The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-07-19
CHAPTER XIV.

been driven from the luxurious flat they had taken in New York with such high hopes. As Rufus Knight had said, Eva had enough jewels to keep them from immediate want but it would not last forever. They had looked, in a half-hearted way, for work, but as neither of them had any training and were not skilled workers tn any line they had not found anything to suit them. Eva flatly refused to become a waitress again. She declared that if anyone was going to work hard it would have to be Bertram. She would do her part and he would have to do his, the mans share.
 It was a warm Sunday morning. The milk that had made part of their breakfast stood on the window sill and several flies buzzed around it. The floor and unmade bed were strewn with papers thrown there as Eva or Bertram had finished reading that particular piece.
 Eva yawned, looked thoughtfully at the remaining rings upon her fin gers. then said:
 Something will have to be done, Bert. We're getting near the end. There are only these rings and your diamond studs left.''
 beJlIdlIl SCOWleu put Sdlu UOlHln9. He knew that what she said was true, but he had no solution to the prob lem to offer.
 How would it be to buy a store with money we can raise, a variety store, or a grocery. That would at least give us a living and it would not be very hard work. We would be our own boss and not have to take or ders from anyone"
 Fifteen or sixteen hundred, I think; perhaps two thousand. These stones," she twirled the rings around her fingers, ''are the very finest I could buy and you paid s75O for your two studs. There1l be no trouble selling them. You look in that pa per and I'll take this one and let's see if there is anything that appeals to us.'
 For a while there was no sound save the rustling of paper and the buzzing of the flies around the milk bottle. As one or the other discov- cred add that seemed interesting they read it aloud. At last Eva reached the add inserted by Albert Wheeler.
 How does this sound, Bert?'' and she read aloud. You ought to know something about the grocery business. That was the way your uncle made his money, wasn't it?'' "Yes, but I never had anything to do about it. In fact he had retired 1 before I went to live there.' Ut seems to me that If a. silly old | man like Uncle Rufus could make so much money in the grocery business, a clever couple like us could at least
 do as well and a great deal better. It | says Price S15O0,' but if he is open fnr +oIy l deal less. At any rate that is the 1 best opportunity I see in the adver- | tisement column and we had better 1 look 1t up. Wimbledon Is a good | city. Let's answer the add now, and | then we can go and see it in a day i or so,' and she rose and procured | paper and pen.
 | Three days later they were on their | way to Wimbledon full of confidence
 and eager to embark on their new venture. The outside of the store | impressed them favorably and the neighborhood was certainly all that | could be desired.
 1 They went in.
 l Albert had been expecting them
 and everything was in readiness. The | books were gone over, stock inspect
 ed and almost before they could re- 1 alize 1t money was passed and papers ] signed.
 l Tt shows what good business peo- | pie we are that we can make up our | minds so quickly and know when we
 see a good thing. I'll bet there aren' l many men who could go out and buy | a good store like that and get every l thing fixed up in one day" and Der ] tram smiled a self-satisfied smile.
 There's no doubt we got a rare | bargain Eva replied. You were
 pretty clever to beat him down to ST. l 300. That leaves us S200 for living 1 and things we may want to buy. I'm
 looking forward to taking charge | here. Wasn't he a nice man, so pleas
 ant and conSiderate, and he seemed
 to be so honest. It's pretty hard on a
 man when he has a, sickly wife. H5 1 must hate to sacrifice such business
 and go away out west"
 They were delighted with them
 selves and full of mutual admiration
 at the way they had put the deal
 through. They would hardly have
 been so happy if they had heard the
 conversation between Albert Wheele,
 and his wife who had been sitting up
 stairs waiting to hear the fate of the
 store. They had decided that she
 must keep out of sight as she was
 such a healthy-1ooking invalid she | would SpOlI the ''NOIOrduO story dnt then reflections would be cast on the | truth of the rest of their state ments-
 Albert related in detail everything
 that had taken place, winding up hi: , story with: They say fool is borr every minute but I guess there were two of them born that time. 1 In less than a week the transaction
 was finished. Bertram and Eva were installed in their new home and Al 5 bert and Esther were on their way to Canada, there to start anew in some thing higher class than the grocery | trade"
 A large part of the money that re rnaired after paying for the store
 was invested by Eva in the first pay. ment on new furniture for theil s home. They had taken over the fla occupied by the Wheelers but had re [ fused to buy their furniture, as Evs demanded everything new and O , good quality. we can easily pa,