Show little si 0 r galahad A story with a blessing i by PHOEBE GRAY all aa 13 copyright by small company CHAPTER XI continued ay iy 16 that chocolate asked N aary ary 1 alice her mouth began to wnm delicately she picked up the mug fid IS d set it to be her lips ugh ill she put it hastily ba back ck on nt e cable table afta looked gravely at the mug man ile he was placidly sipping e mixture what is that francis this tom and jerry ot of course hl st the thing for or a cold day like hy by mary alice the matter 1 I wish you I 1 dont like cant I 1 L ve a glass of 0 water lasure Ll sure sure but better have io oc he rang a bell and direct I 1 the serving man to bring it 1 I amt nt know I 1 suppose youre off offended ended thought ought like the other E every very aidy dy else does he finished his mug hastily as it if hiaring ei hiring aring that something might cheat jda of it and displayed a half annoyed 33 barras 1 im 1 sorry said the girl 1 I jean tt it surprised me you lame me if 1 I 1 refused to drink arse ic or something like that would you bu but t this ates Y it Is to me its no different grom bom any other poison only a little lower and it makes people suffer buffer 3 francis you dont know you ant ant know forgive me I 1 ean to spoil your good time lapoll lS spoil poll nothing cried francis by mary alice this has been the a ost perfect day I 1 ever spent oh tary try alice dear little pretty mary uce ce lets you and me get marrieul mar riedl dont start in again francis I 1 I 1 let you talk like that especially hen youve been taking that j that harmless little pooh nt at never mind mary alice ill make n argain with you I 1 dont care a cent W r it I 1 like it sometimes but ever get the best of 7 I 1 1 I thought it got you expelled from elege francis willett bounded out of his fair as it 1 he had bad been shot at lie he stood od over his companion eyes blaz lc 9 gront gt ont you jare are to talk like that to ne e mary alice brown he cried ler arcely cely do you think im nothing ut lut a kid look here ill show you phe he picked up the second mug which the e had set down will you marry me or wont you speak leak quick now you dont like this J stuff ot of it you say Ws its poison ilson well then ill give you your olee say marry me give me your lur promise and ill give you mine liever ver to touch another drop as long is i I 1 live im in earnest you be the ame me come the verdict he set the little mug to his bis lips ary alice threw herself out of her lair air and struck at the cup francis v aved it out 0 of her reach and the intents contents spilled ouch 1 said francis its running up 7 my sleeve jahe he lowered the mug and mary ale sent it spinning into the fireplace here the liquor sizzled and spat like snake among the coals levs lets go home begged mary alice after your chocolate said fran lg out in the open under the early tars rs they sped along the frozen coun ry roads again mary alice said athing tor for a long time francis sub aed and half apologetic gave his enire e attention to the wheel that a bit nice of you franis willett Wll lett the girl said at last you fair with me you gayent avent any right to make me take he responsibility of what you do 1 I meant it it said francis he was i trifle glum 1 I still mean it IV f listen francis began mary alice antly you want me to love you 1 against my better judgment you want me to do a thing that would just A about break your mothers heart she ari have you marry a besides how can I 1 know youre very I 1 nice when you want to be but youre rich a rich mans son 1 im m poor a ta laborers borers daughter my mother used to 0 take in washing lots lota of 0 girls would jump at the chance but I 1 cant do it I 1 something tells me not to why dont ayou you make me the promise anyhow it t was your own suggestion I 1 ask it of you I 1 do ask it now if you dowel do well you will be rich some day like your father ho he Is such a good I 1 man you said yourself it was the one bee thing P one of the two things one of the things that ave mae you go 90 01 on trying lets make a bargain give ms me three years two years go on and do your best beet promise to keep from rom drinking just as you bald you could and would then ill make you a promise it if your father and mother want vent you to marry me at the end of I 1 the two years ill do it it provided you keep beep your promise francis willett was waa twenty one years old legally a man actually a boy he had bad tried the high hand and failed he was hurt and the defeat stung him he was as so much a boy that bat he be would not let himself see that uary alice was wa right ile he thought his pride had bad been touched when it was only his boyish egotism no he said if you dont care enough about me to promise to marry me without any father and mother string hitched on I 1 dont care to do business francis was trying to be humorous oh ob dear said mary alice it if you were addressing me heres the house lets not say any more francis im so broken up about this our lovely afternoon all gone to smash she disentangled disen tang led herself from the big coat and the coonskin robes and stopped stepped out ab oh francis you are such an old darling she said 1 I could love you if oh I 1 guess I 1 do love you anyhow I 1 guess I 1 loved you that you whipped lutey travers tor for tipping over my wits washing bing but im not dot going to spoil your life for you and break your mothers heart G 9 good night she turned and ran up the steps past the door which little dick obligingly held open tor for her and on up to her room I 1 CHAPTER XII two interviews francis willett wallett was doing rather well mr stacey told the young mans father ile he was faithful ambitious prompt his employer wanted to trust him even more than he did but there acs ics a drawback that boy of yours said stacey is as bright as they make em cm he has the commercial instinct look here stacey said willett Wll lett it if you think so well of the boy I 1 could buy a block of your stock and francis could be my personal representative senta tive on your board it would be a great thing tor for the boy and hed see something substantial coming to him in the future a good proposition john said stacey except tor for one thing and what im here to see you about well Wel ll somehow willett felt a queer little dread before stacey spoke again ill tell you john that boy of yours Is too fond of well er stacey made a significant gesture but hes living at home stacey I 1 should know it im sure dont fool yourself or rather dont let francis fool you hes fallen in with a crowd who go to the waldemere to lunch every day and when be comes in tor for his afternoon work I 1 notice it lord love you hed be as surprised as anybody it if he knew I 1 suspected but john hes only a boy and hes forming a habit that may do him tremendous harm it