The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1897-10-02

have been brave man who found fault
with her conduct of business, for the whole
Board of Trade, with the possible excep-
ton of old Grimwood, was avoWedly in
love with her Some Of the older men said
they liked her for her father sake, but
popular as he had undoubtedly been, this
hardly accounted for the universal admira
ton bestowed upon his daughter, and the
Stock Exchange would have risen as one
man TO protest against her removal had
Mr.. Sandys proposed such thing. For
the first time in history an action of the
Western Union received unstinted appro
baton But they all recognized that
Howard had the lead as far as the fair tel
egraphist was concerned, and that he was
the man to keep it, The reluctant intro
duction which he had practically forced
from the manager had given him an ad-
vantage at the beginning, and many Of his
young rivals maligned their luck that this
advantage had not been theirs Howard
sent many kilograms and fingered over the
counter as he handed them in, turning
away often to find the cold, critical eye of
old Grimwood fastened upon him. which
made him rave inwardly and wish the an
cient broker would attend to his own bust
ness; complaint which few had ever urged
against the hardened SPECTATOR.
One evening as Elinor was walking home
young Howard met her at street corner
and expressed great surprise at the coinci-
dence He told her he was on his way to
see sick friend who lived on Sixteenth
street, and was quite taken aback when he
learned that she also lived on Sixteenth
street. He made the brilliantly original
remark that this was small world after
all, and asked if he might walk with her,
as their paths lay in the same direction.
He was further amazed to hear that she
rarely took a street car, even when 1t
! rained, for she was fond of walking, and
it turned out that be, too, was a devoted
pedestrian. She believed what he said, as
women will when they have liking for a
man, and if his conscience did not check
him for his mendacity, it must be remem-
| bered that his was a conscience nurtured in
the wheat pit, and perhaps somewhat out
of working order because of the jars re-
ceived there And before we, who are
happily perfect, blame him overmnch, it is
well to take into account the fact that he
was already deeply in love with the girl,
and much may be forgiven young man in
that delightful condition.
The illness of Howard friend proved to
be case that apparently bafied the med
ical skill of Disopolis, for the young man
was compelled often to visit him, and, OF
course. as the hours when he was free to
do so conceded with those when Miss ElinOr
was on her way home, it is not surprising
that the two often IA ct and walked toward
Sixteenth street together. At first the
girl was seriously alarmed about the illness
of the Inflated friend, for her memory was
better than Howard s, and she was aston
ished when the invalid developed several
new maladies each week, bidding fair to
become the most complicated instance OF
human misfortunes that ever appealed to
harassed physicians in vain. But at last
the hapless patient became no longer neces-
sary, and was allowed to depart to the OBJ
livion from which he had been conlured
the pleasure of meeting and walking to-
gether forming its own excuse for doing so.
Once they encountered old Grimwood tax
ing his shutting constitutional stroll, or
dered by his medical advisers, and he leered
at them, lifting his hat as they passed with
polite ostentation, but nothing he could do
seemed acceptable to Stillson Howard, who
scowled at Grimwood's perpetual wink and
neglected to return his salutation.
II suppose it is wicked of me, - said
Elinor 'but | cannot help disliking that
man. Perhaps it is because | know it was
his opposition that caused the bankruptcy
of my father, although that should be no
excuse for me-
Howard replied in rhapsody which
need not be here recorded, for he was pref
udiced against Grimwood, and made no
real effort to do justice to the distinguished
talents of the shrewd old man; talking, In
stead, of the impossibility of angels having
anything but loathing for beings of an ex-
actly opposite nature, whom it would not
be polite to specify.
One day there appeared to be little
furry in the wheat market, and ElinOr was
kept more than usually busy in the receiv
ing and sending of kilograms Most of
them were in cipher, and the others might
as well have been so for all the impression
they made on the mind of the fair opera
tor. But once, when excitement on the
board was at its highest, and the noise at
its loudest, two words caught her attention,
as an obtruding nail arrests trailing gar
ment. She found herself writing the
words ''Stillson Howard, as the instru-
ment clicked off the letters. Then she read
the finished despatch, and for moment
her breathing stopped
sc. T. GIimCood, Board Trade, DisopOlis /:
'Induce Stillson Howard to buy wheat in
large quantities. Then we have him foul. "
The signature was that of Grimwood $
agent in Chicago, from which city the
message came. Many times every day
since she had been there the same sigma
ture had come over the wires.