Evening star., 1909-05-27

know about walking or driving with you
any more"
Caleb
Listen. till 1 explain. Now that Mrs:
Hawa rden's took such fancy to you an
took you up an chap'roned you to places
where I'd be chased out with a broom
an all that--well. you get invited 10 Dig
| folks houses. That's how you met
Blacarda, wasn't it? He travels with
| the gold-s crowds Now. that crowd
don't care about me- They will. some
day. But they don't yet. An II you're
! seen around with a rank outsider like me
! -it'll-It may kind Of make EN- tnlnK
you're the same sort am. An that'll be
| liza BILE to queer you with em. An
"Caleb Conover."
| He stopped. thoroughly uncomfortabie.
yet vaguely glad of having eased his
| mind of its worry for her prospects. she
menacing ferocity of an Angora kitten.
| "Caleb Conover!" she repeated. In stern
rebuke aren't you ashamed? Aren't
you ashamed? Say you are. Now go
and stand in the corner y | ever near
you talk that way about yourself again.
why Caleb. We're chums. you and |.
Don't you know that I'd rather have you
| than all those people put together! Now
talk very fast about something else. or
| won't get my temper back again. What s
your appointment about?
| "At the Arareek?" he asked, falling In.
as ever. with her lightning change OF
mood. "Oh, nothing much. It's meet
| ing OF the board of governors. There's
man in the club who got in by influence.
before they realized just what sort of
| punk feller he was. An now they We
called meeting to see about klckln MIN
out. There's to be vote on 1t. An ne
! to appear before 'em today and defend
| himself Not quite reg'lar In club by
laws. Caine tells me. But that's what's
to be done. They say: his business
methods bring disrepoote on the club.
4 yr-t-- s1sn inyy0
But what have you to do with all
| that?''
"Nothin'-exvept I'm the shrinkin VIC
| tim"
You! Is it-a joke?"
Not on me. I'll fix 1t all right. Don't
| you worry now. l wouldn't a told you
about it If hadn't known I'd win out"
You're sure?"
"Of course / am. What chance has
that bunch of mutton heads against any
one with mans size brains In his skull?
Sure I'll win. Now, don't look like that,
Dey. 1t breaks me all up to have you
WHO are the governors?"
your friend Blacarda is one"
"Oh! That's bad"
"Only counts one vote. And Gaines an
other. He's on my side. He has more
pull with those people than Blacarda."
II wonder why you and Mr.. Caine are
| such friends. There never were two
other men as different"
He owns the biggest noospaper In
Granite. an he belongs to one of the top
notch families. So he's a power in his
own way, for all he's such an odd fish.
| Eccentric they call it. don't they? Why
do we travel together? That lazy. don't
care way of his and his trick of twistin'
sentences upsidedown an then calm EN-
'epigrams Is kind of amoosin'. Besides,
he's Of use to me. That explains my side
of 1t. I'm of use to him. That explains
his. He'll more'n offset Blacarda."
"Who are the rest?"
"Hawarden's one. Husband of your
chapr rome friend"
"oh. wish I'd known! I'd have asked
her to"
Caleb. He'll be all right. guess"
Il didn't know you knew him"
mo more do But I've an idea he'll
vote for me-"
Hawarden to make him do it. She's been
so nice to me- I'm sure she'd have done
me one more favor.
Mice to you, is she? Reilly nice?"
"she's dear. Just think of woman
| in her position hunting me out and max
| Ing friends with me and asking me all the
| time to her house and introducing me to
| people who wouldn't otherwise have even
poked me with silver-handled umbrella!
| Nice? I should think she was
| Yes" drawled Conover, solemnly.
guess she must be. Old Reuben Standish
| is one of the governors, too. know MIN
| President of the Aaron burr Bank. Dig
society bug. tradin' on family that's dead
an fortune that's dribbled through his
| fingers Sort of man that's so stih he
never unbends till he's broke
"I think I've met him." reflected De-
stree Doesn't he look just little like
a rail? Gray and long and mossy-with
sort of homemade face? And one eye
that toes in just little?"
That's the man." grinned Caleb in high
approval There's two kinds Of f1nan-
ciers; the thick-necked. red-faced kind
/ with chests that have slipped down-an'
the cold gray kind. Gray hair, gray eyes.
gray skin. gray clothes an gray mus
tache. Gray souls. too; That sort s, never
take on weight. And there's just enough
humanness in their faces to put you In
mind of the north pole Thank the LORD
I'm one Of the thick. red breed!'
do you mean all over or just your
nead?" queried Desiree innocently. as she
glanced at his stiff, carroty hair. oh
it's awfully nice of you to laugh at my
poor little jokes. I wonder what you'd
do If you ever met really clever
woman?"
Il s'pose I'd begin fgurin' out how
stupid she'd frame UP alongside OF you,
he answered simply. You see. -