if he could be made to promise to quit and stick to it tor for a reasonable length of time id entertain that proposition of yours mighty quick stacey what do you advise im at my wits end im afraid ill do or say the wrong thing boys are so touchy and I 1 might tip over the apple cart I 1 tell you iva its a terrible situation walt wait a minute john theres something else I 1 told you it may make a difference hes got a girl A girl you yon mean in the glove department a little beauty the boy Is fairly wild about her I 1 catch him down there two or three times a week in fact act I 1 had to caution him only yesterday I 1 cant have him neglecting business for a salesgirl last winter I 1 guess it was in january he borrow edmy new french runabout and took her riding she lives out hillside falls way I 1 tell you john ashes a beauty only of course ashes rather humble 11 Is her name brown 1 I believe so mary I 1 think at mary alice ive known her since she was a little girl and a smarter child never lived I 1 wonder tt if ashes as bright now 1 I understand ashes one of our best salesgirls sales girls 11 mary alice mary alice repeated john willett Wll lett what it if I 1 wonder what his mot gotherd herd say bay 1 I should think shed be rather upset ashes an aristocratic woman your wife stacey you know aristocracy goes a precious little way with me this girl saved my boy once I 1 wonder if 1 we cant get her to help us save him again she ought to be willing hes a fine fellow but lf it if what stacey 1 I was thinking of the girls own happiness you know how it is almost always when a woman marries a man to reform him it work vork 11 all right then let her reform him before she marries him I 1 tell you stacey it if be wants that girl and I 1 can help him get her he be shall have her provided he quits this foolishness ill settle it with mrs willett now I 1 tell you what you send mary alice brown to see me right here la in this office will you do it 1 I most assuredly will john you can depend on it that afternoon mr stacey the mr stacey the merchant prince and an all that sort ot of thing was seen been walking rather aimlessly about the aisles ot or his great store in the vicinity of the gov gloves c B its stacey himself whispered lucy the merchant idly turned over a few pairs let me see he said to mary alice brown have you some of those new washable chamois size seven and three quarters 1 I think so mr stacey those are the ones said stacey let me see what time Is it dear me im afraid im too late the usually alert and decisive mr stacey peered about him as if in perplexity you see im in a rather embarrassing position I 1 the fact Is I 1 promised a friend of mine a pair of these gloves and I 1 said id send them to him before closing time you dont happen to know where mr willetts Wll letts mr john willet willets Wll lets s office Is do you young lady ne ile looked innocently at mary alice over the tops of his glasses yes sir I 1 know we its in the craddock building right right well now suppose you do this errand tor for me take this message to mr willett Wll lett and be very careful to deliver it just as I 1 give it to you yo u say mr st stacey acey wishes me to tell you that he has sent you tt in hat lie promised do you understand to say that mary alice was quite unsuspecting would be doing her intelligence scant justice yet she certainly could not see into the mystery it might have just happened still she told the clerk in john willetts Wll letts outer office that she wished to speak to mr willett personally she said to tell him miss brown was there from staceys stachys Stace ys the clerk came back and very politely ushered this unusually pretty girl into the inner office hello ello mary alice said willett mary alice walked up to willett and took the cordial hand he held out to her ile he acted as if he be had bad actually expected her then the message sir mr stacey wishes me to tell you that he has sent you what he promised 1 I should say he had and mighty promptly too cried willett Wll lett and the tunny funny part was mary alice 9 given iven him the package containing the gloves she laid it on the desk sit down mary alice I 1 want to talk to you he paid no attention to the gloves so this was a plot she began to feel excessively uncomfortable mary alice what do you think of my boy the girl jumped francis this was a foolish question of course but mary alice felt foolish francis you thought enough of him once to save him from drowning but mr willett mary alice has francis been M making aking love to youl you ye no well why mr willett Wll lett what a question all right ile he has ot of course now mary alice do you love francis she said nothing this time all right then went on willett Wll lett 1 I just wanted to say bay to you little girl that nothing would please me so much as to have my boy marry as nice a 1 I mean marry youl you but im afraid you be but theres something thin in the way youre a pretty sensible girl I 1 guess you have brains enough to know that a wise young woman never marries a man whose habits habit I 1 1 I dont think he be aes yes he does dont you tell me I 1 have it on the best authority that bo be does do you see gee him often afternoons or mornings sometimes a little while in the morning but not very often lately hes hes rather put out with me I 1 guess hed better not be hed better not be I 1 want you to cultivate him bim encourage him mary alice make him a fine wife it if you love each other but he must stop this foolishness hell stop for you no he wont he wont how do you know have you tried it I 1 thought you said bald he be drink much how did you come to mary alice related her experience at the boreas country club mary alice which of us Is crazy FI first you say he be wanted to promise and you marry him and then you say you wanted him to promise and he refused its you and mrs mra biliett Wll WIl lett Iett 01 you mean you thought P that you want francis to marry a so I 1 said that it if he made good and his mother and father wanted me to marry him at the end of two years I 1 would and be agree to that T the he young tool fool im afraid its no use mr willett Wll lett im only a atter after all and mrs willett would never forget it and shed always believe that I 1 er robbed her of him as it if I 1 said bald give him to me or ill let him go to ruin shed never forgive me what a funny distorted way you look at it mary alice cried willett desperately suppose you dont marry F francis and he comes to grief and brings all the rest of us to grief how bow will you feel terribly of course but why cant he listen to reason if he pr promised ever so hard id have to wait a couple of years id want to be sure hed stick to it well mary alice I 1 think you are right about that but I 1 can assure assur you that mrs willett and I 1 TO dr BB CONTINUED |