ut-tered could have gripped her heart so surely. She knew they were the words of a man in deadly earnest, a man who had himself in hand, a man Dave Paused for a Moment, but in That Moment His Eye Fell on Con-ward. was so glad -you happened in. You have had wonderful experiences. Mr. Conward is charming, isn't he?" Dave did not know whether the compliment to Conward was a personal per-sonal matter concerning his partner or whether It was to be taken as a courtesy to the firm. In either case he rather resented It. He wondered what Irene would think of this "ennobling" business in the drab days of disillusionment disillu-sionment that must soon sweep down upon them. But Irene apparently did not miss his ansv.'er. "We shall soon be settled," she said as Mrs. Hardy and Conward were seen approaching. "Then you will come and visit us?" "I will Reenie," he whispered, and he was sure the color that mounted to her cheeks held no tinge of displeasure. dis-pleasure. CHAPTER X. Elden lost no time in making his first call upon the Hardys. Irene received re-ceived him cordially, but Mrs. Hardy evinced no more warmth than propriety propri-ety demanded. Elden, however, allowed al-lowed himself no annoyance over that. A very much greater grievance had been thrust upon bis mind. Conward Con-ward had preceded him and was already al-ready a guest of the Hardys. Dave knew Conward well enough to know that purpose always lay behind be-hind his conduct, and during the small talk with which they wliiled away an hour his mind was reaching out acutely, exploring every nook of possibility, pos-sibility, to arrive if it could at some explanation of the sudden interest which Conward was displaying in the Hardys. These explanations narrowed down to two almost equally unpalatable. unpala-table. Conward was deliberately setting set-ting about to capture the friendship, perhaps the affection, of either Mrs. Hardy or Irene. Strangely enough, Elden was more irritated by the former for-mer alternative than by the latter. Perhaps this attitude was due to subconscious sub-conscious recognition of the fact that he had much more to fear from Conward Con-ward as a suitor for the hand of Mrs. Hardy than as a rival for that of Irene. Conward as a prospective father-in-law was a more grievous, menace to his peace of mind than Conward as a defeated rival. The more he contemplated this aspect as-pect of the case the less he liked it. To Conward the affair could be nothing noth-ing more than an adventure, but it would give him a position of a sort of semi-paternal authority over both Irene and Elden. When at length Mrs. Hardy began to show signs of weariness Irene served coffee and cake, and the two men, taking that as an intimation that their welcome had run down, but would rewind itself if not too continually con-tinually drawn upon, left the house together. to-gether. On their way they agreed that it was a very delightful night. Dave turned the situation over in his mind with some impatience. Irene had now been in the city for several weeks, and he had had opportunity for scarce a dozen personal words with her. Was he to be balked by such an insufferable chaperonage as it seemed the purpose of Mrs. Hardy and Conward to establish over his love affair? No. In the act of undressing un-dressing he told himself, "No," suiting suit-ing to the word such vigor of behavior that in the morning he found his shoes at opposite corners of the room. Several days passed without any word from Irene, and he had almost made up his mind to attempt another telephone appointment, when he met her, quite accidentally, in the street. She had been shopping, she said. The duty of household purchases fell mainly upon her. Her mother rested in the afternoons "How abort, a cup of tea," said Dave. "And a thin sandwich? And a delicate morsel of fake? One can always count on. thin sandwiches and delicate morsels of cake. Their function func-tion is purely a social one, having no relation to the physical requirements." "I should bo very glad," said Irene. They found a quiet tearoom. When they were seated Lave, without preliminaries, pre-liminaries, plunged into the subject nearest his heart. "I have been wanting an opportunity opportu-nity to talk to you wanting it for weeks," he said. "But it always seemed " "Always seemed that you were thwarted," Irene -completed his thought. "You didn't disguise your annoyance very well the other night." "Do you blame me for being annoyed?" an-noyed?" "No. But I rather blame you for showing it. You see I was annoyed too." "Then you had nothing to do with -with bringing about the situation that existed?" "Certainly not. Surely you do not think that I would that I would " "I beg your pardon, Reenie," said Dave, contritely. "I should have known better. But it seemed such a strong coincidence." She was toying with her cup, and for once her eyes avoided him. "You should hardly think, Dave," she ventured ven-tured "you should hardly conclude that what has been, you know, gives you the right entitles you " ' flll to eat alone. He suddenly became conscious of the great loneliness of his bachelor life. The charm of bachelorhood bach-elorhood was a myth which only needed need-ed contact with the gentle atmosphere of feminine affection to be exposed. He took his hat and coat and went into the street. It was his custom to take his meals at a modest eating-place eating-place on a side-avehue, but tonight he directed his steps to the best hotel the city afforded. There was no wisdom in dressing for an event unless he was going to deflect his course somewhat from the daily routine. The dining hall was a blaze of light. Dave paused for a moment, awaiting the beck of a waiter, but in that moment mo-ment his eye fell on Conward, seated At a table with Mrs. Hardy and Irene. Conward had seen him and was motioning mo-tioning to him to join them. The situation sit-uation was embarrassing, and yet delightful. de-lightful. He was glad he had dressed for dinner. "Join us, Elden," Conward said, as he reached their table. "Just a little dinner to celebrate today's transaction. You will not refuse to share to that extent?" Dave looked at Mrs. Hardy. Had he been dealing with Conward and Mrs. Hardy alone he would have excused himself, but he had to think of Irene. That is, he had to justify her by being eorrect in his manners. "Do join us," said Mrs. Hardy. It was evident to Mrs. Hardy that it would be correct for her to support Mr. Conward's invitation. "You are very kind," said Dave as he seated himself. "I had not hoped for this pleasure." And yet the pleasure was not unmixed. He felt that Conward had outplayed him. It was Conward who had done the gracious gra-cious thing, and Dave could not prevent pre-vent Conward doing the gracious thing without himself being ungracious. ungra-cious. After dinner they sat in the lounge room, and Conward beguiled the time with stories of sudden wealth which had been practically forced upon men who were now regarded as the business busi-ness framework of the country. As these worthies strolled through the richly furnished room, leisurely smoking their after-dinner cigars, Conward Con-ward would make a swift summary of their rise from liveryman, cow puncher, clerk or laborer to their present affluence, occasionally appealing appeal-ing to Dave to corroborate his statements. state-ments. It was particularly distasteful distaste-ful to Elden to be obliged to add his word to Conward's in such matters, for, although Conward carefully refrained re-frained from making any direct reference ref-erence to Mrs. Hardy's purchase tho inference that great profits would accrue ac-crue to her therefrom was very obvious. ob-vious. Elden was glad when Mrs. Hardy remembered that she must not remain up late. Her physician had prescribed rest. Early to bed, you know. Dave had opportunity for just a word with Irene before they left. "How did this happen tonight?" he isked, with the calm assumption of one who has a right to know. "Oh, Mr. Conward telephoned an Invitation In-vitation to mother," she explained. "I "Marriage Means So Much More to a Woman Than It Does to a Man. You Don't Think So, but It Does," who made love with tlie same serious purpose as he had employed in the other projects of his successful life. Had it not been for some strange sense of shame some fear that too ready capitulation might be mistaken for weakness she would have surrendered surren-dered then. "I think that is best," she managed to say. "We will let our acquaintanceship acquaintance-ship ripen." He rose and helped her with her light wrap. His fingers touched her hand and it seemed to him the battle was won. . . . But he had promised prom-ised not to reopen the subject. In the street he said, "If you will wait a moment I will take you home in my car." (TO EE CONTINUED.) |