Omaha daily bee., 1921-09-04

electric light anu III the redQlnB lamp. NOW
If you will excuse me I'll look in at mother.
Here's the evening newspaper. We dine at ~
A little later in the dining room, Dicks
brilliant eyes gazed across the table at the girl
opposite him. She was beauty, he reflected.
He had always known she would be. But she
looked tired almost haggard. and, yes there on
her left temple was the thing he had suspected
in the ofice-a tiny wing Of white hair. Men
tally he figured up her age. She was still under
80, and she had supported herself and her moth
er for eight years-she who. until she was 20,
had been given every comfort and luxury by the
stepfathor who had loved her as If she had been
his own child
"Wel she had not let herself down, that was
certain. Here were the old silver serving
dishes, the old china, the old mahogany. Here
was charming hostess in the pretty house
gown she had hurriedly put on. Here was a
neat and pretty maid. and, yes-he sighed with
saisfaction-here was a simple but excellent
dinner; perfect soup, a meat pie with vege-
tables. a plain but appetizing little pudding
After dinner the returned wanderer and
Mrs. Hutton had a brief visit in the latters
room. Sitting UP in bed, and looking very pic
turesque in lavender bed jacket and lace cap,
the old lady received her nephew with unemo-
tional cordiality. Deep in her heart she was glad
to have an opportunity to wipe out or at least
dim, few unpleasant memories in her con-
sciousness and his. She was not effusive. She
was never that. Dick left her room with the
surprising knowledge that she had been glad to
see him.
Later, in the living room Dorothea drew
from him the story Of the full years since they
had met. 1t was a good story. told simply and
with utter inconsistencies of its drama, while
Dick lovingly embraced his knees before the
glowing fire. 1t set forth the early struggles
first of a determined boy then Of a determined
man-the hopes, the disappointments, the busi-
T. ky.l~ .I.t,
ing-eyed guest Of hers. He had been all over
the west-ranching, riding, mining. prospecting.
He had been to the Klondike in Its roaring
years.
He had taken boats through the Yukon
rapids and driven dog teams over the Chill
coot Pass When the war broke out he had
volunteered at once, had done his bit in the
trenches, had been severely wounded at Ver-
dun, then gassed, and sent home But-his
brown forefinger jerked the collar around his
strong throat-the west had put his lungs all
right again. .
From this point he ceased to be reminiscent
He wanted to know about Dolly-her training,
her work, her daily life at home and in the Of
fee. He had read Of her professional success.
It was clear that he was proud Of 1t. When he
was leaving at II o'clock, he made an abrupt
request.
II want you to take day off tomorrow.
You can telephone down to the Office can't
you?"
eyes, ! suppose so-but-"
"Then that's all right" There was an un-
expected masterfulness about the returned
wanderer. "I'll call for you at 10. We've got
little matter to attend to-" .
He closed the door on himself and the
words, but Dorothea, after a good night chat
with her mother, carried them to bed with her
and continued to study them in the dim gray
lantern of the dawn What did Dick want?
Her mind, led up to the question like an un-
willing horse, first SHE'D at it, then seriously con-
sidered it. sudden memory swan into the
foreground Of her thoughts. Dick had spoken
Of being "staked" twice by her stepfather.
Possibly, quite possibly, the 'little matter was
the return to William Hutton's widow Of the
amount Of those Stakes which Dick probably
regarded as loan. In that case--in that case
Even a thousand or two-and the stakes"
would hardly have been less than that-would
mean much just now! Could It be, was 1t
possible that the difficult financial problem Of
the year was to be thus easily solved? No. She
turned from the iridescent rainbow. She could
not look upon its beauty and then see 1t fade.
She chided herself even for the momentary
vision. The face of Dick appeared before her
Dick, shining-eyed eager. happy to be with
her again. And she had been thinking of
money-of money, from Dick. How low she
had fallen!
Yet how could she help it? Her thoughts
doubled on their tracks and made the weary
round again. Even two thousand-why, five
hundred would make up the deficiency Of the
year
Dollar signs. and Dicks eyes, and Morals
determined little mouth, and Dicks smile
swan in and out of Dorothea's consciousness
UNTIL toward morning, she fell asleep.
The hat and gown she had put on for her
outing with Dick the next morning were of last
years make. but only the sophisticated profess
sional eye would have discovered this. Dorothea
wore her clothes with an air-with what her
girls called style" Dick arrived a. 10 o'clock,
in a high holiday mood. He was a study in dark
gray this morning, and the color became him as
we'll as the brown Of the day before.
"Got a heavy coat?" he demanded, after he
had flashed the brilliant, approving eye over
her. "But never mind. You won't need 1t.