Show th CURVES br HOFFMA NN copyright by richard service CHAPTER I 1 j monday 1 listen his father sald said to hal ire j land ind downtown 11 in the large office off it the he bank ba that was all soft ca SON soft 1 lights soft paneling and enough floor I 1 pace rental to keep five families in comfort for a year listen ive alve been listening sir said hal flat for asfor twenty minutes the old man deemed to watt wait a little for the slow ilow draining of humor from hals alert gray eyes then he said in quiet diet irony 1 01 1 I dire say y youve auve been told about tour clearm kever anever by you sir said hal with a faint bow checked gently for fear of starting 0 the slow heavy throb in his tead head again 41 4 1 dare say youve been told that when you bow that way and let your yra eyes twinkle youre apt to get your way but I 1 venture to point out what I 1 cant convince myself youve learned for yourself that the business world i is not cot made up of pretty girls or susceptible cep tible matrons matrona social or theatrical that the business of the country about a which you know nothing 1 Is carried on by men who think more of persistence and application than they do of capac ity to hold whiskey or acquaintance with speakeasy proprietors or handl caps at golf or the fit of white flan nels eels the san francisco job Is open till the first of tile the month because they teed need somebody not because ive asked them to let you coast in on my name youve got your last penny from me for transportation or anything else till next quarters allowance it if you want vant the job get yourself out there it if you dont dont hals quick mobile face was set and lie le met inet his fathers steady look with bright impersonal steadiness rather as if he e had bad a peevish disappointing C hild child before him then he got up and straightened his good shoulders with a deep breath 5 that all he said i all said the old man brosl briskly casual 1 Ol eight tight said hal with a practiced clipping of the word well bye ile he swung his back on his father and walked over the thick carpet to the door in the silence tie fie could feel his father expecting him to turn there for another word of hope or of opening so ne fie pulled the door caught the other knob behind him and stepped out leaving only the soft efficient click of the latch for comment dalrymple known downtown as frederick Ir elands knife and fork was waiting optimistically outside where he be seen from the banking floor bad he asked apprehensively hen kad bad said hal letting his gray eyes flight light again 1 with their wel welcoming comIn hu inor bor kage making ayou know any thing about bromo seltzer does it really work they say go but ive never need td and ym JIM never going to again never ever neer probably how do you get to california on six dollars lord I ord mister hal said dalrymple 98 la six dollars all youve out of the that cheque i so hal reached into RD an inside pocket and brought out the ziga tag length of the railroad ticket with will a 4 couple of pullman slips pinned ti fi i the top Ual dalrymple rymple looked relieved oll oh but youve got transportation lie said i un a u train now simply ply whooshing shing through northern ohio here take eni em and if you can tet get an adjustment credit the old account with my compliments it if I 1 could if let me hal smiled and his eyes wrinkled it in t the corners youre a ti 1 of a nice suy dimples he said but im so iad so go mad for the first time in my life that I 1 borrow a erate crate nickel from anybody who alio paid taxes in tile the same state with that i that etli my lather father lie he told me die it if f youn bellee it dimples he fie told me I 1 knew nothing about money or life or tills lila country or him blin or myself or mod eru plumbing plumb lii or brokers loans or gull guil t knows whatnot of the must most quivering qu erlik importance to a young miteb I 1 career ile he even made me ine the simpli astounding revelation that I 1 was ull an only child lad had you heart hean that dim lie he sat eat there unit anil told ine n bul what tin the h i 1 youre busy anil and ivr ive I 1 but lu li net get to ti the coast Bromo seltzer nt mahe it any worse cui ll 11 ball lonard worded wim leu confused i and tie he mur mureil no no helplessly so hal hai patted his arm promised to let him know what happened and started uptown again it was in tile the subway that he fie remembered tile the sign they had laughed at last night in the west forties it was and if he could remember from which place they had been going to which other place he would remember the street california 33 31 was the line he recalled among a list of fares to chicago miami detroit pittsburgh and other destinations which he had no DO faintest falD teSt desire to reach there tony had said grabbing at him go out to the coast that way boy rub hub elbows with the people see life know your native land just west of broadway in the forties hed find it by G d hed find it ue ile borrow a nickel from any one ne of lifty fifty people lend him money in the next nest half hour it if lie he went to them hed hock something 4 h rt ka A 1 I M 9 1 91 V I 1 how far you going larsen asked her the curly ii ugly IY silver dressing table set ills his father had given him film hed get to the ti coast 0 ast on fifty dollars and tell ills his father what to do with any insufferable future fight talks that occurred to him in CHAPTER II 11 tuesday hals headache was gone next nest morning but so nearly was the warming sense of triumph in n his inspiration and that went entirely at nine when he walked into the bare dingy and crowded garage offlie office ce from which decrepit careful of share expense travelers were dispatched about the country tie he stopped to think what the mechanics of the thing might be but here dere tile the possibilities of dreariness seemed promptly infinite eig eight ht july days of four hundred miles driving each through country reputed to be hotter than outside forty eighth street already promised to be crowd ed into an unwashed derelict of a fine car unions a selection from tills this assembly of desolate if not actively ob 01 looking people the first first rough cartoon of these vistas nearly hail had him back on the street