The Irish standard., 1920-05-22

ard. and. gauged by 1t. he was advanc-
ing rapidly. for today's trio Of sub
scriptions. added to Mr.. Cullen's check
Of yesterday (and Mr.. Cullen had
acted as though he had gained per
sonal victory in persuading Hilliard to
accept it). made up a glittering total.
stupendous total; and already Hill
liard's earned commissions formed a
sum to gloat about Despised as a
salesman, he had sold to four impair
tial business men the commodity hard
est In all the world to sell. Scorned
for his behavior, he had made his
sales on the basis Of character which
hadn't been questioned since the day
OF his arrival His mind and his
muscles demanded action; to relieve
the pressure Of his spirits, he set of
vigorously, swinging exultant
On impulse, he crossed the street
for the purpose Of patronizing for
lsts. where, ignoring the conventional
measure Of the even dozen, he ordered
q prodigal armful of American Beau
ties for Carol Durant. This done, and
feeling very rich and Independent. he
rounded the righthand corner, and got
himself greeted by two citizens of
standing and importance who, In hail
Ing him. displayed a Difference not
ordinarily granted to the average resi-
dent Of Hilliard's age. Would Hilliard
condescend to speak at the next meet
ing and dinner Of the Chamber of
Commerce on France in wartime? Hill.
lizard would. And this indication Of
his new-won status fired him afresh.
Logically enough. his swirling
thoughts followed well-worn trail
which led him straight to Carol; and
for the thousandth time he tried to
set a future date, depending on the
outcome Of his mission here, at which
he could confess, and ask forgiveness
Tor his mummery, and simultaneously
ask credit for his regeneration.
At this juncture. he was aware that
some one had arrested him. It was
Angela's youthful suitor.
"Oh-hello, Waring" said Hilliard
cheerfully. SLOWS crime?"
The student of law flushed at the
lively salutation, which appealed to
him as a reflection upon the majesty
OF the bar. Also, his sense Of humor
was temporarily atrophied.
1--WE don't handle criminal cases."
he responded shortly. "Say, when can
you and have conference together,
Mr.. Hilliard?"
"Why, the sooner the quicker"
laughed billiard. "What's it about7''
Waring coughed. Business"
The time to talk about business is
all the time-isn't it?"
Waring hesitated and finally stepped
into the shelter of doorway, drawing
Hilliard with him.
II don't suppose It'll seem like a
very important thing to you," he said,
rather awkwardly, "but it's important
enough to me, Mr.. billiard, to be
worth taking time over-to be perfect
ly frank with you, I've got five hun
dred dollars want to put In some
high-class. gilt-edged speculation. Mr..
Cullen gave me some pointers, and
now I'm interested in your copper
mine. Only-and this is where the
hitch comes in-Tve sort Of got into
the swing Of the law, you know, and
that makes men-well, what you might
call judgmatical. You get so you want
TO look at everything from all four
sides. And thought maybe because
Of the-the attending circumstances
you'd be kind enough to explain the
whole thing to me. Would you?'
Hilliard, who didn't know whether
to be touched or amused, compromised
by nodding gravely.
"There's one thing I'll have to tell
you, though" he said; II don't advise
any one to gamble in copper mines, or
anything else, Waring, unless that
person could actually afford to lose
his whole investment, and not be hurt.
And in this particular case, since I
happen to control the situation, won't
permit it. Does that hit you, or doesn't
it?'
The young mans mouth opened in
amazement. He had been printing
ulmScIl W Dc Clever 1uVeStlSdlOE, anu
to pick yawning flaws in Hilliard's un-
derwriting, and here his thunder was
stolen before he had had a chance to
stake the aegis of his cleverness.
"Why-it isn't a gamble, is it? l
understood-Mr. Cullen said"
"It's safer to figure it as gamble,
Waring. It's safe to figure all these
things that way. OF. course, we think
it's wonderful prospect. and prac-
4