Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1909-08-31

The trouble was that. while Carrick
admitted his ofrenSe and was anxious
to present his excuse, Miss Welland
by her manner ignored the existence
Of an ofenSe and so made excuse i'm
possible. At first blush that sounds
all right but it wasn't.
For how could Il fellow secure free
dom from his grievous dungeon when
the pardon board publicly and official
y pretended TO believe that he was
erty: That was the question which
bothered C.rrick.
He felt that five minutes talk with
Miss Weiland would set everything
light. But she was graciously and
irmly approachablc. She insisted
IN treating him just the same as ever.
,nly more SO. Aud Carrick ratified his
dungeon chains. while Miss Welland
smiled swcetly On PurVeS Bland.
Carrick WASN'T really to blame They
Iad been going Ia the theater Wednes-
lay evening after having waited three
weeks 10 get tickets because every
body else seemed to want to go too.
And that very "Wednesday afternoon
he manager had sent for Carrick.
BE here at 5 o'clock tonight" he
directed. There will be special
meeting of the board for the purpose
f discussing your carbon improve
ncnt plnn If we take it up His
iompous smile was fich with promise.
For Il young man whom opportunity
lad seized. by the nape of the neck and
was thr,Isting headlong into prosper
ity Carrick WIS singularly unapprccia-
tive. lie knew how Miss Welland was
anticipating seeing What Woman
Would Do and the imposSibility of Sc
curing other tickets during the re-
mainder of the run. Miss Wel!and's
slightest wish was more important just
then than q good many other things.
so he mentioned another engage
ment."
Then you must break it. Mr.. Car
rick" said the manager quite decided
| Iy. MIR. Kern, who is our president
and heaviest stakeholder. will be here
| from the west tonight on his way to
| New York. He can stay only two
| hours. We can do nothing without his
approval. So you see how necessary
| it is that you attend the meeting"
There seemed no way out of it. Car
| rick wrote note to Miss Welland ex
! planning the circumstances. sealed ii
and rang for messenger. When
diminutive representative of the A. ID
| T. arrived Carrick was smitten with ;
brilliant idea. Why not send the tick
cts so she could go anyway? So he
wrote another note. inclosed the ticket:
| with it and handed both envelopes tt
the messenger. And the one contain
| ing the tickets was never delivered.
All unconscious of this fact. Carried
| went back to the Office ut O'Clock
l Fifteen minutes later word came tina
! Mr.. Kern was delayed by wreck ant
that the board meeting would be hel'
next morning.
On the chance that he might yet b'
in time to escort Miss Welland to TIT
theater he rushed off to find her. oni.
to be informed by the maid that sh
ldQ gone out. lie went oi hOh'S 'iN "
where he was promptly pressed int
service by his sister Beatrice. wh
wanted company as far as Gladys Bur
tons. And at the Burton door the.
had encountered Miss Welland
That young lady had smilingiy Gu
short his explanations before the
were begun. Later. when he heard o
the nondelivery of the tickets, he tree
again. But Purves Bland was now
the play, and explanations were impo'
sible. He never saw Miss Wellan
unless the hint-impervious Mr. Ban
was at her elbow. He haunted baii
and recitals and tea fights in an Ell
deavor to tell her of the meeting Una
didn't come off. but in vain.
| Weeks of plotting and planning an
waiting for opportunities that peVt
came left him worried and hunSr
looking. Why rejoice that his carbo
Improvement scheme was q. so. whe