Evening star., 1922-11-26

+ sorry. but l can't help it Yes. this
! is Mr.. Blair
| Just before he was to be wheeled
out to the operating room Jimmys
| father asked to see the boy alone.
| Son" he said with a smile. the
! doctor has told rae about this thing
! of mine. Your mother doesn't know
| not exactly. I've got a good chance.
/! they say. but IL anything should
happen-if anything should happen,
Jim-Im depending on you" The
older man hesitated. Things aren't
| in as good shape. financially. as I'd
/ like to have them. But I've got you.
! That's IA big relief. That's all.
| Wish me luck He grinned again
| and held out his hand.
; Jimmy took his mother downstairs
! to the waiting room. He was wish
| ing his father did not look so pale.
And why did hospitals always have
! such depressing medical smells?
After what seemed like hours and
! hours. a nurse. all in white. came
! softly into the room. Mr.. Blair was
! out of the ether. she said, and resting
comfortably.
| Thank Cod said Jimmy's mother
and stood up. He's going to live"
and clutched for Jilnmy's hand. The
nurse smiled and nodded.
! But the nurse was wrong.
| Il y
| TT was not until the day after the
i funeral that Jimmy was able to
! set his thoughts in any kind of order.
:. Somehow he had managed to wire his
Office to tell them he could not be
back for another week at least. For
| the rest. he had arranged the funeral
and seen about the cemetery lot and
gone through two long talks with his
fathers lawyer and held his arm
tight about his mothers shoulders
| hour after hour, all in q sort of daze.
But now at last he was facing
facts. They were not pleasant facts.
| First. there was his fathers store.
| For four years past it had been los
ing money. Jimmy couldn't believe
| that until he had gone over the books
! several times and then talked with
! the president of the bank. His father
had been old-fashiened and easy-go-
ing, and he had been in competition
| with three chain stores. each one of
them run by local man. They could
| undertuy him and undersell him, and
| they had. Only Mr.. Blair's popularity
and his name for square dealing had
kept him in business at all.
The president Of the bank explained
| that it was his best judgment that
Jimmy had better take steps to sell
the stock on hand and dispose of the
lease on the store building. This
| would give him q few thousand dol
lars in hand, and thereby place him
In a position financially to meet most.
if not all, Of his fathers debts.
"Debts?" Jimmy demanded.
Well, yes. there were some debts.
Mr. Blair had made a number of in
vestments on margin, in the hope Of
recovering some Of his recent losses.
and the investments had turned out
pretty much as everybody except Mr..
Blair predicted they would. The
banker coughed deprecatingly.
"That was about your. fathers only
fault, Jim. He never could seem to
understand the value of money.
Jimmy stared moodily at his finger
tips.
81 guess I don't either" he con-
fessed.
Good time to learn" said the older
man, not unkindly. by the way,
your father carried little insurance.
That's intact. as far as I know. I've
been figuring things up for you. Jim.
in rough sort of way. If you can
get rid Of the stock on hand down.
there at the store for fair price and
get rid Of the lease, there'n be some
where between fifteen hundred and