The Dolores star., 1922-12-01

shell. "' o"sihess
rue next morning he opened the
uoor and walked directly across IN
Hiss Denslow, greeting her with
siniilng Good morning. / hone vou .ra
, msposeu 10 grant a favor. today. i
WISH 10 get out an unusual amount of
"ork before tomorrow. Would IL he
possioie Tor me to engage your sery.
ices this EVENING" l can ALWAYS do
oe''er work when the noise of the dav
S stiiled." With a calm exterior he
awaited her reply. Eleanor heard his
request with surprise and looked at
MN closely, trying to see IL there was
anything more than business in this
suggestion.
am not In the habit Of extending
my once hours into the evening"
The answer was neither what ba
hoped Tor nor what he feared. Eleanor
never knew how 1t was that she con-
sehted to return to the office that eve
nihg. Neither did she know how 1t had
come to be regular thing for her to
uihe with Mr.. Balcome twice a week.
returning to the office for an evenings
work on his book.
Inc 1ne was not all spent In dicta-
ton. Many interesting points came up
10 be discussed. OF course, when they
stayed late Mr.. Balcome could not al
low her to go home alone. One eve
hins they stopped work earlier than
usual. Eleanor did not know that he
had so planned it. When they reached
the apartment, Mr.. Balcome said:
1T Is too late to go to the theater
and too early to go home. think you
VIII have to be kind, and invite me to
come in, Miss Denslow."
She could not refuse, so for the first
time the gray and rose nest was in
vaded by man. That night Eleanor
sat long in the gay cushioned chair,
thinking back over the days to that
frst time when Bruce BalcOme had
walked into her office and into her
llte. She could not remember when
she had commenced to think OF him as
other than one of the many customers
who werr in and out of her Office How
had she let down the bars that sepa.
rated her business and her home life?
few nights later she found box
of roses at her door, Burylng her face
in their sweetness, she spled note
MY Dear Miss Denslow-I am going
home tomorrow"
She read no further. Going home
going home-without word" She
clenched the note tightly In her hand.
'"Then he does not care. And thought
Il thought" She dropped her head
on the table, her feelings too deep for
tears. Was 1t true? Had she read 1t
right? Slowly she raised her head,
dreading, yet longing, to see the words
again. Her fingers loosened on the
note. Yes. but there was more. Per-
haps he explained. She glanced along
the lines:
your assistance has meant much to
me, and l shall miss our evenings to-
gether. My hope is that you, too, will
miss them, and that your evenings will
be so lonely you will be ready to give
me warmer welcome when l return
than you did at our first meeting. l
look forward to spending next Satur-
day evening with you, and I shall not
come to dictate. but If your smile Of
welcome invites, to ask for something.
Yours always, BRUCE BALCOME."
yours" He had underlined it. Had
their companionship meant as much
to him as it had to herr She would
know soon, but how could she wait?
ing hopes. She walked home at night
as in a dream, cooked her dinner in a
dream, and as she sat down to 1t pic
tured blue-eyed companion opposite.
Saturday came at last, and even the
room itself seemed to wear an air Of
expectancy. The pink rosebuds which
showed their blushes against the soft
gray of the vase must have been re-
sponsible for the rose flush on the face
of the rooms occupant, flush which
deepened as steps sounded outside and
a firm hand knocked at the door. She
could not move to open 1t. Another
knock, then q voice. Eleanor" and,
as she drew the door back, the dream
figure that had been tenanting her
room vanished as Bruce Balcome stood
before her, question in his eyes.
Eleanor, hope you have been lone
ly this past week, as horribly lonely as
1 have BEEN"
Her eyes spoke for her as they
looked into his, and he drew her to
him closely.
dearest, do you know what q
frigidly cold greeting you gave me
when l first met you. As a punish
ment 1 am going to compel you to
lifetime Of greetings Of this kind"
and he lifted her face to his in greet
, ,,oh nc oply lovers know