Connecticut western news., 1919-11-27

upal corner of principal street. Thence she led her mother, and found herself treading oB the marble floors 0f the richly. appointed waiting room in . secret excitement which she could wfsE d1Aseu<ty conceal. She was, in- l aeed very unccrtafn about the next development. Her mother had fa be reokoned with ~ ::
 A young man asked eourteously what could be done for them.
 we want to. see the head of the firm." said Mrs. Hardy. "We want to buy a house."
 They. were shown into COnward' s office. Conward gave them the wei money out of his visitors He placed very comfortable chair for Mrs. Hardy; he adjusted the blinds to a nicety; he discarded his cigarette and beamed upon them with as great a show of cOrdiality as his somewhat beefy appearance would permit. Mrs. Hardy outlined her life history with considerable detail and ended with the confession that, the West was not as bad as she had feared and, anyway, it awas a Case of living here or dying else where, 80 she would have to make the best of 1t. And here they were. And | might they see h6use9
 { ConWard appeared to be reflecting. kAs a asnatter. of fact. he saw In this in- experienced buyer an opportunity to reduce his holdings in anticipation of the impending crash. His difficulty was that he had no key to the finan- ] lcfal, resources of his visitors. The only thing was to throw out a feeler. "You are wanting a nice home, l take 1t. that can be bought at favor able price for cash. You would con- slider an investment of, say"
 He paused,x and Mrs. Hardy supplied ! the information for which he was waiting About twenty-five thousand dollars" she said.
 .. "We can hardly invest that much" Irene interrupted, in a whisper. "We must have something to live on." l "People here live on the profits of their investments, do they not, Mir. | ConwardT' Mrs. Hardy inquired
 "Oh, certainly" Conward agreed, and he plunged into a mass of incl dents to show how profitable invest nents had been to other clients of the firm. Then his mood of deliberation gave way to one of briskness; he sum- mOned car, and in few minutes his clients were looking over the property 1 which he had recommended. Mrs. Hardy was an amateurish buyer, her i, tendency being alternately to excess of caution on one side and reckless ! ness on the other. Conward's manner pleased her; the house he showed pleased her, and she was eager to have it over with. But he was too shrewd I to appear to encourage a nasty deci- sion. He did not seize upon Mrs | Hardy's remark that the house seemed perfectly satisfactory; on the con- trary, he insisted on showing other houses, which he quoted at such i'm possible figures that presently the old lady was in a feverish haste to make a deposit lest some other buyer should forestall her.
 Back in COnward's office, while the agreement was being drawn, Irene was possessed of a consuming desire to consult with Dave Elden. She was uneasy about this transaction in which her mother proposed so precipitately to invest the greater part of their lit tie fortune. "I think would hesitate, mother" she cried. If you buy this house we will have only a few thou J sand, dollars left. Your health may de mand other expenditures"
 "My health was never better" Mrs. Hardy interrupted. And I'm not going to miss chance like this, health | or no health. You have heard MT. Conward tell how many people have 1 grown. wealthy buying, property and