The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1915-12-16

well. young star-gazer. is it comm
to an end?"
"Not tonight, father-it all looks
pretty steady"
Il can't seem to understan' it an
! guess l never will The only people
! ever hern on as looked at stars al
ways had somethin' excitin' t. report.
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 y'come in as tho the moon had
gone to y'head an shouts, "T'night-
tnight!-an' l ses 'wot t'night?' an
you ses the comet O. course" jest like
Us s'prised at my not knowinI 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' blieve in 'em
they're unreliable, an no way O.
holdin' to agreements"
The young man laughed, an indul-
gent, affectionate laugh.
Producing comets at a moments
notice isn't one of mans accomplish
ments, father. You see Qaughingly),
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 le?rn by the stars what very
probably will happen. Some day We'll
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' t. 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 name f'r y'self."
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 a 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
"ully to the day when he would re-
ceive his appointment and ask her to
be his wife.
He had put it 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
l come up? Oh, fine!-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, as he was known on the ex
change, had been 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 al
school in the East. Anita had finished
her college course four years before
and was now installed in the great
Logan mansion alone, save for hel
retinue of servants. Anita Logan was
mentally limited and narrow in one
NUo nh
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 sucf
a good friend to me-"
"Oh, there he goes, being gratefu
again! 1 won't stand for it-not this
evening" (Or any other, Pau
thought) so pleased to meet you
Mr.. Reed. You're also to be congrat
ulated, think"
Thank y miss" The splendor O.
the room in which they were received
had disconnected him on entering, anC
put him Immediately at more of dis
advantage that he would otherwise
haye been. He felt very i'll at ease
Anita and Paul spoke of all things
relative to Pauls work, his past strug
giles, his present appointment, his fu
ture hopes-spoke of everything bu
the one thing that made his hear