Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-01-05
Emily" Grant Hutchings

Henry Bradford laughed heartily He knew the
genuine kindliness beneath old Benjamins shaggy
exterior AS he closed his desk and reached for
his hat and light top coat he said
Come up to the house to dinner with me this
evening. You haven't my wife and girls in
ten years. Unfortunately only the youngest one is
at home; but she's whole host in herself
can't think of anything I'd rather do than talk
old times with you. What ever became of
your sisters son, young Bob Allison, who went
west when his mother died?" The old mans
face kindled
Bob? He's the best mining engineer in that
whole country l sent him to school and tried
to make a chump of a lawyer of him. His dad
was some sort of walking stick for the other
fellers at the bar and l took kind of fool pride
in my sister marryin lawyer and 1 wanted to
take the same kind of pride in the cub; but do
you believe he'd let me? No stree, he says Min
ing's the thing for Bobbie, and do you know I've
made clean n lion out of them good for nothing
mines since he took holt of en-
The old was still rhapsodizing about his
beloved Bob when the handsome, elmshaded house
was reached and Mrs. Bradford was summoned
to meet her husbands old friend. Scarcely was
the introduction when vertiable ray of sun
shine darted into the reception hall. It was
Natalie, her dainty house dress almost concealed
by big Bingham apron and dab of flour on
her chin.
81 put this here" indicating the white patch,
las badge of my profession, to show that | be-
long to the Union Papa has lost just coolies of
money, this last year. because he tried to get
along without the Union, and as result, mamma
Il
be a dandy housekeeper by the time some man
comes along who has sense enough to appreciate
hard working woman" Her face was all d1mpes
as she spoke, and Mrs. Bradford noticed that old
Benjamin Clarkson all eyes, Abruptly the
man turned away, fished something out of his
pocket and thrust it into his mouth. Natalie re-
membered the roast, which she knew in her in
most soul was in danger of burning, and
darted off to the kitchen, laughing violently. She
suspected that it on her account that the
excruciating false teeth had been pressed" into
service.
At the table there was another episode with the
teeth. Poor old Benjamin simply could not man
age the complications of eating and talking with
them in his mouth. He had never before attempt
ed to wear them except with his Prince Albert
coat, when he went to church, and this new COM
bination did not seem to work Seeing his ap-
parent misery, Natalie asked him If he would not
like to take peep at the western twilight SKY
from the library window while she was clearing
the table for the second course.
Because" she added the soup tureen in one
hand and the cracker jar in the other i don't
want you to realize how long it takes me to serve
one meat and two vegetables. And indeed that
view is worth seeing and it will be all gone by
the time dinner is over"
BY the time dinner was over, something else
was gone and that something else was old Ben
iamins heart. The two men were smoking in the
library when he started up from the depths of
his leather chair to exclaim,-
''Ill tell you what I'll do Hank. I'm Woth
along about three million. l think you and me
together could buck the trust Well fix up the
deal tomorrow. There's money in it if you can
hold out a little longer and all you need is the
cash. I've got cash that's simply rotting on my
hands like the apples before that New York
man come along and bought the crop on the trees.
The following day full of business that
BENJAMIN did not catch a single glimpse OF the
yiyacious girl who had set his apparently ossfed
heart to cutting all sorts of youthful capers When
the documents of incorporation had been hlled out
and sum of money to meet the present strlngency
had been put at the disposal of Henry Bradford,
the porter from the hotel directed a messenger