| Show synthetic gentle gentleman M an by I 1 CHANNING chanan POLLOCK oll I 1 channing pollock service SYNOPSIS the duke a pleasant youth of twenty three jobless and broke enters enter an unoccupied summer home in southampton seeking shelter from a terrific rain storm H lie makes himself at home six years ago ills his father had died in china leaving the lad fact barry gilbert to fight hla him way back to the states he did not recollect ever having baving had a mother oozing dozing at the fireside ide he be la Is startled by the arrival of a butler willetts a chauffeur arvans a cook and a mald maid he learn 4 that the mon on of the owner of the house jack ridder whom the servants had never seen een Is expected ile ho decides to bluff it out his supposed parents have left tor for germany next morning he Is 1 st given give a letter tor for his mother ile he opens it and finds a message from the real ja jack k saying he be could not come and re returning turnie ng a hundred dollar bill the th boys father had pensioned him into obscurity barry pockets pocket the money intending to re turn it later ile he orders r evans vans to take him to montauk Intend intending inz in disappear there on the way he a bita elsts judge judg e hambidge and his hl daughter patr patricia acla whose car had broken down believing he la Is jack the she invites him to dinner the following thursday barry returns to southampton deciding to stay atay a bit longer CHAPTER 11 II continued 4 4 he caught sir crowell inspecting the ta tag sewn onto the back bach of his waistcoat waist cat well that was all right and of course nothing could be wrong when the trousers were to be sent cent by parcel post to john clarke ridder jr at southampton before the duke departed sir mr crowell had bad secured orders for a sack suit and evening clothes clot lies charge ern em to my father the duke said and mr ir crowell answered certainly and ill let you know when were ready to try on this procedure and those following at the haberdashers haberdashery haber dashers and the shoemakers ruffled the dukes conscience far less than the hundred dollar bill had done ill pay it all back some day lie he thought without asking himself how on the return trip to southampton it struck blin thit hed got a pretty extensive wardrobe for one dinner party well 1 he argued suppose I 1 do stay a month I 1 might as well be hanged banged for a sheep its as for a lamb and nothing much can happen before my fathers return unless the real john clarke junior changes his mind about writing to had bad Naulie lm of course the judge might write to felicitate the old man on having made it up with his boy what then that nt tell them that this the same boy still it might be safer to hint to the Ilam bid cs that the ridders were going to wander about a bit before arriving at their destination the duke leaned leaded back in the long island railways best parlor car and opened a newspaper he had bought at the station almost instantly he saw his new friends name again agian jefferson street Condemn condemnation atlon just another grab the ran civic association brands proceedings before fore judge hambidge as barefaced bare hare faced loot of city treasury certainly making it hot f for I 1 or him barry mused ile he have read the story but tor for its reference to the judge even so lie read it very casually somebody wanted to turn a side street into a boulevard that involved buying a lot of property and the property owners willing to sell tor for what the city was willing to pay so condemnation proceedings had been instituted whatever they might be and judge Ilam bidge was to fix the value of the ground and houses who really owns this property the civic association asked the corporation po ration that held title was an obvious stalking horse borse it had been formed and had bad purchased the land and buildings only a few months before the beginning of municipal interest in jefferson street and it was demanding a million and a half for a few relies relics of a better day in tills this neighborhood that would have been dear at halt half a million Tamm anys paw was visible in the whole transaction according to the civic chac association and the impending decision called for prompt action from individuals rind and organizations aware that judge train ham bide was a tammany judge action swell chancel who cared plainly the taxpayers tax payers and carry barry even a taxpayer As a couple of million other citizens were to do that evening he dismissed the whole matter from his mind and turned the page looking for a good murder ia li benching caching home he be went straight to the library the winter inter covers had been removed from the furniture now and the place ads was bright and chinin kalning kil ning the italian box bos had bad been filled iab alth eagars igi irs rending in over to get one the dukes gaze fell upon nn enevie en euie addressed to ills his ther other belf elf A radio mes message sagel 1 ills ilia fingers stiffened the judge waited to write damn marconi Afar I 1 feverishly he tore open the wrapper just to let you know that I 1 am very happy stop atop sleep bleed last night for or thinking of you home hom at last lait atop cant tell your father yet top stop please please pleas try to spend summer in such a way as to make reconciliation possible stop praying for word on arrival stop atop god bless you and love mother for once the duke gria she care what it cost he said hut but there was no humor in that comment lie ile was picturing a hurried heart hungry woman slipping furtively up tip to the wireless room and handing banding in this message herself so that no steward should unwittingly betray her the first word she had been able to smuggle to the boy in years its been killing your mother the judge had said the duke touched a button and willetts Wll letts came wheres Where 8 evans in the garage sir with his wife ask him to run me down to the village I 1 want to send a telegram to my mother 1 I can telephone it sir 11 Th thanks anka id rather hand it in very good sir the earll carll be here in a minute or two sir and ill hold dinner carry barry never thought any harder than he did during chilt short ride what could lie he say that would make his bis mother still happler happier and yet mean nothing if the message fell into the hands of that hard old man in all probability ills his father knew the house had been opened 1 must I n s t know since he had forbidden evans t tp 4 at V 4 t L A radio messaged Mes sagel his fingers stiffened to bring h his Is wife well then suppose the telegram were signed willetts but contained a reference that would identify the real sender to her and to no one else radio reveled rece hed led he wire lessed at last will do my best writing willetts wit she would understand the reaction came after dinner