Mountain advocate., 1919-11-07

Il
renrranged his brnnd.new furniture,
that one more chair, making four in
stead of three, would bridge the chasm
between penury and prosperity in the
aspect Of his law office.
Putting the telephone receiver to
his ear, with the number of the towns
ono furniture emporium on the tip of
his tongue, the fiedgllng attorney
heard shrill voice calculate: "But
what can You expect Of Il girl who was
named after pocket handkerchief?
What-you didn't known Yes, her
mother picked 1t up ut an auction
had belonged to German countess,
she. said. The name was embroidered
on it-and she went and wished 1t on
the kid. Ever hear Of such u thing"
= Realizing that he was listening in
/on n telephone visit, Lamb nutOmnt-
. ically hung-up the receiver. Then he
5 wished he hadn't-for he'd rather
like to know what sort of thing it
could be that you should expect Of
girl who had been named after a
pocket handkerchief. He might meet
one some day. If he did, would she
be square and substantially built, like
man, dependable in emergency, or
mere froth of lace and filmy muslin,
rs much real use rs cobweb over
coat?
The clock in the town hall spire
struck 10. The expansive grin that
had spread over Lambs countenance
during his ruminaton faded. 1t
wouldn't DO to be late to one of Mrs.
Noyes' excellent dinners.
He grabbed the receiver. This time
the line was clear. He placed the or
der for the chair, seized his hat and
rushed off to Mrs. Noyes, girls and
handkerchief quite forgotten.
Potter put In the early part of the
afternoon fitting the new chair into the
equipment of the Office. Then, when
he had exhausted all possible combina'
tions, and stood In the corner each
time to "see how the effect looked" as
the old lady said, and had finally de-
cided upon one of the arrangements
MS beyond improvement, there was
nothing left to do but sit down ana
await the coming of clients. He
prayed that they might come soon; he
had his living to get. Living! What
an indefinite word II might mean
anything from butlerslzed establish
ment and steam yacht to carrots the
neighbors brought In. The briefless
attorney stood long time ut the win
dow watching the tricile Of traffic in
the street below and rolling innumera-
BILE cigarettes.
At dusk the happy thought came
that brisk walk before supper might
add even more zest to his enjoyment
Of Mrs. Noyes' culinary achievements.
He took his hat down-then hung it
up again and flung himself down at
his desk where n book OF Ohio reports
lay open.
There were steps on the stairway.
Came n tap at his door. Potter Lamb
opened 1t and girl walked in. Mo
mentarily she gazed about the room
with frank show of curiosity Mo-
mentarlly, also. the lawyer gazed at
his caller. His first client!
A slim young girl, CARRIED In blue
serge with gray tam perched at
fetching angle. With n calm self
Dossession she finished her scrutiny OF
the room and turned her eyes upon
him. They were unusually fine eyes,
Potter thought
'You are Attorney Lamb?'
Guilty" admitted Potter, just the
. ienst fiustered: and 1t was not every
Girl who could upset Mr.. Lambs law
yerly pose, even n mere trific.
81 have $1,000 here" the girl said
Mating a bag, land wish TO put 1t In
your hands TO do with as direct"
al shall be most happy said Lamb,
and there was inquiry In his tone.
"You have been in town two days;
so YOU have probably heard how | ac-
quired It,"
The young man shook his head.
.Can II be possible! Well, I'll tell
you. It's breach-of-promise money
"You-that is-dO | understand"
Potter. TO whom this information had
come from this extremely interesting
drI like a shrapnel shell Out of a
Christmas cOrnucOpla, was iloundering.
"Exactly. deliberately SHARED an
honored and wealthy citizen of this
town into proposing marriage TO Inc
got 1t In writing. Then with malice
aforethought scared him oft-and
brought a suit that netted me this
, by way of settlement" The girl drew
from the bag a roll of bills and placed
them on the table. "Pve come to you
because you're a stranger here-and
nobody in this town must have the
satisfaction OF knowing what ! do
with IT,"
\ elbow did You get rid OF hlmf l
don't see how any" Potter deter
mined 10 be utterly professional, didn't
meg \ to say that at aii; bat Il popped
\. n