Show q I 1 FOE a CA CA y henry kitchell Kif chell webster ty bobbay mill PRECEDING EVENTS acting in good faith in fit to n tort effort to aid a neighbor nuth ingraham in a business way edward fitteron son cashier of 0 chicago aloner of a 1 life insurance lin urance compier cor cr I 1 li wrongly suspected by fi hie le corej wife fJ to julia its of filia clity her practical t ell ile culs lion in n A letter from a summer re fort mat bim him for busi neen and be he takes a hort short vacation on his return his daughter edith fill tells him hi his personal belonging belo belong nginr tn are in the part pare room having been removed from tie 09 room which had beta been till bin and his bin wife wires i bedroom patterson Pat tereon a accenti acet p I 1 the situation ai as proof of his bif kitei belief bellef in lit ahli guilt edith sev ev enteen years old is borri worried ed over the tb estrangement of her parent parents having biving more than a dim comprehend compre hen sion 1 of the affair her iler mother only partly D succeeds Bucce cd in her effort efforts to com fort her the son edward junior li Is it at college A business matter brin brings an inventor jame mariner ArIner Af into patterson a lif life a mariner need needs 16 oil with which to puth push his invention ven tion an automobile chok choke and patterson Is interested after 1 n brief investigation atlon he decides to go in with mariner supplying tup plying them the money 0 n and taking a part in the britne bu buil itne ties management CHAPTER III continued S r ge told her when the hi installation was finished that she take him any farther ailed fo go on olt into jovn on the elevated after shed driven away ho he stol half an hour from the ranc business for a chat with charlie siar liar iner not having come como down ret yet about how things were going he was finding it almost impossible to let a day go by without squeezing in a visit it was a completely revolutionary experience hed been conscious of an emptiness somewhere long before he be recognized what it was he was hungry tor for in the uneventful course of things he might never have found out but when sheer derpera despera desperation tion forced an adventure upon him it intoxicated him the technique of habit made it possible for him just possible to carry on his duties at the office just as it makes it possible for many a love stricken young man to go on in a daze holding down bis his job but his whole being centered itself in that humble little red brick factory out in ravenswood Ravens wood rood be he long in caming cc laing to feel strongly passionately that it need ed his help mariner had spoken the truth in saying that he be was not a desk man ile like his desk deal and be he made excuses to stay away from it IL letters went unanswered details but important details went long unattended to the suggestion planted by mariner on the day of edward s first visit that he ought to put himself as veil well as his money into the business from belli being a remote and almost fantastic possibility came nearer with the irresistible rush of an express train early in november well within a month of the time hed made bis his first investment in the company he cent sent bis his resignation as cashier of the chicago agency to the home office the stab of terror that flat accompanied compau led his writing the letter was la in itself half pleasurable pleas umble he informed the second vice president that he bad had gone into a business of his own which would require all his time he left the company with regret and without criticism let alono alone complaint of their treatment of him lim be spent there was ne n denying it a nightmarish three or four days waiting for the answer to his letter but when it came he felt a profound relief that same day albert willard dropped into his hi office hel hp bened to be passing by he eald said with transparent insincerity and had run mn up on the spur of the moment to suggest that they lunch to ether gether it was a devil of a while since been seen anything ot of each other really edward was quite aware that this was true and that it was his own doing hei hed been avoiding bert lately though bert was his oldest friend tes yes well go to lunch together he gald said but sit down a minute first theres something I 1 want to tell you about now that he was irrevocably committed to the great adventure he didat t want to wait even while they were walking around the corner to the dob club except for a profane exclamation of astonishment now and then end a non ton committal question or two bert listened in silence to the whole story toa you ve been keeping it almighty dark it seems to me he commented thoughtfully when edward had finished iian didn t want to be argued out of it I 1 suppose like a kid who wants to marry some girl bis his family dont approve of I 1 know adward laughed a little uneasily eastly at the comparison all right go ahead its your turn tum you re entitled to a chance to tell ae me ive been a d d fool there theres not loot much point bert observed mildly la in telling a mani mans nee hes been a it d d fool and anyhow im rin not a bit sure it is I 1 true A thing liko like that may be just as food good as it look looks nome tims the girl the kid picks out li Is really juit just the wife for