Evening star., 1922-02-26
HAT this story needs to set
1t moving Is a synopsis Of
preceding chapters; some

tho serum OF the neck ana nurl you lneo
the middle Of It before you have time to
remember that what you were really in
tending to read was on the next page.
Very we'll then:
FREDDIE BINGHAM. a young
man Of large. independent
means. left to him-not that
II matters-by a maternal aunt.
has fallen in love with, pro-
posed to. and been accepted by
MARGARET, daughter Of
FRANKLIN BIvATT. an unpleas-
ant little millionaire with
weak digestion, a taste for dog
matte speech and the personal
appearance Of a pterodactyl.
Freddie has called on Mr.. BIZ
watt, told him the news, and
asked for his consent.
NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY.
Mr.. Bivatt looked at Freddie in
silence He belonged to the second
and more offensive class Of million
aire. There are only two kinds. One
has q mauve face and three-hun-
dred-pound body. and grinds the face
of the poor on q diet Of boarded cham
paxne and lobster . Ia NewburE; the
other-Mr Bivtt's types small and
shriveled, hardly weighs anything at
all, and fortifies himself. before club
bing the stufing out of the widow
and the orphan. with light repast
of hot water, triturated biscuits, and
pepsin tabloids.
Mr.. BIvArr took another look at
A1 Freddie thoroughly nasty
look. The fact was that Freddie had
chosen an unfortunate moment for
his visit. Not only had Mr.. Bivatt
bad attack of Indigestion. but he had
received letter that very very morn
ing from Margarets elder sister. who
some two years ago had married the
Earl Of Datchet Lord Datchet was
not an ideal husband. Among other
things, he was practically q lunatic.
which is always such q nuisance in
tho home. One leisured son-in-law
struck Mr.. Bivatt as sufncient. He was
not bitten by q craze for becoming
a collector.
Consequently he looked at Freddie
and said: 'Hm" In the circumstances
"Hmv' was scarcely an encouraging
remark.
You mean" Freddie said.
'T mean Just this: When Margaret
marries she's going to marry a real
person, not"-his mind wandered to
the absent Datchet-"not q pop-syed.
spindle-shanked jack rabbit, all nose
and front teeth and monocle, with
hair the color Of butter and no chin
or forehead. See?"
Freddie started. and his eyes moved
hastily to the mirror over the mantel-
piece. True, he was no Apollo. He
was square and bullet headed. and
his nose had never really been the
same since he had ducked into. in
stead Of away from, one Of his boxing
instructors right swings, but apart
from that he attained pretty fair
standard. Chin? If anything. he had
too much. Teeth? Not at all promi-
nent. Hair? Light, certainly, but
what Of that?
'tAm I a pop-eyed jack rabbit?' he
inquired curiously.
II don't know" said Mr.. Bivatt 'I
don't know anything about you, ex-
cept that you've got money you never
worked for. Say. do you know the
Earl Of Datchet? Never heard Of him?
I wish I hadn't He's my son-in-law,
and I don't want another one like
him. His speciality is aristoeratic
idleness. Is that your long suit. too
trembling when you see a job of
work? Have you earned cent in
your life?"
mo But"
s.yt ;.o,< a zoe. - h,t rh.r. u.s,,%
any need for you to work, and SO on.
1 know all that. The point is that
the man who marries Margaret has
got to be capable Of work. You re-
member Jacob?
"Jacob?"
ri mean the one in the Bible, the
one who worked seven years for the
girl, got the wrong one. and started
in right away to do another seven
years. You didn't catch them getting
stung by any darned pop-eyed Datch-
cts. That's the sort Of man I want
for Margaret. See? I don't ask him
to wait seven years. let alone four
teen. But I will have him show that
there's something in him. Now. I'll
make a proposition to you. You 20
and hunt for a job and get it and hold
it down long enough to earn $500. and
you can marry Margaret as soon as
you like afterward. But let's get this
fixed right. When say earn, I mean
earn. Manual work or brain work
it's got to be, one Of the two
= + + \
A ND Mr. Bivatt. swallowing another
tabloid, turned his attentions once
more to marrying the widow and Or
phan.
It amazed Freddie when he set out
on his pilgrimage, the difhculty Of
getting work.
Eventually, he found himself.
through . combination Of lucky
chances, in charge Of the newsstand
at q large hotel Fifteen dollars a
week was the stipend. Working It
out on a slip Of paper. he perceived
that his ordeal was to be mere
eight or nine months canter Of un-
exacting work In quite comfortable
surroundings. Datchet himself could
have done it on his butter-co1ored
head.
For four days all went we'll. He
liked looking at the crowds in the
lobby. He enjoyed selling two dollar
novels to men who had meant to buy
evening papers. But on the fifth day
came reaction. The customers irri-
tated him. He was hopelessly bored.
The end was in sight. It came
early on the afternoon Of the sixth
day through the medium Of one OF