The Minneapolis journal., 1903-12-26
CHAPTER XVII.
Father and Daughter.

scrub oaks on the Porter
N hillside than their prede-
cessors Of November and
December The SHOWS
came and went on the dull slopes, and
the Gamma beds were little blots of
ruin in the gray stubble. The house
WAS IL place of light and life once
more, for Evelyn had obeyed her
fathers wish rather than her own in
clination in opening it's doors for fire.
quent teas and dinners and once for
a large ball. Many people had enter
tGt1r.eu for her; she had never been
introduced formally, but her moth
er's friends made up for this omis-
sion. she went out a great deal, and
enjoyed it. Many young men climbed
the hill to see her, and many went
to the theater or to dances with her
at least once. The number who came
to call diminished by Christmas; but
those who still came, and were iden-
titled as frequenters of the house,
came oftener. -3.5
Wary Rardan had ragged at the
mob. as he called it, which he seemed
always to find installed In the Porter
drawing-room; but he ragged inward
ly these days. save as he went ex-
plosively to Saxton for comfort: he
had stopped raging at Evelyn. He
was at work more steadily than he
had ever been before, and wished the
credit for it which people denied
him. to his secret disgust. He had
idled too long, or he had too often
before given fitful allegiance to labor.
Young women and old. who expected
him to pass tea for them in the after
moons, refused to believe that he had
experienced a change of heart. Those
who had Dragged of him abroad, and
who now lured the eternal visiting
girl to town to behold him, We're cha
grlned to find that he was difficult
to produce. and Modified their guests
by declaring that Wary was getting
older, or took vengeance by encour-
aging the rumor that he and Evelyn
Porter were enSaSed.
Wheaton called at the Porters'
often, but he did not go now with
Wary Raridan; he even took some
pains to go when Raridan did not. He
knew just how much time to allow
himself between the Bachelors and
the Porter door bell In order to reach
the drawing room at five minutes past
eight. He was now considered one
of the men that went out a good deal
in C1arkSon; he was invited to many
houses, and began to wonder that
social enjoyment was so easy. II
seemed long ago that he had been
a leading figure in the ball of the
Knights of Midas. hooking back al
that incident he was sensible of its
poverty and tawdriness; he had sac.
rificed himself for the public good
and the community shared in the joke
of it.
Porter had an amiable way Of dart
ing out of the library in the evening
when he and Evelyn were both al
home, to see who came in; not that he
was abnOrmally curious as to who rams
the door bell, tho he enjoyed occasion.
ally q cOlloquy with tramp; but he
was always on .therlookout' for tele
grams, of which he received a grea
many at home, and he declared in his
chatting, note of complaint that the
people in the house were forever hid
ing them from him. He sometimes
brought home bundles Of papers ant
spent whole evenings digesting then
realizing that Wheaton was in hi
house pretty often, he was glad t
know that his cashier came. Whel
he found that, Wheaton was in tn
drawing-room he usually went over t,
talk to him in the interim before Eve
lyn came down. Sometimes a bit o
news in the evening paper gave hin
text.
Il see that they've had a shakin,
up over at st. joe. Well, Wiggles
worth never was any good. The.
ought to have had more sense than t,
get caught by him. Well, sir, yo1
remember he was offering his pape
upthere. We could have had a barre
Of it; but when man of his credi
peddles his paper, away from home
it's a good thing ito let alone:8gW Whel
they figure up Wigglesworth's liabili
ties they will find that he has pape
SEA tered all over the, Missouri valley
and I'll bet the Seconds stuck Th
: last time l saw Wigglesworth he wa
up at the club one day with Buskirk
He'd been in to see me the day before
i guessed then that he was looking TO
help which they didn't think, he. wa
worth at home And then, with
chuckle: "Our people," meaning hi
directors, 'think sometimes we're to-
Conservative, and I reckon L do los
atlot Of business for them that othe
fellows would take and get out Of al
right; but 1 guess We make more II
the long run by being careful. Bank
ing amt exactly stove polish or vital
tze6 barley, to put up in pretty pack
ages and advertise on the billboards.
Wheaton was honestly sympatheti
and responsive along these lines. H
admired Porter, altho he often fel
that the president made mistakes; ye
he too. believed in conservatism;
q, matter of temperament rathe
than principle. This mingling Of so
cial and business !, elements please
and f1attered Wheaton. He felt tina
his position in the Porter bank CAV
him q double footing in the Porte
house. Porter usually ignored Eve
lyn's presence while he finished what
ever he was saying. Then he woul
SO back to his chair in The library
where he could hear the voices acros
the hall; but he never remained afte
he had concluded his own talk wit
Wheaton.
Sometimes, however, when ther
We're other men in the house, Porte
would come and stand in the door an
regard them good-humoredly, and no
to them amiably, usually with his ci
gar in his mouth and the eyenin
newspaper in his hand. When ther
was a good deal of laughing he Woul
go over and gaze upon them question
inSly and quiz them; but they Usuall
felt the restraint of his presence.
they repeated to him some story whic
had prompted their mirth, he wa
wont to rebuke them with affecte
story of his own. He expected Eve
lyn to receive a great deal of atten
& ton. He liked to know who he
callers were and where she hersel
visited, and it pleased him that sh
had called on all her mothers oil
friends, whether they had been t
see her or not. He had sens
of the dignities and proprieties {
life, and he felt his own prestige a
a. founder of the town; it woul
have been a source of grief to him
Evelyn had not taken a leading plac
among its young people.
", fo,> he u;