The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-01-19
PURE XGARGLEN S'GER HE AEg ESgS SEdsEs! aSsE!ASsEs

speak. In gush of confidence he felt
 that he must tell about the empty
 treasury and his urgent need. He
 wanted to sell on no false pretences. Perhaps Mir. Jacob Romer wilfully
 misinterpreted.
 mats all right" he continued; "I
 VIII see Purves. He knows me. I have had dealings with him before. We snail need your signature-that is all Ano, oy the way, lest I forget aftar tnls week you had better lei ma coo
 your balance sheet on Saturdavs--.
 shoWs considerable lurch on inc
 doWn-side at present I daresav. Wal
 that is always the way at first. Rut I've been looking round The indIca t1ons are good. You and will hot if II we only hang on to it-and don't build Lighthouses, eh, Master Philp Heres a cheque for two hundred
 pounds to tide over pay day-a fort-
 nightly one isn't it?''
 It's only week" blurted out Phil, with tears in his eyes, which shamed him. For were they not things that no business man ought to dream pt showing. It's only week, and eighty would have done-only sir only-I did not know where to get itn Thy old man looked long through the trees. chuckled, and said, Master Phil. l am an old pitt -sinker, and I had it figured down to about that. But an extra hundred in the bank won't hurt till l pay in through Purves. Only don't forget about the weekly balance sh eef, eh, Phil?' It was the first time MT. Romer had dropped the semi-ironie Master" and Phil nodded with a pleasureable sense of equality. He cheered up at once. You are running things on good lines. he said; T know-and l say so.
 But those who dig up coal and iron must be prepared to put lot into the ground before they can take out any goldw
 And he went off to meet the return ing carriage swinging a light cane, and actually whistling.
 A few steps down the slope ihe turned and looking up saw Phil's wistful face. If I were you" he said, T would 1 not say anything to-the people down there about-well, about our little ar rangementi You understand You can consult a lawyer if you like. And work-that's the best medicine for your trouble, my lad. I was reading in the Book the other day-don't know what set me on to it--that hope deferred that makes the heart sick. An, he knew a lot. the old fellow who wrote that. He set to work and gathered unto himself of silver and gold and the peculiar treasure of kings and provinces--some- thing like thati Well, I suppose it just meant those Proverbs of his. I'd read them again, If I were you. There's a lot that young fellow can chew the cud of in those Proverbs. hadn't looked into the thing for fifty years if ever. And I had got to think it was all for children and parsons. But I
 opened at the Proverbs, and though
 keep myself fairly well posted, I learned something new every line. Modern, too-might have been written yesterday Try it-you won't waste
 your time, either, Mir. Philip. Good day!"
 lie was gone, and Phil stood wonder ing at Saul being thus among the prophets Then his eye turned to the
 che in his hand. It was in his own name, drawn on the Kirktown bank
 for f200. Pay to MT. P. Calmont in
 person." was written across it..
 So Jacob Romer had not come to bar
 gain, He had his informations all taken
 beforehand and here was the cheque
 ready written in his own study at Corn Castle To another more sophis-
 ticated than Phil this would have ap- [
 peared exceedingly suspicious. But Phil
 knew better. He had seen hard bold eye grow soft. He had heard an im-
 perious voice falter. He knew that
 when a sentence broke off unfinished it was because a slender girl was as-
 cending white path. He understood
 because he was sometimes taken that way himself
 (To be continued.)