The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-03-07

A big woman Tom guessed her to be-, with magnificent height and fine haul teur, the sort of a woman, who, on her entrance, would be wholly unaware of a waiting agent until such time as she felt him shriveled to appropriate humility She would come in fine raiment, rustling like straw fight on a windy day, and wait a perfume that, as he crudely put 1t. would make his stomach turn over.
 But Mrs Dicks entered with a very pretty little f1utter and opened big eyes upon the young man, who rose at the apparition. His image had been wrong in every particular excepting the waited per fume, and that he did not notice, being more bent upon pleasing than being pleased.
 "Oh, you've been waiting! Pm so sorry" apologized Mrs Bicks. I'm afraid I got to talking. You see we're all so in- terested in our contestn She dimpled as she spoke and sank with soft breathless- ness into her chair, tossing a wonderful length of suede glove upon the desk. The fiattery of Bigelows intent gaze was spe- cious. For an instant his mind was full of the brutal fact that he couldn't afford to have his wife with him at the hotel; suc- cess with Mrs. Bicks meant better times to come.
 It was the district attorney, leader of the political "new thought in Johnsburg, who had imported Mrs. Bicks from Lake City. That, too, Bigelow had learned There was nothing intrinsicaly new" about the politics of the district attorney. They had been old when Boss Tweed had given an exposition of their value. But they were new to Johnsburg; there was, stin powerful a conyersative element op- posed to the interference of the new fac- ton with the schools, ''old fogies who were not wholly won oyer by Mrs. Bicks S manners, who had found in her first pub lie recital-in custom-an occasion for carping.
 Tom Bigelow did not sit like Mrs. Jarley figure while these things filed through the background of his mind. He devoted himself to Mrs Bicks. He hung enchanted, yet not too enchanted for veri- simlitude, over the blue prints she was showing him.
 "Aren't they sweet?" she asked. Were getting up a contest to be held in the opera house just to encourage the pupils This is the group of the Seven Little Sisters. They're queens of different coun- tries, you know, historical. So instruct ive-and the teachers complain they can't get any work out of the children, they're so crazy for the rehearsals. 1t keeps me busy day and night, but that's what we're here for, isn't 1t, to help one another?"
 Here Bigelow attempted in vain a word that would indicate the spot where help would be most acceptable to him and the U. P. A., but he wisely changed the words to an assenting murmur as rapt as seem- ed tactful, and continued attentive.
 "I never thought before my husband died, Mrs. Bicks was going on with a sigh, artistically stif1ed at its birth, that I should be sitting in a big office man. aging all this-but we never can tell
 Bigelow nterpolated sympathetic smile His smile was attractive, and he had been called a handsome fellow. Mrs. Bicks warmed to the smile and regarded his blond head without distaste. Here are my Indians, taken on the opera house stage, boys from the B1 class at the Lincoln school, she went on. "Boys are so interesting And I think it s just as important to give them love for art and culture as to teaach them two plus two"
 More" interrupted Bigelow with em- phasis "It was just in that line that wanted-'
 wait a few minutes. Miss Wilkins; I'm busy now" called Mrs. Bicks to a quit figure that would have entered. There. MT. Bigelow, you see how 1t Is! Not an unoccupied minute here; We can't talk with any comfort at all. If you could come around to my house some evening I have a little nest around on Purley ave- nue. How about tomorrow - Good! Tomorrow evening, right after dinner?'' Tom was really pleased. At the nest" he would manage to get in his