Judsonia weekly advance., 1918-02-20

Hazel answered.
 Barrow glanced over the miSsive and frowned
 "What do you suppose he wanted you for?" he asked.
 How should know?" Hazel evaded.
 "Seems funny" he remarked slowly.
 "Oh. let's forget it." Hazel came and sat down on the couch by him. q don't know of any reason why he should want to see me. It was cer- tainly a peculiar request for him to make. But that's no reason why we should let it bother us. If he's really so badly hurt, the chances are he's out of his head. Don't scowl at that bit of paper so. Johnnie-boy."
 Barrow laughed and kissed her, and the subject was dropped forthwith Later they went out for short walk. In an hour or so Barrow left for home, promising to have the concert tickets for Thursday night.
 Hazel took the note out of her belt and read it again when she reached her room. Why should he want to see her? She wondered at the mans persistence. He had insulted her, ac- cording to her view of it-doubly in- suited her with threats and an en- forced caress. Perhaps he merely wanted to beg her pardon; she had heard of men doing such things in their last moments. But she could not conceive of MT. Andrew Bush being sorry for anything he did. And so she could not grasp the reason for that eleventh-hour summons. But she could see that n repetition of such incidents might put her in queer light. Other folk might begin to wonder and inquire why Mir. Andrew Bush took such an interest" in her-a mere stenogra pher. We'll, she told herself. she did not care-so long as Jack Barrow's ears were not assailed by talk. She smiled at that. for she could picture the reception any scandal peddler would get from him.
 The next days papers contained the obituary of MT. Andrew Bush. He had died shortly after midnight. And de- spite the fact that she held no grudge, Hazel felt sense of relief. He was powerless to annoy or persecute her. and she could not escape the convic- tion that he would have attempted both had he lived.
 She had now been idle a matter of days. Nearly three months were yet to elapse before her wedding.
 It seemed scarcely worth while to look for another position. She had enough money saved to do everything she wanted to do. It was not so much lack of money, the need to earn. as the monotony of idleness that irked her. She had acquired the habit of work, and that is thing not lightly shaken off. But during that day she gathered together the different Gran vile papers, and went carefully over the want" columns. Knowing the town as she did, she was enabled to eliminate the unlikely, undesirable places. Thus by evening she was armed with list of firms and individ- uals requiring stenOgrapher. And in the morning she sallied forth.
 Her quest ended with the first place she sought. The fact of two years service with the biggest firm in Gran vile was ample recommendation; in addition to which the office manager, it developed in their conversation, had known her father in years gone by. So before ten o'clock Miss Hazel Weir was entered on the pay roll of a fur niture-manufacturing house. It was not permanent position; one of their girls had been taken i'll and was likely to take up her duties again in six weeks or two months. But that suited Hazel all the better. She could put in the time usefully, and have breath ing spell before her wedding.
 Three days went by. Hazel attended the concert with Jack the evening of the day MT. Andrew Bush received os- tentatious burial. At ten the next morning the telephone girl called her.
 Someone wants you on the phone, Miss Weir," she said.
 Hazel took up the dangling receiver.
 "Hellol"
 "That you, Hazel7"
 She recognized the voice, half guess ing 1t would be he, since no one but Jack Barrow would be likely to ring her up.
 "Surely. Doesn't 1t sound like mel"
 Have you seen the morning pa- pers"
 "No. What"
 Look lem over. Particularly the Gazette"
 The harsh rattle of receiver slammed back on It's hook without even ''good-by" from him struck her like slap in the face. She hung up slowly. and went back to her work. Never since their first meeting and they had not been exempt from lovers Quarrels. had Jack Barrow eyer sro.