Show 4 HH HI 1 fo for a I 1 day DAN X 4 u by lames osborn M I MH mcclure McC ture newspaper New paper syndicate clarice Ward gardham liam and nancy smith had gone through high school together and their friendship was of the sort that lint could not be altered even when naney nancy went to business school and later inter took a stenographers position in it a business and clarice through her fa fathers fbi fortune became one of tho the most sought after young women voi nerr tn in wh what at chose to be called nial was called society with a capital S clarice did not give nancy tier her old dresses nor did slie she try to persuade tier lier to titto attend jid the parties she gave to which only folk with very much more money to spend than nancy lind had were invited ahen aie ahe asked lancy to tier her house it was either to enjoy tier her alone or alth a i few of the old friends MW uh whom nancy could be most tit nt tier her ease case jatis thus nancy was never made conscious of the fact that fortune line denit dealt ae less 1 kindly with her than it had with clarice if indeed it realty really had when clarice first farst met robert hari flar row and somehow unwittingly charmed and then captivated that hat inveterate man mail of business site she did not tell him that nancy smith tits his private secretary was one of tier her best friends it was not in the least because she wits ashamed of tier her association but because she liked the idea of having a mean of seeing mr air harrow frow from another an angle than that of society and country club activities without his knowing it clarice truth to say wits was drawn to harrow almost as soon as lie ho was to tier her for there was something om ething about this rather rough strange mixture of a ahn man that charmed women quite as much as if lie he lind had been most courteous and courtly cou itly sometimes he seemed the brof idest of nien men in tits his large grasp of events that clarice discussed with hlin him and sometimes the narrowest in ills of view that seemed to see only his Is own business interests sometimes he seemed the most generous and unselfish and then the yeuit least generous generou s and most selfish drawn though clarice was to tills this I 1 in much u ch discussed and almost iq young trian man she planned to surrender if she surrendered at all with deliberation she had planned not to lose a single trick in the love game she was jabout to play with this man w who I 1 to had become accustomed to having things generally hla his own wai way in the other games of life it as has been said that a mans stenographer ogra pher tins lias nn an opportunity to know him even better than ins own wife for zhe bhe sees him more hours of the day usually and can study him without personal prejudice of any sort nancy smith surely know knew robert harrow better than he knew himself and it was perli perhaps aps not strange that she suspected lie he was in love before he was willing fe admit that fact to himself much less to clarice she had heard from 31 arice of the friendship that klind had sprung up tip between her and sir air harrow and with infinite care sounded her regarding him and so found out how the ground lay once with un an rit attempt tempt at seeming g casual asked nancy what diat sort of a she thought mr harrow would make 11 5 1 could be ills his stenographer all my life and benj enjoy 0 y it explained nancy but I 1 could never endure him as it a bus ausband bu shand band rut but with a girl 11 like ke you it vaud he be different ait you would collapse it after a day in tits his office but with till all the little feminine witcheries wit cheries 6 to tall fall bach on you yon or a girl like you yon I 1 should shou soy ny might fin and d him a perfect liu husband band ona one thing mr air Il harrows arrows wife would havo to remember though added nanci nancy and that Is that she should never onge once let gibli take tier her for granted it would fould le ile like twining n lion once t the he beast knows tits his power the tamer is lost some women lire are cut out for just that hot sart of thing you know and never in a lifetime lot let their husbands know w what hat meek tame taine hearts they have anney had clarice thus discussed mr harrow over tile the chocolate cups one oae day tit nt luncheon late in december when clarice had gone down downtown for christmas shopping that afternoon harrow gave the switchboard operator gruff orden ordel s to the effect that lie was too busy to be disturbed and then sat at his desk with no one but no nancy ney sl fits sol solitude tude looking blankly into space for n full hour his bead bent and tits his arms ile he started to his feet when lh he roused himself and ance paced d the floor dy filice anke fi tice this his lie threw tit at nancy dalemo memo for the cash cashiers office owing ln g to io vr conditions 1 and necessity to curtail every possible expense we ive shall glye no gold pieces at christinas nancy took the words down in dots curves carves and dashes and recalled ashe as she did so that in the farm of which harrow was president war conditions had meant 25 per cent greater profit than usual take this he threw out again it la is tor for my housekeeper mrs hawking owing to war conditions I 1 have found it ip to dispense wah ciny ad abito nal money in the wages to tafe the servants this year and wh when en adu you 7 5 ha haldone hay edone that write ift e a personal onal letter to 0 my sister and another tomy to 0 o my cousin the one with six children and explain Pla into to them that its as an act of patriotism we ought to retrain refrain from gift giving this year its just an exchange of a lot lof of junk juick lie he went on more to himself than ilian to nancy between Pe between tween a 0 lot of people that dont care two i straws for each oth other ei then write a letter to the matron of the orphan home the one ofie my mother used to io be so much interested te rested in ive previously ordered a doll br orn a book for each child tell thern hat I 1 feel that would be a needless ex t ro ga n ce if they are arc absolutely without necessities lot them notify nie rind and ill send the lliam ni a check lilt but now Is no time ilme to waste money ou on mere toys let the youngsters 3 m make ilia dolls out of sticks find things lings ti will enjoy them just juk os as much nancy wrote cheso and a dozen doven or so similar flar letters that mr air bated and gave no inkling of in he 8 attitude toward the contents ot t uirt lilt letters that night when ann ov had left rather I 1 earlier than usual the he letters were still on nancys desk nna when site left a little later the letters wort worp lying liing in a mall mail basket where it might seem that they had been bec n forgotten but where as a matter of fact there was no danger of their being mailed nancy flurried from the ollic office to the nearest public telephone booth called up clarice and told tier her she wanted to see her lit at once and would board the next car toward tier her house slie she hurried to Cl arices room and talked with tier her for a short ten biln utes and then hurried home leaving clarice ample time for a more thin than ordinarily elaborate toilet that when mr air harrow arrived fit at the Ward liam housdan house an hour later tor for dinner and a quiet little evening with alth clarice afterward clarice was in her most bewitching mood and harrow had nothing of the gruffness gru finess that had characterized his manner tit at the office during the afternoon ile he had come with the half con conviction 11 c ahat that night lie he would definitely ask clarice to marry him demand from tier her a definite an answer siver nut but when he be fell under the charm of her er coquetry coer caer for clarice was irresistible it that night lie he was full determined and lie was impatient of the many courses ot of dinner find tile lie moments that had to be spent with Cl arices family before they could gracefully find a sequestered spot alone when they were seated in the music room clarice lind had made an excuse of wishing to show him some new records he asked tier lier point blank and without wasting time in whether slie she would mar marry ry him clarice looked perplexed val pro afraid we ought not to think of it she said at least while the war lasts it would mean to give each othern other a great deal pt of love and owing to war conditions we wa ought not to give till all that do you think so mr harrow for the first time that eve evening ning recalled tits his afternoon at the office mee rind and the man that had dictated the letters seemed now like a repulsive shadow of his true self clarice explained tier her friendship for nancy N ancy smith and nancys hurried call that afternoon dont think the less of nancy for it begged clarice 1 I arced her to let me know just what sort of man you tire are and let tier lier tell you that alic knew me it is nil my fault if site realized how small I 1 was in writing those letters why A iby she tell me demanded harrow why did she post them she post them thein said clarice they tire are locked in your office it was a thoroughly contrite humbled sort of man that hat knelt before Cl arices chat chai I 1 r if ill promise to give twice as this and promise never to ie he a again will you promise to marry me ine lie he beg begged a all and d of course clarice said yes ye |