Charlevoix county herald., 1915-10-30

wen, young star-gazer, ID IL COMM
to an end?"
'Not tonight. father-it all looks
pretty steady"
II can't seem to understan' 1t an
! guess / never will. The only people
ever hern on as looked at stars al
Here you been a-looking an a-looking
night after. night goin' on five year
now, an the best ever hear your re-
port was one night two year agone
when ycome in as tho the moon had
gone to y'head an shouts, "T'night-
tnight!-an' ] ses 'wot might? an
you SEES "the comet o. course" jest like
US s'prised at my not KNOWN! Then
/ goes an stays up all night, an me
abendin' o. my back all that day lay
in brick EASTERN Donohue cd slap on
the plaster, an the DANCED old comet
don't show up. / doan' b'lieve in 'em
they're unreliable. an no way o
holdin' to agreements"
The young man laughed. an indul-
gent, affectionate laugh.
Producing comets at moments
notice isn't one of mans accomplish
ments, father. You see 0aughingly),
comets have Wills of their own, and
are governed by forces beyond our
control-now. The best we can do
now is to watch the heavens closely
and learn by the stars what very
probably will happen. Some day well
learn their secrets-some day!" His
fine face glowed, lit up with the en-
thusiasm Of his youth and aspiration.
Some day"
There. there, now. / waren't
ameanin' Z be disbeleavin' r discour-
agin'. Jest a harmless bit O. oil mans
foolery. Don't you mind me, young
man. You go on with y'r star-gazin'
Some day VII catch 'em up to some
thin tricky, an then report 'em an
make a name f'r yself."
Paul loved and respected his old
father with that tender devotion and
consideration that only fine natures
are capable of, and he thought with
pang Of regret as he paced gravely the
disappointed room that his recent ac-
ceptance of the post as astronomer at
the great mountain observatory would
separate him from his kindly, genial,
illiterate old father-this dear old
chum, as he had come to consider him.
The thought Of leaving his father
was not, however, the only thing that
would make his leaving sad-for, as
he paced and gazed. his mind travelled
forward to gray, high-towered OBJ
servatory on a lonely peak in the
mountains-a peak that would be to
him doubly lonely without Anita Lo-
gan. They had come to be great
friends, this bricklayer's son and the
heiress to a fortune. They had gone
on and on In their youthful, enthusi-
astic intimacy, until there had come
to be such bond between them that
Paul looked longingly, hopefully, fear
fully to the day when he would re-
ceive his appointment and ask her to
be his wife.
He had put 1t off, and put it Off
and tomorrow he was to leave! To-
morrow! The thought startled him,
as his browsing, dreamy mind became
aware Of the necessity for quick, def
mite action. He went to the phone,
desperately resolute. and called her
number.
Hello, Miss Logan, please. Mr..
Reed speaking. Hello, Ann, is that
you? This is Paul. You know I've
received my appointment today? Yes.
Thanks. I'm leaving tomorrow. May
come up? Oh, f1ne!-and may
bring my father? I'd like you to
meet him. All right. in half an hour.
Good-by."
Anita Logan, twenty-four, and her
sister Bess, eighteen, were Joint heirs
to the great Logan fortune. Old John
Logan, az he was known on the ex-
change, had been a banker of spec
tacular success, and had left behind
him on his death at the age of fifty
two, two charming daughters and an
enormous fortune.
Bess, the younger, was still at
school In the East Anita had finished
and was now installed in the great
Logan mansion alone, save for her
retinue of servants. Anita Logan was
mentally limited and narrow in one
essential direction. She was obsessed
with the conviction Of class distinc-
ton.
When Paul and his father arrived,
Anita received them with unusually
hospitable graciousness.
This is my father, Ann. Father,
Miss Anita Logan, who has been such
a good. friend to me-"
"Oh, there he goes, being grateful
again! l won't stand for it-not this
evening" Cor any other, Paul
thought $50 pleased to meet you,
Mr.. Reed. You're also to be congrat-
ulated, think"
Thank y miss" The splendor of
the room In which they we're received
had disconnected him on entering, and
put him Immediately at more of a dis
advantage that he would otherwise
have bQan He falt vary an af ease