The Hays free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1908-1924, 1914-05-09


force lost all sense of reserve.
Broadway ceased to be that terrible
thing, new and untried boss, who
must be looked at carefully, addressed
with caution and regarded with re-
spect made up principally of fear. He
was young; he had been fair to them;
he was their economic savior.
They went mad, and, at first permit
ting him no opportunity to make the
speech which he so feared, seized him
as if he had been the winning player
at a football game and bore him round
the great room of the factory upon
their shoulders.
There was affection in the strong
arms of the men who lifted him; there
were tears in many WOmen's eyes
which watched. Not only was this
youth the boss; he was the young
boss. They knew he had been plucky
in his loyalty to them, rumors Of the
splendid offer which the trust had
made had been circulated freely. He
was accredited with that intention
most admired by real Americans, and
these workmen, in this old New Eng
land mill, in this old New England vii
Iage, were principally native sons
He was not content to be an idler;
he insisted upon buckling down to
mans job. And had he not decided to
ture largely through his feeling of
responsibility to them and to the
town? Financially the offer Of the
trust must certainly have been more
tempting than the prospect of CONNER
cial battle which, even should it win,
would inevitably involve a long, expen-
sive and intensely wearing strain!
Would they ride him round and
round upon their shoulders? Would
they cheer him till the blood rushed
to their heads? Would the woman
want to kiss him and the youngsters
look at him as if he were a species of
superior being? Verify, they would.
And verify they did.
In the meantime, in the Office, Clara
was left quite alone. She may have
been aware that interesting things
were happening in the factory, things
which she would very gladly have wit
messed, but beyond doubt she felt that
something far more interesting
wit, the arrival of Bob WalIace-was
likely to occur at any moment in the
Office. She preferred the smiles of
Wallace to the cheers of workingpeo-
pie. and she waited for them.
Wallace was not long delayed. She
greeted him with cordial liking. you
didn't expect to find me here, did your"
well, hardly. This is an unexpect-
ed pleasure
''Mr. Jones will be back in a few
i Z II ~
make speech
She gave this information with the
air of one explaining commonplace.
| To her everything, in deed, was COM
monplace, save Wallace. She held him
the most extraordinary thing on earth.
But he was utterly amazed. ITO
make a speech" He burst into roar
of laughter. We'll, what do you think
of that"
She smiled at him. She cared moth
ing for the cheering, but she would tell
him about it, because she liked to talk
to him on any subject. well, you
should have heard them cheering!
They've made more noise than this
old town has ever heard before"
Yes, I dare say it is" he granted,
as new cheers burst forth
But he did not go to see the dem
onstration, which indicated to him
that he must find something most at
tractive in this village bellies com
pany. What other woman could have
held him from the sight of Broadway
Jones in his first effort as an orator?
Funny" he remarked, and smiled
at her; Il was thinking of you as I
passed the drug store just now"
She laughed, delighted That's
strange. I've been thinking of you,
tool"
Have you really?"
yes. Oh. those chocolates we're
fine! I ate them all before went to
bed" Then. reproachfully. but you
shouldn't be spending your money the
way you dol"
He was unconscious of any mad ex-
penditure Of which she could be cogni-
zant and. therefore. was surprised.
''What?''
Mr.. Jones told me that you were a
regular spendthrift'
This from Broadway, the most IA
nous spendthrift Of New York's recent
years! When did he tell You that ?''
he asked. endeavoring to hide the
meaning of his smiles.
Just little while ago. He said you
spent over twenty-five dollars one
night"
For second this extraordinary
statement almost choked him. He had
been with Broadway when that sum
would hare been regarded as modest
tip for a head-waiter.
"Oh. did he tell you about that
nightr he asked. still carefully en-