| Show lost LOS A private secretary S e c r detary by FREDERICK HART 0 1921 2921 by mcclure s sir air colllns the name was v command a roar from uie ole inner oillie chere caliere flaw hawkens kini senior puter parter of the firra firm of doolittle held solitary sway yes sir right liere here the young uan nun who spoke hese words was pleas ng to look upon lie he was tall and lender with light hair and a mouth lint hat seemed forcer to be about to itself into a grin but there ther ewas wag lu u grin on tits ills fue fate as is he hurried to ard the he sanctum of ills his chief old ann Ha iTkins its as the outer office ailed him was as in one of tits his tan far runis arid and woe betide the employee ahu hu would keep heel hina him waiting 1 collins Coll las lie he private secretary betous betook himself 0 tile the office with all haste afis glared at him as he be en erod ered but could find no immediate eason to rage so tie he merely rasped nit sit down and jerked a letter lout a pile that lily iny before him these freh railroad ralli oad people are alsing tile ilie dickens with us on oil rates collins lie growled this Is the see sec in nd teller letter ie lind bad fron from them now we ive want the bridge job nud and were gong to get it but be on our own erins enns and not on ouch holy ginger er 1 the lie matter mr ali hawkins ins colllns collins wits was jolted out of tits his usual at liture of patient listening air hawkins pounded on oil the desk and raved alou silous I 1 gouts bouts tile matter dont stand there grinning like an idiot I 1 do some ihling 1 rut but edward collins could think of nothing to do arid and as a result lie he became the recipient of a storm of rap rage diat made till all the other storms lie he hd had weathered pale into insignificance at 1 last haw hankins kins breathless ordered him out it of the room called for his car und and went home the next nest day colllns collins received a memo from his bis employer that caused 19 my foots the datterl it hurts it him to pull a very long face the stenographer asked him what was the lie trouble trouble plenty of it the old mans mails laid up tip with that gout of ills 11 Is and ive got to go out to lit hi country place and help him with his work holy smoke 1 a pleasant prospect 1 the stenographer sympathized with will him have your head licad bitten off about thirty times a jay day she sold said 1 I lint dont see why you stay with him ali ily v any of us stay with him film for that in matter fitter colllns ol liDs let ills his grin spread we stay because hes bes tile the best and squarest s boss in new york anil and we know it let him film howl how and tear and cuss us out all ile he wants to we ve know well get a square leaf deal youre right agreed the stenographer ra pher nodding a blonde head but bill just tile call same I 1 dont envy yo you u t edward dv a I 1 d collins Colllns at arrived rived fit at th he e pines ills his employers country place that same evening in time for dinner he dressed they specified dinner coats at table and reflected that it might be worse he had a nice room and wils was not ile he deace descended adi treated as a 1 I servant As file lie stairs lie he looked tor for mr but lid did not see him ill instead there swam all into tile field of vision the loveliest thin tiling lie he had bad ever laid eyes on a girl tits his own oin age in a S shimmering I 1 evening gown that made her look like a fair fairy v in a misty clout cloud ll 11 he could only stare as she came to ward ard him im miss hawkens evangeline Evangel lne I 1 balins la LIns she explained amused at al dad wont lie h hl I 1 look of surprise down to dinner slid and lie wont want wain cincu morning ning poor dad you till toi tomorrow she lie added his foot hurts laiful so 0 o arid and im ill afraid hell make it awfully awgull un comfortable for you vou colllns collins grin grinned nei did I 1 say that lie I 1 had ad a most fitt attractive active g grin in oh lui im rather used to it hawkens ins lies hes ill YOU iou and im genuinely sorry the ollice and hp he see things at account 11 at launce launched led into a 8 detailed took hlo bin half through dinner sud danly tie he remembered lm im l m afraid ive ve bored you awfully i he exclaimed contritely no indeed im awfully interested do tell me some more and Col liis did bilut three weeks later the situation was unchanged that la Is it was unchanged chang ed its as for far as mr hawkins gout was vias concerned hut ut there was a decided change in the affairs of edward colllns collins formerly tie he had bad spent his evenings reading or wandering over the grounds alozie ali ie but now lie he seemed to haunt ce certain riall spots it was a peculiar fact that hint miss evangelise evangeline hawkins was nearly always near those spots lie he was also given to 10 mooning about and mr air 11 twi tins round found sume rome ciui ebud e for complaint in inattention it might have been noticed in addia addit addition on that flint lie cherl cherished shed a withered rose in a drawer of ills his dresser tills this ro rose roe e hail flat been worn by li v miss haw iian was at a small dance given at the house bouse one neek end she had dropped it and tie he had picked it up tip all these signs of course mean nothing in particular anti and then orie one day lie he lost ills his note no if book and miss evangeline hawkins found foual it an hour after he had discovered ills loss he cathie upon her in a little summer house in the gar garden deri she ua wua reading reading something lils his notebook with a sign of relief lie he approached slie she rose arid and smiled at him a little uncertainly aeres your book slit she sold said thank you he was relieved that she had found it what neat shorthand you makel make she said ile he blushed crimson 1 I ive had bad a good deal of practice did you know she said idly 1 I went to a school once and learned stenography nophy ste I 1 thought id be useful I 1 can a still rend it the led III ills his face deepened let me read some of yours ive been looking it over and I 1 can read it very well slie site was turning the lie pages as she sp spoke cile he became conscious of a wild desire to grab the book from her hands anti and flee but lie he remained rooted to the spot here she said dear sir your letter of the lie received I 1 love her in reply would say that she is the tha sweetest girl in the world we are unable to make any other beims than those stated in our last communication of course I 1 hae bane no chance but mai mabbe be ile he found ills his voice please miss hawkins dont torment me die I 1 have done it I 1 know I 1 any right but I 1 help it t wont you give me the I bolc rhe handed him the book and lie left her without a word that night as lie ile prepared for lied bed he glanced once more over the pages where here in neat curves and angles were the like damning words that biad made him hopeless for all time he stared at them dully as lie he read sentence after sentence len tence hawkings Hawkin ss terse business english interspersed f sed with the thought of tits his own as lie thought secret heart and then tits his heart gave a bound find and began beating mildly madly for at the bottom of a page in characters quite unlike his own a new line had been scrawled he translated it breathlessly wily why say you have no chance you never asked empl mp so youve been making love to my daughter behind my back eh eb old man hawkins glared at his blushing secretary well sir she seem to mind oli oil she 1 well how bow do you know I 1 wont the baited colllns collins could only gulp and stammer but into the room burst miss aliss evangeline hawkins all radiant and happy aind ovel overwhelming daddy youre not to pretend that youre angry when youre not you know you told me 11 hush flush up tip roared old man alan haw kinds but the mischief was done collins turned fumed on him do you mean to tell me that youve been scoring scaring me to benth all this time for gotlif g ill never be afraid of you again agal nl there it is nun along children run along youve found me out and ive lost tile the bet best private secretary I 1 ever had but I 1 seem to have gained an excellent on ln in liaw law 1 |