him but this Is the question they always ask the kid what are you going to live ont while youre waiting tor for the profits to come fill in coming la in no now edward told him 11 they haven t begun to how show very much in the bank balance we dont pay ourselves any real salaries of course until the business has found its feet ive got a little left over anyhow I 1 may have bare to ask the boy to use bis his own money to finish out this year at college and pay it beck to him next tall fall bert e s only comment on tn that was a nod it might have meant agreement or it might have bare meant edward re allred no more than recognition of familiar points about a story tell me more about it bert commanded just what iti ile sup posed to do and how it does IL it ill III tell you what I 1 id d rather do id rather equip your cars with it one ono of them anyhow fd rd like to have you see for yourself bert said but a little reluctantly edward thought that hed bed be glad to do that wall I 1 certainly hope youre right bebout if 14 and its perfectly possible that you are those things do work sometimes and make for tunes for the man who goes into them but his ills fingers drummed for a it ahila on edwards dek deck I 1 but I 1 want you to remember what im going to say you haven t completely ties leaned med yourself out before you do before you borrow on your life ansur ance or mortgage your house come to ma me and give me a look in let me go over your books see how bow you really stand and then listen all I 1 have to ask to what ive got to say it wont necessary necess ari arl ly mean that the things a dallare because it wants more money I 1 may way tell you to go 90 ahead and put your shirt on it but if tie thing right if theres a joker in it somewhere 11 he ile mat t finish the sentence aen tence edward got up and thumped him on ora the back all right III remember 11 be he bald said he ile the faintest idea of borrowing on his life insurance hed teen seen enough of that from the other tide aide heaven knew nor even evem of mortgaging his house the business bustness gasn wasn t going to need 14 it anyhow he ile got his overcoat and hat from the cupboard and put them on bert was still sitting solidly in tie tle chair beside his desk youve beca been here a it long while ned he said deliberately edward let his gaze run ran over the familiar room and but if the thing right if theres a it amler in it somewhere re j he finish the sen sn tence torice dwell upon udon the vista of the outer office be he caid uld see through the half open door 1 I I ve come to loathe this place he tal bald ld I 1 its had twenty years of my life ard I 1 have lived in it at all aall I 1 I 1 never even knew till lately what it was to be alive I 1 do know now I 1 m happy happi in this thing bert I 1 dont care a d n whether it makes me a fortune or not ive never done anything 1 never had a run for my money but this thing why its giving gIvIn gme me real air to breathe I 1 ue he drew in a deep breath and if then on shut down the is in dow coni comi alm aloes to lunch he be eald said they we went n t 0 on n t ly 1 t tacit n it 0 under n d ti standing tan ding A and n d a i itu i se belf i fe c ons c io u 3 ly to talk of other thing it was not until they had bad finished lunch coo con that bert turned beck to tho th topic of his friend friends great rent adventure what does julia think th ink it I 1 he be hiked asked 1 I told her yet edward admitted 11 1 I hall MAI tonight of course now we it sett settled leV you mean you tom told her anything not even about the in biard shook hll his head bond 11 1 I don t suppose you IOU can tand why I 1 ton YOU see things have been bert let lot him lim flounder into that oh lob I 1 guen I 1 can understand be he interrupted but I 1 ve got a hunch bunch that abell the 11 surprise you al a much as its you surprise her bullai 11 a darned food good port sport if it it strike strikes her as a a porting tion aloni I moan mean if 11 yon you pat it up to her that way ay see what I 1 mean I 1 I 1 edward aid said be did but thie this uns not at the time quite true he ile thought about it after parted it had seemed ottange to heir julia described by that phrase but be guessed she be deferred dei erred it IL bert spoken idly anyhow he ile wanted julia given a chance to see the adventure as her husband saw it had to wait pretending to read until edith went to bed and when the time finally came and he forced himself to say aloud the words ive got a surprise tur prise for you julia he be had already mid said then them to himself so often that they sounded queer lie ile told her the whole etory story and his hopes warming into a blaze as its the smoldering biro did he gave her a chance to see something he thought of bis his vision a thing that might come true lie ile t turn back to her until bod finished she hadn t put in a word but though hed felt nothing in the silence he to see her eyes were full of tears of course he said you were entitled to be told about it before everything was decided but some how bow I 1 bring myself to tell anyone I 1 told B rt way but that till after pd rd got the letter from the company accepting my resignation it was a thing I 1 thought I 1 had to decide for myself I 1 dont altogether understand it myself why I 1 felt that way I 1 mean so I 