Omaha daily bee., 1921-06-26
The Married Life of
Helen and Warren
Helen Is the Gullible Dupe OF q Glib
Promoter and the Lure OF
Easy Money,

Helen Is the Gullible Dupe of q Gil
Promoter and the Lure Of
Easy Money
In futtering wonderment Helel
turned from the telephone and flew
out to the kitchen.
Cora, there's a gentleman com
ing up. Show him into the librar!
say III be right in"
"Mr. Drexell What was MI
Drexel1 Why was he calling OF
herr He had phoned up that j
was something persona"
Pleasantly excited at this break il
the monotony OF a long hot after
noon, Helen dressed with eager ex
pectancy.
A final fluff of powder. a hna
glance into the mirror at her blue
organdied slenderness, and she hur'
ried into the library. 4
From . chair by the window, a
tall man rose to greet her. In spite
OF the heat he looked cool and fault.
lessly groomed. His light gray suit
was of a distinctive cut and on the
desk beside him lay an expensive
Panama hat.
"Mrs. Curtisl" bowing with clab-
crate courtesy. II hope I'm not in
truding. have just come from
Mrs. Holden on the ninth floor"
"Oh. yes. Mrs. Holden" murmured
Helen namely, still bewildered.
II have an exceptional proposition
here of which Mrs. Holden took
advantage-and she thought you also
would be interested" drawing a
leaflet from his pocket. II repre-
sent the Marvin Oil company which
Just now offers most extraordinary
opportunity for a gilt-edged invest
ment."
ooh, I'm afraid you'd have to
see Mr.. Curtis" faltered Helen.
"Ah, but it's Mrs. Curtis l want
to interest. It's the woman in
vestor, we have something SO abso-
lutely safe"
Helen listened politely to the
many forceful arguments that fol-
lowed, but she was mainly intent
upon how she could word q firm
but gracious refusal.
Impressed by Mr.. Drexcls deep,
rich voice and ponderous impor-
tance, it was going to be hard to say
NO..
He spread before her an imposing
array of circulars from which he
glibly quoted facts and figures. He
emphasized, the so per cent annual
dividend and guaranteed that with
in six months the stock, now a dol
lar Z share, would be worth three.
Mrs. Holden had taken Ave hun
dred shares and would probably
take more.
"But Mr.. Curtis would never con-
sent to my investing in any oil
stock. He's very skeptical about
most stocks and particularly
about"
"Ah. Mrs. Curris, I admit there
have been many false oil securities
on the market-but because of that
would you condemn them all? Think
of Standard DILL The people who
invested in that thirty years ago are
millionaires today. That is the op-
portunity I offer you nowr"
He paused to emphasize this
point, and to touch his moist fore
head with an exquisite gray silk
handkerchief.
"Oil is the worlds most essential
commodity. All the great ocean
liners are being turned into oil burn
ers. 1t saves the labor of coaling
and one fireman can do the work of
10. Now we have a property here
that we guarantee will yield 100000
barrels year, to say nothing OF
z. leage still undeveloped. New wells
III Dheing opened up every week."
~EFSs.sother half hour of trip-hammer
arguments in his resonant voice and
Helen began to waver. There was
that $50 she was saving for linen
suit.
"Oh, no, not 500 shares" as taking
the sale for granted, he started to
fill out 4 certificate. Fifty is all ]
could possibly invest"
"You are missing a very rare op-
pOI OItuIuty WIS., SultiSs odS Va
course" with a note of condescen-
sion, IF that is all you feel you can
spare"
His disappointment was evident.
His attitude conveyed that her sur
roundings would have indicated
larger resources.
She felt almost apologetic, as
though she had taken much of his
valuable time with but little return.
1t was not until after his depar-
ture that the doubts and misgivings,
which all along had clouded the
background of her thoughts, loomed
largely.
She had invested $50 in oil stock.
And she had given him the money!
She knew nothing of this man or
his eompanyl She had weakly yield
ed to his persuasive arguments be-
cause she had not had the courage
to say mo"