again to telephone dalrymple for the easy loan that would put him on this afternoons century A decent looking man in a 8 clean shirt looked at him across the sha shabby abby desk firmly tile telephone rang yes this Is larsen said the man frown ing call me later im ver very v busy hal upended his old sult suitcase cae against the wall tie near ar the door and sat on it larsen started pawing over tile the plies piles or of little slips before him film now ow lie fie said twice tice almost looking up but pact ilme thinking better of it then sud end denly you cant take lake that dog do hal looked around for the dog then up to es examine who it should he in n tills this place with nith so BO sm smartly a arti v 1 bred red a 9 rox ox terrier ive gt gilt to take the dog said tile lie carl irl in soft eon alinosi hu husky sh Y gravity hell sit in MY lap hell be no troll iron life ble pretty quite finite pretty hal flat saw it little tough surely self seir con scions the ever even solemnity in her ilmi yes eyes aware that flint unauthorized people were ere looking loolen of nt her might any Iiii nule speak to lie glicr r and have to be re rebuffed buffell hut but pretty really quite pretty how flow far you going 2 larsen ask asked ed her los angeles said the girl steadily oh said larsen as if los angeles were just this side of new rochelle no chelle if you keep him film in your lap all right ile he turned to the man whose crossed legs hal could see beyond her does docs he bite bite 1 11 I dont know said a lazy careless voice arsen was waa startled you dwore torether together he said no said the man larsen looked at her she made a slight negative motion with her head and dropped her eyes to the dog larsen fumbled through the slips of paper stopping to frown nt at one youre going to L A he said to the girl yes site she said barely looking up to him for an instant and so are you larsen said to the man yes but im not with tier her then who Is said larsen hill hal let half a smi smile lecome come through his moodiness as he shook his head and larsen was saved from further astonishment by his telephone into which he said again he be was w as very busy loading thre seven passenger cars for chi and the west hals eyes kept coming 0 back to the girl she seemed not to h hear ear what was going on in the room stayed quietly sole solemnly sure that some some one would speak to tier her that annoyed hal flat and he looked away then lie he would find himself looking at her again seeing how the smooth slight dip of her cheeks checks under high cheekbones cheek bones seemed to be pursing tier her lips a I 1 little ittle adding solemnity to her wide possessed mouth hello hello said larsen impatiently into the telephone im very busy im loading seven three passenger cars for chi and the west larsen was was sweating he called suddenly over his shoulder as if taking a desperate remedy de soto A small CLIe cheerful erful soft eyed mau man without a hat and loolen looking as if he had just crawled from under a car came in expectantly take her bags said larsen pointing his pencil nt at a woman and take her to dallas the ladys shocked disapproval of little de soto lost some of its imperiousness when he grinned at her eagerly and said like a fast ride lady she glared down tier her pince nez quivering hope ydo cause anybody rides with me gets a fast one now said larsen iarsen more happily as it if their disappearance made it a family party again but the telephone r rang 1 n and larsen began be an his weary piece about chi and the west almost before lie he had lifted the receiver now that dog do lie he started again and hal saw a 0 sort of quick pride take tile the girls fam face as she raised tier her head no right I 1 larsen added we settled that we settled about the dogs dog now los angeles angel es every everybody body going to los angeles angelea goes goed with J jake 1 ke miller miller n I 1 I 1 ler he shouted at the garage door wheres miller after an hour hal went across the baking street for a glass of ginger ale when he came back the slight tidy man smoking beside the doorway gave him a lazy smile and in a voice that was oddly unsure 0 of pitch said coln to L AV AT guess so said hal trying to be neither discourteous nor enciu encouraging r ag I 1 n the trip was going to be bad enough without entering into relations with anybody som I 1 said the man my names crack martn crack his eyes seemed dreamily looking for the effect of this on hal hal flat leaned against the wall facing facini the street and lighted a cl cigarette rette im d d it ill offer him T my name hal flat said to himself if hes interested he heard beard it in there you any relation to frederick ireland the big shot downtown hal looked at him with cool amusement in his gray eyes sure he said be closer crack gave a slight polite laugh from his side pocket he drew a bright new golf ball dropped it to the pavement where it clicked smartly and leaped up to his walting waiting hand again he said how that larsen thong thought I 1 was with the chippy it how do you know ashes a chippy appy 7 said hal in spontaneous irritation she looks it she said crack his lazy amiability undismayed X no 0 11 said hal promptly hoping to confirm that she there was another pause apparently serene for crack but oddly irksome for ila hal A truck passing in the street shot out a violent backfire opposite them hal started all through h his body and glanced at the man again crack was in complete indolent repose S till still his quiet look barely stirred by a hint of sly mischief mi as if he had caused that sudden explosion to confirm some lazy guess about hal he stepped confidentially to hats side of the door and said in a low tone see that big bird r bandin stand tan din ln at the back there iles hes a dick A det detective c hal raised his eyebrows perfunctorily before he be said how ayou know that 1 I thought he was crack sald said and then I 1 saw his badge alm ilm ia said hal crack smiled and except for a vague drowsy speculation in his eyes his smile was youthful halfway candid not aging 15 hes not looking for you Is he he said coc cocking k in his head a very little it if he were he have much trouble finding me and ibbe an ass to tell you anyway aou IT I 1 TO BE CONTINUED |