Mexico Missouri message., 1907-07-18

side gong-strlkes. Bob Brownley did
not know he was In the stock business.
Formerly every clerk knew when Bob
came or went for II was with rush,
a shout. laugh, and n bang OF DOORS
and on the floor OF the stock exchange
no man played so many pranks. or
filled his orders with so much jolly
good.nature and hilarious bolsterous.
ness. But from the day the Vlrginlan
girl crossed his path, Bob Brownley
was a man who was thinking, think.
ing. thinking all the time. II was only
with an effort that he would keep his
eyes on whomeyer he was talking with
long enough TO take In what was said,
and II the saying occupied much time
Il would be apparent to the tRlker that
Bob was on in the clouds. All his
friends and associates remarked the
change. but l alone. except perhaps
Kate. had any idea OF the cause.
knew that two million dollars and the
coming New Year were hurdllng like
kanEaroos over Bob's mental rails and
bitches, though did not know It from
anything he told me. for after that
talk on the upper deck OF the Tribes
man he had shut up like a clam.
He did not exactly shun me, but
showed me In many ways that he
had entered into n new world, In
which he desired to be alone. That
Beulah Sands plight had reused into
intense activity all the latent romance
of my friends nature, did not sur
prise me. foresaw from the first
that Bob would fall head over heels
IN love with this beautiful, sorrow.
laden girl, and Il was soon obvious
that the longdelayed shaft had plant.
cd its point in the innermost depths
of his being. His was more than love:
n fervid idolatry now had possession
OF his soul. Taind and body. Yet its
outward manifestations were the OPP
posite OF what one would have looked
for In this gay and optimistic south.
erner. II was rather priest.like wor.
ship. a calm imperturbability that
nothing seemed to distract or upset,
at least in the. presence Of the goddess
who was it's object. Every morning
he would pass through my Office head
ed straight for the little room she oc.
cupied as II Il were his one objective
point OF the day. but once he heard
his own Good morning. Miss Sands, "
he seemed TO round to, and while in
her presence was the Bob BROMLEY of
old. He would be in and out all
day on any and every pretext, al.
ways entering with an undisgulsed
ieagerness, leaving with slow, dreamy
reluctance. That he never saw her
outside the Office. | am sure, for she
said goodnight to him when he or
she left for the day. with the same
dont-come.with.me dignity that she
exhibited to all the rest of us.
had not attempted to say q word to
Bob about his feeling for Beulah
Sands. nor had he ever brought vi
the subject TO me. On the contrary
he studiously avoided IL.
Three months OF the six had now
passed. and with each day thought
noted an increasing anxiety In Bob
He had opened q special account for
Miss Sands on the books Of the house
In his name as agent, with a credit OF
100000. and we both watched II with
a painful tenseness OF scrutiny. II
had grown by uneven jerks. until the
balance on October was almost
100000. On some OF the trades Bot
had consulted me. aud on others, two
In particular where he closed up aftel
few days operations with nearly
100000 profit. did not even know
what the trading was based on unit
the stocks had been sold. Then he
said:
Yin. that little lady from Virgins
can give us big handicap and play
us TO a standstill at our own game
She told me to buy all the Burlington
and Sugar her account would stand
and did not even ask my opinion. II
both cases I thought the operations
were more the result OF a wakefu
night. and an I.must-do-somethlng de
clsion than anything else. and tack
led both with a SILVER; but when sh,
told me to sell them out Mt a time
thought they looked like going high
err. and the next day they slumped.
could not help thinking about the des
tiny that shapes our ends"
On my part tried TO help. On on,
occasion, without consulting her,
put her account In ON a sure thinl
underwriting. wherein she stood /,
make profit OF a quarter OF a mil
lion, but when Bob told her what
had done. she insisted with great dig
nifty that her name be Withdrawn
After that neither OF US dared hell
her to any short cuts. Bob was deep
ly Impressed by her principles. and
commenting on them. said: slim. !
J all Wall street had code similar Il
BeuIah Sands 10 hcw to In their gam
bles. ours would be falrer and NOR,
J manly game. and many Of the matt
millIOnaires would be clerking. while
lot OF the hand.to-mouth trader
| xtnstIH rrrs.a lrasn ans.s. a = No. a..fs