maudlin what I 1 am thought the dule duke just because I 1 pet get a messaged sl signed ned ll mother other the first one I 1 ever got damn fool trick sending that wireless sooner or later ashes going to find out etwas fake and then what good will billave I 1 have done thursdays dinner started off on the wrong foot the duke wore his new flannels and his old gray coat it was not a warm evening but he had bad nothing else to wear ear ills his fathers fat liers apparel was much too tight lie he could see patricia taking him in she was lovely in cherry colored crepe tie de chine and the judge immaculate in black tie and dinner jacket you said we could fight things out on the tennis court the duke apologized and im afraid that stuck in my mind the truth Is my luggage turned up and I 1 had to wear anything I 1 could find you should have worn a strip of bunting and brought boxing gloves the judge laughed it you and pat are going at it as you did at the club what would happen it if we agreed about anything asked patricia id be wrong miss id be wrong the retort was no more ills his own than the shirt on his back but lie was rewarded tor for it by an appreciative flash in the girls eyes but they agree how was it possible the duke asked himself afterward after to be so fascinated fascinate a by a young woman who opposed his every idea and utterance and so well so cockily cock lly As though it amused tier her to be irritating the girl clattered chattered about everything lard boiled A modern and proud of it why should people be proud of being modern a state like king ship that you achieved merely by being born and so far as modernity was a point of view why preen yourself because you believe in anything thin except your own right to be hadri y this girl hail bad h had lid no contact witt life walled about in a pleasant garden carden she delivered herself of smart brittle opinions of conditions she had never experienced people she elie had never seen rut put you help liking tier her and it began to be evident that she liked him youre different fit at least she said different from any other oilier man I 1 know really not a bit liken like a rich mans son ive been on my own a good while he reminded tier her I 1 yes she answered youve some thin tiling to talk about when my sets through with golf bridge the stock market and the night clubs its through I 1 barry learned a good deal about his adopted rather father that night and when patricia left them for a few minutes the judge repeated lifes hes certainly no sentimentalist that gentleman were supposed to be friends and ills his paper goes on attacking attaching me the civic association so nothing on earth but tim the globe and now all at it talking about my taking orders from tammany generally it matter but tills this jefferson street business has got everybody so worked UP op its nil all a mans careers worth just to be caught nodding to a district leader barry nodded did you ever speak to the old man just a few days before he left im running my newspaper tor for the public lie sald said willits the file use of stopping one paper patricia inquired entering the room the others would keep right on did you ever read any of tha th things they wrote about AbrA abraham hamLin lincoln be a brave old gentleman and dont let it bother you she laughed but her eyes were very tender ns as she laid her ber hands on the judges shoulders why I 1 like her thought the duke because I 1 see what shed be if somebody scraped off the enamel ashes got the makings of some girl it was after midnight ailt when barry climbed into his car calling back remember youre dining with me next thursday you certainly took father out of himself the girl had remarked to him lies iles been frightfully depressed lets see a lot of one another duke had rejoined im lonely ns as fin an oyster er jn in a church stew why not come to my place next nest thursday 7 all right and were having house guests over the following weekend week end the Win winslows slows I 1 my mother was mrs airs Win winslows slows sister peters a prominent lawyer and it wont hurt you to know him and ive got an old school friend coming from boston will you dine with us again that friday ill board with you it if you ask me barry replied exuberantly but that lets me out he vowed on the way home tills this cant go on forever some things sure to break and I 1 dont want it to break anywhere near that girl what she learns when im gone wont hurt either ot of us but gosh id hate having to face her after shed found out the truth however southampton was not only ruining his appetite for baked beans it was ruining his taste tor for the open road and rough necks standing before the mirror in faultless evening dress on thursday he thought the thing out if I 1 cant get a white collar job with these clothes and the new feeling this thing has given me im la fi washout wash out id like to make good now darned it if I 1 know why but I 1 would 1 ite ire made up his mind to go to town the next day and have another try at it ill tale take tal e a shot at the movie studios lie said there ought to be something in heroes for a young fellow who looks like that ile he was still contemplating himself in the glass with a view to ills his picture poss possibilities bill ties when the arrived on the whole it was a very successful evening the judge seemed even more worried than he had been a week before but barrys good humor was irresistible patricia had asked about ills his experience in florida and he found himself combining purely imaginary adventures there alth anecdotes of park benches and the lop flop house in new york lie ile told of arriving penniless at southampton and of the providential hundred bundred dollar bill that came addressed to his bis mother truth and fiction blended so wonderfully and seemed so real the went home early hut but in much better spirits than they had brought with them and patricia paused at the door to remind him of their engagement for the following friday have to come the week after that too she said try boston friend cant get here next nest week and ashes especially anxious to mee meet j you patricia must have written about him then by golly lie would get that job it if only to show her that he could do something better than dance it was twenty minutes later before the duke realized suddenly that the exigencies of the situation going to allow ills his showing pat anything but a clean pair of heels beels carrys barrys first two lays days in town were fruitless there many studios in new york and they seem to be doing much acting a mans job anyway said the duke painting your face and putting a f feather eather in your hatt im going to look over the business opportunities in the newspapers most of them were opportunities to part with a little money but barry t give up hope TO BE CONTINUED |
