Evening star., 1922-06-25

YCST as sne was about to vanish
from his office, Lewis Beitle-
man stopped Miss Conifee.
~ While she had been sitting be-
yond the arm extension Of his desk,
listening. as usual, with ner gaze
concentrated on pencil turning IN
her thin fingers, he had been nall
conscious OF something disturbing In
her appearance. This impression had
left him. been absorbed In the tmme-
diate subject of his address, but II
had returned in time for him to bring
her to stop at the door.
Miss Conifee." he said.
She came halfway back, her brow
marked iby a query, in which there
was a trace of impatience-
What I wanted to say WAS he
began, but this displeased him. I
was thinking lately he went ahead
more directly, that you've had too
much to do Now this last matter Is
disposed of, you might as we'll take
rest. The shores nice late in May.
You'd better run down for a week or
So"
But. this last isn't done," she re-
.UiteQ- -SSNafply- VIC uoh haO" 90 " o
can get a leather that will suit our
purpose. The pfices'Il have to be
lower than any we've quoted on hrst-
class material, and We amt right GER
tain how many Jobs 1t would take to
bring US out"
"Details" he replied. dismissing
them with a waved hand. mo, I'm
set on you getting rest. You've
been going it too hard at the office
again"
:. A slightly deepened color answered
his solicitude.
NO more than usual" she answered
him. II can take day or two later
when things are fixed
In reply, he asked her how her
mother was.
well enough" she replied, almost
defiantly.
you work yourself to death for me
here, and the same at homo for your
mother" Lewis Beitleman grew ex-
cited. angry. "The fact is" he eH-
claimed that you ought to have an
interest in this office If the world
was run right you would have, too
you'd own so per cent OF this busi-
ness today. 1t wouldn't have been
nothing without you" She tried to
stop his speech, but 1t swept her re-
monstrance aside. you've been with
me fourteen years in all, and since
Swope died you and me have been II.
You've seen 1t come right along from
a half-dead carriage repository to
pretty lively little automobile acces-
sorry concern. You brought 1t up as
much as any one-that's what you did;
YES, sir, and more. You gave 1t taste,
you gave our jobs tone and that's
what sold them. And now I won't
have you working yourself to death.
II 1t wasn't for my family"
Suddenly Lewis Beitlenan's energy
suffered a collapse.
II want you to take a holiday" he
added impotently.
rs that all, Mr.. BeitlemanT she
demanded,
LIE wouldn't answer her nor glance
IL up, and after a moment he heard
the soft impact of the door.
He'll" he swore, silently fdgeting.
All that he had said to Miss Conf
fee was true. 1t was, rather than
an exaggeration, an underestimate.
She had been invaluable. AS it was,
In the past year-the worst of years
he had made fourteen thousand dol
lars. This year-and 1t was only
uMay-it was clear that the profits
would be sixteen or better. Or bet
ter! Miss Conifee-that was the an
aver.
He wondered how old she was
raear to forty certainly; not good
looking woman: nothing like as
,pratty as Nanfne, his wife. had been;
and, of COURSE. not within sight Of
Eldreda, his daughter. Miss Conifee
was too thin. too small; and, then, her
hair was no particular color. She
wore glasses of an unbecoming pat
tern that a little magnified her very
.sarnest onyx-brown eyes. and her
slothes-to save his life, after being
with her day and day for fourteen
.Yaars, he wouldn't remember detail
OF her dress-inexpensive, 1t would be
that. The care Of her mother must
absorb most Of her salary.
He had spoken of her good taste.
exercised in the direction of special
Ties for automobiles. That was splen-
did, but 1t wasn't her best quality.
She was principally remarkable for
the energy Of her mind. her energy
and a quality of determination. Of
of courage. But at last she was
showing the effects OF this, or, as he
phAd said, perhaps she was only tired.
rHe would make her take a rest. He'd
shut the office. close 1t down, he
thought, extravagantly, II he couldn't
get her away by other means.
Lewis Beitleman smiled. but at the
same time he was annoyed. All
women were SO Internally set-Miss
Conifee and Nanine and Eldreda. Fol-
lowing indirectly this fact he won
dsred what Nanine would say to .
proposal of giving Miss Conifee
something more-enough in q neces-
sar1ly limited way to make her fu-
ture safe. Not Q half, but q fifth. a
sixth, Of the business.
A. It was. he paid Miss Conifee a.
much as he could get her to accept
She had positively refused a further
raise. He wished vainly that Nanine
and Miss Conifee might be closer to
each other. a. close as possible, but
on Nanine's account This desire
suddenly recalled to him the star
ding fact that Miss Conifee. except
once, when he had been III, 70 take
dictstion. had never been IN his house.
Tns conifsss. mother and daaghtsHb