Omaha daily bee., 1922-05-14

once more upon the subject Of her
desire.
"Alt right. we'll 80. Lela-you and
l." announced young Mr. Hancock
with sudden resolution.
.Joer The girl started In
eredulously. "Not reallyg
"Surest thing you know" declared
Joe. managing q benevolent smile.
"But-but it's an awful jam get
ting thereon the trains" she re-
minded him. perhaps artlessly. per-
haps suggestively. S."
sThis boat engaged for tomor-
rowi" Joe called over the seat to the
chauffeur.
"Nope!" answered the driver.
Then she isl" announced Joe
quickly.
Leila was brcathless. "Joe!" she
gasped. "It'll cost you for-r-tune."
Fortunes nothing" said Joe
grandly, ''if it's something you want
to do" and he glanced into her eyes
with the boldest look he had ever
dared.
The girl flushed and shifted her
glance. She also shifted her thought
quite practically to the next prob
lem.
"But can you get tickets? l hear
they're at a premium
"Five dollars apiece is ALL" said
Joe loftily. "We can go that, ]
guess-ior one days pleasure"
Leila gazcd once more at Joe in
startled admiration. He was so
strong and masterful. These were
qualities in young Mr.. Hancock she
had never noticed before. Hitherto
he had impressed her as a faithful,
plodding sort of fellow, but there
was-there was dash to him, really.
He proved this by the way the
miles were reeling off and the time
ticking into hours, each charge
against his pocketbook, yet with new
er a hint of turning back from him.
The long afternoon heightened into
dusk, and then turned in at the Mis-
sion Inn in San Marco for long,
ieisurely and, to Leila, thoroughly de-
lightful dinner. By a lingering here
and detouring there Joe managed to
so delay the hour OF their return to
Mrs. McIlheney's till it was 1880
o'clock when they rolled to her door.
Half-past ten, so far as Mrs. Nc
Ilheney's charges were concerned.
was curfew. From that moment for
ward no visitors and no communica-
ton might be received. Thus was
Joe's strategy revealed. By this poll
cy of delay, although at enormous
cost to himself, he had spiked Fat
Franklin's guns for the day.
That gloomy individual, waiting in
his car beneath the shadows of
low hanging pepper tree Just across
the street from Mrs. McIlheney's
eavesdroppcd their parting words
with bitterness in his heart, yet with
a sly grin upon his face because OF
something that he knew.
1T has been a dream, perfect
dream," declared Leila with enthusi-
asm.
"Nine o'clock tomorrow morning
early start" Joe warned, and at
the same time thought to stimulate
the eagerness of anticipation by re-
marking: "Plenty of fun! Plenty of
time for little drive around besides,
with sandwich and cup of tea
somewhere on the way"
"You darling" bubbled Leila. I'll
be up with the morning glories."
There was. however, on Joe's part
no feeling Of vast elation over this
promise for tomorrow. 1t was just
that he had won another move in
a game of checkmate that was fool
ish because the final triumph of his
rival was already certain. Joe was
even not quite determined just what
he would do with Leila tomorrow,
Just how much Of the track meet.
how much of all tomorrow's oppor-
tunities she would taste4 He might
administer some kind lesson to her,
for he thought Of her now quite
without love, almost without SYM
pathy.
She did not have any affections,
he had decided-only appetites-for
food and for pleasures generally. She
was not bad, OF course, but she was
lust naively selfish, Joe reflected as
he sauntered down to Kindred's pool
room and cigar store combined.
There in the last hours there were
always few tickets to be had tor
any college affair, although at
proftecr's prices.
But Doc Kindred shook his head
tonight "Just got two in the safe,
and they're sold to a fellow who is
coming after them at II o'clock"
This announcement was distinct
shock to Joseph Hancock. the tenn
peramental spendthrift. 1t put a
crimp in his program at the most
important point.
"And if he doesn't come?" Joe
managed to inquire hopefully:
20, he'll come all right. He's one
Of the those guys that never likes to
get left" :.
"Guess I'll stick around and see if
he does" remarked Joe, as not en-
tirely convinced and noting by the
clock that it was now 10:48. "By
the way, what you holding EN- att"
Five dollars apiece" said Kin
dred.
tbs was what Joe had expected.
"I'll take cigar" he decided, for
extravagance was fast becoming the
habit with him.
He was just lighting a luxurious
weed, his back to the door, when Fat
came painting in.
"Lo. Docl I'll grab off those two
tickets now."
Kindred turned to the safe, while
Fat, who took no note that the back
bent over the cigar lighter belonged
to Joseph Hancock, reached for a
tiny pad OF paper lying upon the
counter and scribbed an l. O. U. for
$40 thereupon.
Whats this?" demanded Doc,
frowning at the scrap of paper on
the glass of the showcase and with
drawing the hand in which he had
been extending a pair Of large and