1 doubt if I 1 can catt make you understand at u fill but I 1 can mider understand stand it she told him ive driven you to lt if ned I 1 why yoa you did it lie ile answered automatically not at nil all and then broke oft off short in his denial I 1 oh ob its true in a way he conceded after a rebec five pause it wed been happy as we used to be if there d been anything much to lose I 1 sup pose id have bare held back but what really drove me to it was my job lob with the insurance company been poisoning me for years yeam ire I 1 ve been a failure julia youve seen that yourself A nafe safe industrious failure well we arent safe any more I 1 believe the thing will succeed but I 1 dont think bert does even mariner pretend its we a sure thing he got up from bis his chair and came toward her we thrown away our safety for noth ing though be he said what I 1 u ant you to see ive wee e got some orrt of a hope in exchange for or it well we needed it she told bin him she rosc too and came to meet him awkwardly and with a visible effort she put her arms around his neck heres hoping she eald said and kissed him his heart leaped up and sank again in the very instant that their lips net met mat he bad had momentarily hoped from that lies kiss was not there she said what he had wildly believed she was going to say almost imperceptibly she had withdrawn her arms were still around haj neck upon that talfe knife edge of pos sivility lity he be might have pulled her close again and kl kissed jed her once more and find in that wordless appeal be he might have racked everything he wanted it was at the bidding of something quicker then thought that he let her go instead and turned away lie he as for anything that wasa t offered IN hen ben he had succeeded justified his adventure perhaps shed come to him CHAPTER IV the actress alt AS S A rule edith hated th thursday raday it was nomas afternoon and evening out and she and mother hod bad to cook cool the dinner and wash up afterward after waid but today they were making a lark of it dad had telephoned that he nt be te home to dinner so had bad just what liked chicken salad and rolls and two mince ae turn turnovers oTers from the he community kitchen and cocoa that made at home they had a lot to talk about falth did anyhow she was full of the senior play the school tor for scandal bad had been rehears ing all the afternoon edith was us charles surface tha the comfortable rather jouy jolly fed ing remained ai as they set about washing the dishes mother looked so pretty in that dutch apron she was a peach it va was alia to have hor all to yourself even since the ite CM lien change back to more like alq hi old sell self that had bad lately como coine over dot dads conduct wai as still perplexing plex ing but it make her blue any more but of course her fears ALI 1 worries orries about him ind and mother tad bad been largely Igno ince the idea that ingraham might be going to have bare a baby or that there wm was anything queer and uva isma tural about dad and mother sleeping in di different Terent rhonl since IB on amazing talk the she hod had ft ath her science teacher fetcher speculation of that eort sort bad had been relegated to tie world of acre inere childish nonsense eDse ed had been right of coune course last bummer summer vaca ben he be had bad told her the know what ehe she was talkie talking about aboul slie she unshed shed bel level him then what mat a lot of fun it tas as to act and ALI how much more fun it was goin ing to be when they really gave the ilay play in costume everybody agreed she eh was going to make a perfectly corking man sho she thought shed like to be an actress her mother called her back there therel I 1 ebe she eald said when the last 14 IV ft 0 oh ye yes her mother agreed W we arent going to try to get any one else were going to do it ourselves Oure elves for awhile make a picric of it ILI dish was dried and put away that so bad was it how would you like to do it every night she was in the act ot of answering the first question carelessly off the top of her mind when the import ot of the second stopped her short mother meant something by that she was just teasing she look as it if she the was teasing she wait for aa an answer there v as just time for the look to pass between them before she sho went on because were we re going to try it IL im letting norma go I 1 gave her two weeks notice this morning edith let herself understand 1 I thought norma was pret ty good she said oh yes her mother agreed we aren t going to try to get anyone else liere e re going to do it our for a while make male a picnic of it like tonight mother has anything happened to father ile he going away or her mother laughed as she said no to and hugged her be bes s pone gone into i a new business all we hope it its s going to make our for tunes IN ell it if its going to make our for fortunes edith began but her mother interrupted I 1 fathers father a resigned from the in drance company lie ile had to be bo cause the new business will tale all his time and of course that means his salary stops and it may be quite a little while before the money from the cw new business comes in 10 ue he want vant me to let norma go lie ile fald said he dida t be here it would be feces a arat but I 1 thought wed we d rather begin |