Cleveland County herald., 1920-01-15
CHAPTER XXli--Continued

-16-
 At this he laughed, but not very heartily, and walked slowly to the house, leaving her bending over a rose bush, and shade more pensive than the most pensive garden lady in any Victorian engraving. Next day, it happened that this same "Vendo- nah" or Everything" be- came the subject of a chance cOnver- sation between Eugene and his old friend Kinney, father of the fire-topped Fred. The two gentlemen found them selves smoking in neighbOring leather chairs beside a broad window at the club, after lunch.
 Mir. Kinney had remarked that he expected to get his family established at the seashore by the Fourth of July, and, following a train of thought, he paused and chuekled Fourth of July reminds me-" he said. "Have you heard what that Georgie Minafer is doing?"
 "No, I haven't" said Eugene, and his friend failed to notice the crispness of 1 the utterance.
 "Well sir" Kinney chuckled again, fit beats the devil! My boy Fred told me about it yesterday. He's a friend of this young Henry Akers, son of +. P. Akers of the Akers Chemical con- pany. It seems this young Akers asked Fred if he knew a fellow named Nina fer, because he knew Fred had always lived here, and young Akers had heard some way that Minafer used to be an old family name here, and was sort of curious about it. We'll, sir, you re- member this young Georgie sort of dis appeared, after his grandfather's death, and nobody seemed to know much what had become of him though 1 did hear, once or twice, that he was still around somewhere. Well, sir, he's working for the Akers Chem ical company, out at their plant on the Thomasville road"
 He paused, seeming to reserve some thing to be delivered only upon inquiry, and Eugene offered him the expected question, but only after a cold glance through the nose-glasses he had lately found it necessary to adopt. "What does he do?"
 Kinney laughed and slapped the arm of his chair. He's nitro-glycerin ex- pert p
 He was gratified to see that Eugene was surprised, if not, indeed, little startled.
 Hes what?"
 He's an expert on nitro-glycerin. Doesn't that beat the devil Yes, sir! Young Akers told Fred that this George Minafer had worked like a houn'-dog ever since he got started out at the works. They have a special plant for nitro-glycerin, way off from the main plant, O course-in the woods Somewhere-and George Nina fer's been working there, and lately they put him in charge of it. He over sees shooting oil wells, too, and shoots 'em himself, sometimes They aren't allowed to carry it on the railroads, you know-have to team it. Young Akers says George rides around over the bumpy roads, sitting on as much as three hundred quarts of nitro-glycerin My Lord Talk about romantic tum- hles! If he gets blown sky-high some day he won't have bigger drop, when he comes down, than he's already had ! Don't it beat the devil! Young Akers said he's got all the nerve there is in the world. Says he gets fair salary, and I should think he ought to! Seems to me I've heard the average life in fl.a Of {e,e I four years, and agents don't write any insurance at all for nitro-glycerin ex- perts. Hardlyi"
 "No" said Eugene. q suppose not"
 Kinney rose to go. Well, it's a pretty funny thing-pretty odd, 1 mean and I suppose it would be pass around-the-hat for old Fanny Minafer if ne blew up. Fred told me that they're living in some apartment house, and said Georgie supports her. He was going to study law, but couldn't earn enough that way to take care of Fanny, so he gave 1t up. Fred's wife told him all this. Says Fanny doesn't do anything but play bridge these days. Got to playing too high for awhile and lost more than she wanted to tell Georgie about, and borrowed a little from old Frank Bronson. Paid him back, though. Don't know how Fred's wife heard it. Women do hear the darndest things!''
 They do," Eugene agreed.
 Well, I'm off to the store," said MT. Kinney briskly: yet he fingered. T suppose we'll all have to club in and keep old Fanny out of the poorhouse if he does blow up. From all I hear it's usually only a question of time They say she hasn't got anything else 10 depend on."
 q suppose not"