The Washington herald., 1922-06-08

he would have considered adequate
were tagged at from five hundred
dollars UP. Mercifully. however,
some diamonds were smaller than
others. There were diamond rings
as low in price as twenty-five dol
lars, yet the one which was the
very smallest that IL seemed to
him his self-respect could offer and.
at the same time, the very largest
to which his impecuniositys could
aspire. was priced at one hundred
and ten dollars.
To be sure. Joseph Hancock had
not one hundred and ten dollars
nor any portion thereof to spare
above the raw necessities of his
life. yet in the days of struggle he
had learned one lesson surely.
Money was to be got by working
for II. He strolled about the town
and found a pile of bricks that was
to be moved half block from
where they had been dumped off the
fiat car to the spot upon which they
were to be built into a pottery kiln.
II was a wheelbarrow job, and the
contractor confessed he was in no
hurry to have the bricks moved,
construction being delayed by other
clements. Joe engage himself TO
move the bricks. working two hours
a day. for the sum of one hundred
and ten dollars.
How the unusual toll tired him!
And how his fingers stiffened until
he was no longer a juggler. Once
he was nearly detected by the Jap
at the ice chest. Another time he
capslzed a pitcher of maple syrup
in hts pocket and had to go through
the duties of the breakfast hour
with the gooey stuff saturating
trousers and crawling maddeningiy
down his leg. Pride, OF course.
Kept him from disclosing a mishap
like this to the only person who
would have regarded ii sympathetic
cally and not humorously.
But the greatest disadvantage OF
all was that the brick contract made
such inroads upon his already over
mortgaged hours as left him now
no time at all for Leila except on
Friday nights. Moreover, his STRAIT
egy of the ring, which involved a
complete surprise. forbade him to
offer any explanation of what he
was doing with his afternoons. This
was a vital error. 1t permitted
Leila to infer that Joe Hancock's
| interest in her was merely benevo-
lent More dangerous still. 1t left
her with ample time in which to
receive the now proffered attentions
OF Fat" Franklin. which she did
with a good conscience and a
woman's natural pride in having at
| tracted one of the bigger fish in the
pool
But. blissfully unconscious of
these errors. Joe loaded and wheeled
and piled in hope, finding full COM
pensation for all his labors and de-
/ privations in the increasing pulchri-
tude of Miss Mason and the ever
beaming warmth of her smile-up
to that moment when. glancing out
of the window of the dining hall as
the midday meal was in swing, he
observed the girl coming down the
graveled path chatting gaily with
Milton Franklin.
Now it must be explained at this
point that Milton Franklin had the
faculty of rubbing certain kinds of
people the wrong way. people
whom. for one reason Or another.
Fat" considered less than his
equals. He was not popular with
0
with Leila gave Joe an incipient case
of dispositional pip. Joe was not
even aware that they knew each
other. yet from their manner they
seemed painfully well acquainted
The sudden stoppage of his heart
passed. however. with Lela's CHEEKY
greeting. and that organ thumped
proudly as the girl started toward
her accustomed table. But there
followed to her place this obese and
self-assertive young Franklin per-
son.
ALLOW me-" Fat" said grandly,
and pushed Lela's chair for her;
! then took the opposite one.
I'D like to push his face in-the
slob"" growled Joe away down in
his larynx.
Waiter" Fat" called with an
authoritative voice. Waiter"
Joseph Hancock was instantly fu-
| rious. Duty compelled him to take
Mr.. Franklin's pompously given or
| der but even while doing SO he was
planning to provide that presump-
tious interloper with an experience
| and a dinner he could never forget.
/ BY the time Joe actually reached
the purlieus of cookery his specif-
cations were complete
! "One steak - sma-a-allr he
bawled. and. drawing near enough
| for the purpose. he slipped the chef
one of those rare half dollars,
| whereat the whites of the dark
eyes rolled and black face, nodded
\ alert comprehension. "And. say,
| Sam" Joe's eyes narrowed to sin
lister slits and his tone was lowered
| to that tense and eager whisper in
which dark plots are laid. Resides
that. you have got steak in the
| house SO tough a dog couldn't eat
! 1t? II you have and can do any
thing to make it tougher than 1t is
! already. do it; then camouflage II
with opinions and slip it to me-"
"He-hehe-he" laughed the chef
as he read the gloomy tracery upon
| the boys face as one reads head
! lines in a newspaper. Some guy
done buttin' in on dat liz gal. huhr'
he gurgled.
"Butt-in is r-r-rightr growled
| Joe grinding his teeth