Evening star., 1923-06-03
BY
FREDERIC ARNOLD HUMMER


might happen. He rose. The tele-
phone is in the lobby. Miss Burnett.
Here's a nickel, If you haven't got one
handy"
THEIR evening together proved to
i be one Of the pleasantest John
Hull had ever experienced. In spite
of the disappointment which gnawed
at his heart, he laughed as joyfully
as though Mcintyre no longer existed
Miss Burnett laughed with him. eager
to make him forget. A perfect
dancer, he said to himself. as they
swept over the polished floor. What
a pity the contract was not going
through. AS engineer in charge Of
the work, he would have been obliged
to stay in ,Millersburg for weeks. 1t
would have enabled him to see her
frequently. An unusual girl, quite
unlike most stenographers he had
met. Witty, Intelligent, well-read-
ishingly considerate. When, at half
past eleven, he sought to escort her
home she refused to permit it.
"I live away out in the suburbs"
she said. 'It would take you an
hour or more, both ways, and you
wouldn't get to bed until after l
o'clock Don't forget you have hard
day ahead of you. Just put me on
the car and I'll be quite all right.
Ali the conductors know me. And
ct OFF at my door. Goodnight.
And good luck with Mr.. Thatcher.
Call me up, after you've seen him.
and let me know how you get along"
John demonstrated. insisting that
she ought not to go home alone, but
she only smiled. He watched her
car out Of sight, his heart very joy
Gus. A woman in million. Just
the sort to inspire q fellow-make
him win success. He went to his
room and spent an hour preparing a
detailed statement of the advantages
and savings to be secured by the
use of Standard asbestos roofing. II
would be a good thing to show to
Mr.. Thatcher the next morning.
TT was barely 9 o'clock when he
i reached the Offices of the big
plant at Glendale. prepared to make
the selling talk of his life. The
brisk young man who took his card
returned with the information that
Mr Thatcher was debating, but
would see him in half an hour.
This, John thought, was encouraging
Presidents of large corporations, he
had discovered, were usually more
difficult to see.
The half-hour passed. