The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-10-20

ERDY simply easped. Being a reporter.
nothing should have surprised him. but
this was too much for his training.
Jerking the cigarette from his mouth
~ with such violence that the ashes be-
spattered his clothes. he stared down the
street after the departing couple. Good Lord" he
said softly:
The couple walked to the end of the street, where
they turned the corner. and their disappearance brought
him to his senses. Calmly pulling a cigarette box from
his pocket he lit another cigarette, and turning his back
on the newspaper Office hurried toward Broadway. His
present task was to interview a fnancier returning on
the Cedric" aud nothing short of an earthquake would
have made him miss the appointment.
When the fnancier was interviewed and the article
turned in for next mornings edition, he boarded a sub
way train and rode uptown. He lived far up on the
West Side with his sister and her husband, and with
them he took his dinner. Blu. after it was over he
Immediately left the house aud hurried around the cor
ner. where, arriving It the fat, he rang Lily Beach's
bell.
Lily was alone. She was q pretty girl of twenty-five.
with light hair and blue eyes, but tonight her manner
was 50 quiet aud serene that. Ferdy was nettled. He,
therefore, wasted no time in preliminaries. IF you had
y 0osS "SA H&y AseaASAASS way Ns0hS yOo sSaA ASs AS
demanded.
LMys room was small, and as she drew sketches for
the newspapers, articles were scattered about it in
artistic confusion. Perhaps it was this-the crampness
of the room-tha made Ferdy's voice sound loud. At
any rate, she received hin coldly and asked him to
remember where he was. Besides" she added. when
you speak of my friends, please be careful what you
say"
."Friendsl' Ferdy's gray eyes widened and he pushed
hark the r1a,nar At 1S0hf heoNun hase that Sn bic A,~:A>
ment, had fallen across his forehead. Good Lord, are
you and Dudley Gilman friends7"
"Why not, I'd like to know?"
"Why not? Well, for one thing, I always thought
friendships between financial kings and young news
paper women were confined to dime novels"
II suppose you never heard of such things in high
class literature like yours?">
On anything h~igt-class, the girl wouldn't keep secrets
from her 6ance. Don't you suppose, if the Queen of
England took me driving in the park I'd tell you
about i'll"
Lily had a gurgling laugh. mo fear of that" she
said.
sHsThats itw Ferdys anger had passed, and in its
riaee was an air of great detection. "'I'm not down on
my luck enough, am I? You've got to rub it in"
Lily's laugh subsidized. Women are not made Of
stone, despite numerous indications that they are, and
she bent down and patted the young man on the back.
Don't be a@fool, Ferdy," she said. II met Dudley
oAAhoA at ShSl CIV w WuStS AS OdO&uVcI u
learning to paint. He knows all about my engagement
to you and he only goes with me because he likes to
talk about art"
Ferdy looked up a little shamefacedly. $50 that's it."
he said in a tone sufficiently low to pass for an apology.
Then, as another thought came to him, he added fierce
ly:, did you tell him the reason we can't marry, too?
Did you tell him it's because men like hin squeeze the
very blood out of our veins?"
ibid you tell your rich uncle from Cleveland that
you voted last year for Debs7" asked Lily with asperity.
n guess not. But I did something better than that"
Something betterl" As he looked at her, Lily was
smiling cohtentedly and her mysterious air annoyed
him. What did you do?"
y told him you were terribly bright and I've fxed<it
for you to meet him some time. Suppose he takes a
fancy to you and gives you some information on the
market?" -.. *s
Out of Ferdy's deep distress came the shadow of a
smile. "Whatll I speculate with-air7"
you don't have to. yourself; you can tell your
brother-in-law."
'"Newtown7 He wouldn't take another tip from me
if I gave him the money to buy with"
Lily, at this, was lost in thought. For a moment she
was silent, then she suddenly cried: Suppose he gives
you Information and you make it into an artice7"
Something big. you mean?"
Something nobody else knew about-a SCOOP"
by Godr The idea was 50 wonderful that Ferdy
was lost for . moment in contemplation of it. But his
thoughts. when they came, were tumultuous, and a
moment later he was so excited that the clurnp of un-
ruly hair swung back and forth like a pendulum. IF he
did, you know what it would mean |" he shouted. IT'D
mean that every paper in New York would try to get
rue. I wouldn't have to stick to a Wall Street paper
with q few thousand circulation; I'd 60 with the Herald
or a paper like that. Robinson. our editor, called me q
dub to-day. Well. let me pull off a scoop, thatss all.
He'd kow-tow in short order. I tell you'll"
''sfIe kept on like this until, his enthusiasm spending
its: force, Lily amplifed her plan. On the following
Friday Dudley Gilman was coming to the studio to
examine her work and Ferdy must be there, too. To
introduce them would be her part, but Ferdy must
manage the rest.
leave it to me" said the young man. It'll manage
il to the Queens taste"
The Friday arriving Ferdy came early. Nj. Gilman
had not yet put in an appearance. but the sound Of
his automobile rose presently to the open window and 4
tsw minutes later he entered the room.
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