The Starkville news. (Starkville, Miss.) 1902-1960, 1903-05-29
A GirlandTWOF Fools

BY HATTIE PRESTON RIDER


w Elsie, you have given me tho
right to know it. and l shall assume
the right to straighten it out for
you," he said.
Miss Lester, the stenographer, sat
up with long, quivering sigh.
1T is nothing that anybody can
help me about" she said, drearily,
Least of all you, Mr.. Grant. kind as
you are" Her blue eyes were fill
ing again.
Distressed at her tears, Grant sat
down beside her.
'This is nonsense, Elsie!" Ten
derness vibrated in his deep voice.
"You speak as if something serious
were the matter, and yet you would
have me stand by like d craven
image, not lifting Il finger. Darling"
softly, you say you love me, and
you accept my little gifts for my
loves sake: yet you shut me from
your heart like that!"
She moved one hand little way
toward him on the desk. He took it
eagerly.
Il did not mean that I could not
tell you," she said, flushing sweetly
and warmly. "Only that you could
not help me. My mother has been
very i'll and my brother has lost his
position caring for her. They have
written me for help, although I had
sent them nearly all my last months
salary" Her lashes dropped. But
Grant leaned back with huge sigh
of relief.
'How much would it require to
tide them well over till your brother
is on his feet again?" he asked.
She hid her face in her hands.
about two hundred dollars" she
answered in smothered voice.
Grant got up with alacrity and
went over to his desk. A pen
laid the magic bit of blue paper on
her desk. He took her hands from
her face and held them.
II have fixed it, Elsie," he told her
with ill-concealed satisfaction in his
voice.
She glanced down at the check,
looked at him shyly and rose, the
flush on her cheeks deepening.
''You may GO and attend to this
matter now," he said, with an effort
at self-control. ''Bayley can help me
out for the rest of the day
He went to the door, opened it,
and after short parley walked
away with the visitor. Miss Lester
folded the check carefully in her
purse. Then she went lightly out
and closed the door.
Nolan got up from behind the big
safe where he had been kneeling,
completely hidden from view by the
great iron door. On his clean-cut
boyish face was the look of one who
has received his death blow. He had
not dreamed that his entrance a
quarter of an hour before was un-
noticed by the other two, but the
role Of eavesdropper thus unex-
pectedly thrust upon him was the
least of his dismay.
Opening a side door he went back
to his desk The woman he loved
and the employer il whose honor he
had trusted!
The day dragged, nightmare of
misery. An hour before closing
Grant came and laid a sealed note
on Nolan's desk.
'You pass Miss Testers boarding
place on your way home, do you not,
Nolan?" he said. Would you be kind
enough to hand her this? She was
too i'll to work this morning and /
have arranged to give her to-mor-
row also"
Nolan drew his days first free
breath. 1t sounded like reprieve
almost to his sureharged heart. And
yet
Certainly" he answered without
looking up. He put the missive in his
inner pocket. Grant went back into
his private Office.
Half an hour later Grant left. At
the hour for closing Nolan rose and,
taking a handful of letters from his
pocket, sorted them over carefully
and placed part of them in his desk.
Among the remaining ones Grants
note lay uppermost and Nolan saw
that his nervous fingers in handling
had broken its imperfect seal, so
that it lay open in his hand.
The hot blood mounted to his fore
head and then receded. Jealous mis-
ery makes short work, sometimes, of
a mans fine sense of honor. It
wrought in Nolan that Eour, the