Show r THAT WAS 0 COXIE a by FANNIE HURST 0 0 0 0 0 a cc E by mcclure SIc Cluro newspaper syndicate I 1 serviced Service 1 X eyes of the world coale IN was somewhat of an eril enigma gina lie was one of the most successful life insurance agents in ills district a large metropolitan one and yet lie he never seemed to get anywhere that Is lie he never seemed to got anywhere in the sense that ills his less successful col leagues did people in a position to judge estimated that colles earning capacity what with tho the policies h he e was from year to year should have carried him to a high ligure income the jolly little fellow worming his way up from office boy of the vice president of the huge company that employed him had managed to capture the liking of the theatrical profession fes sion slon most of his policies were confined to the people of the play world ile he had biad it a way with them lie ile loved their emotional volatile friendly qualities and they in turn because of those qualities reacted with enthusiasm thusia sm to comte ile he was so downright likeable live able ills round good humored face radiated am amiability amla billly and something strangely deeper coxie comte had a soul lie ile felt it and here let it be said that there were those in the profession who knew almost reverently that coxie had a soul these were the people who knew why comte unlike his colleagues who drove cars rind and bought country homes continued to live a somewhat reluctant bachelor in a rooming house and use the subway it was said of coxie by one of these clients of his who had reason to know that he had a soul that it was simply impossible for the little insurance agent to sit by and see a policy lapse for want of funds ills ells falth faith in human nature was so enormous ills confidence in the ultimate decency of human beings was infallible if his confidence in these dealings had on various occasions been undermined comte coale was the last to confess it lie ile went on believing and he be went on digging into his own pockets to meet payments that for one reason or another could not be paid and all these reasons were passionately poured into coates comtes sympathetic ears men and women died blessing comte in sentimental and unashamed gratitude coxie had saved many a gay thespian from a paupers haupers pau pers graver grave and many a thespians child from the pinch of poverty and the little man himself known to all broadway loved by broadway Bron dway loving it in return gloried in his job service that was comte the fly in the ointment however was as big as a frog in the puddle there were ragged hurting edges to coates comtes heart and the reason was annabelle evans strangely enough she was not of the theater she was a forelady in an artificial lower flower factory slie she and coxie had met at a theatrical benefit for foe disabled chi children idren and for twelve years had been unofficially engaged as the saying goes twice a week coxie took annabelle who was pretty in a birdlike fashion to a theater or to a motion picture and on saturday night spent the evening with her in the prim parlor of the prim little flat she shared with a prim little aunt comic loved annabelle and in what was becoming a tearful patient and almost hysterical fashion annabelle loved coxie the fact of the matter was that coxie could not afford to marry that Is unless he permitted annabelle to continue tier her work in the lower flower factory that prospect was abominable to both of them not only did annabelle dislike her work but she had developed a curious racking cough from her surroundings time and time again coxie who bore with her be ratings because ile he felt he deserved them promised to conserve his income which in its entirety was more than sufficient fent for them to start life together in comfort and even a small degree of luxury but year after year showed a deficit in codies finances lie ile could not let a policy lapse and sines since his writings were in the name of the most improvident people in the world constant and ani multiple were the demands upon him and then the inevitable happened it had not ever occurred to comte that Is could happen but it did and that was probably the reason that tills this little man of indomitable good falth faith good will and good heart found himself crushed A rival for the hand of annabelle evans stepped in it had all happened so quickly that ceale walked around broadway for two days there after with ills moon round face all cuddled with daze A young shipping clerk in tho the factory where annabelle was employed had fallen heir to ton ten thousand dollars to Annab Anna eUes belles astonishment it seemed that he had looked upon her with yearning for years and now it had all come about and was possible the young shipping clerk wanted to marry at once and suddenly after years of the procrastination the delay and the disappointments and the deferred hopes that went with comte here was a concrete opportunity to salvage happiness A homo home of tier her own F freedom from the work that she hated freedom from the worrisome cough that racked her health it was a tempting chance for years annabelle had confused cont used tier her love of comte with a love of home of com fort foit of safety to her marriage meant freedom from the misery of daily grind in a factory freedom to make a home that would bring happiness not only to herself but bal to the man who provided it for her and and now liere here was lier her chance at once without further delay she could have tier her home freedom from work she hated a chance to regain the health she was afraid of losing it was too good a chance Annab Anna eUes belles longing hopes were dazed with this chance of fruition coxie was terrified by this blow more than by anything that had ever happened to him feeling the entire meaning of life slipping between his heart and his fingers but lie ho dared out ont intercede annabelle was right Annab Anna eUes belles aunt who had long since lost patience with comte was right the young shipping clerks name was macy A nice enough boy with a lean face and a nervous habit of blinking his eyes when coste comte first laid eyes on him the evening that annabelle find told him her decision it seemed to him film almost more than lie he could bear tills this young man was about to inherit the earth colic must go out empty handed e and then as if fate had not been sufficiently content with handing him this wallop in the abstract there developed ve in the course of the brief conversation comic coale had with macy this ironical fact the money which young macy had inherited was from a distant uncle whom he had never seen this uncle was an actor whom comte had insured ten years before time after time comte had met these premiums reluctant to let the old mans policy lapse meanwhile his wife and those immediately dependent upon him died and in stepped this lad as the only surviving relative life hid had played boomerang to coxie except that the story does docs not end here curious thing when annabelle who was not present during the conversation between the two men which brought about this disclosure c came ame back into the room that new look of decision which had been on her face for the last few days was suddenly removed from it looking at her the two men seemed to know almost simultaneously that annabelle was not going through with the engagement to maey macy that Is precisely what happened annabelle and comte are together three evenings a week again comte with his kind round face fairly bursting with determination promises that this year ills his deficit in ills his income Is to be a surplus they plan to be married on new years eve |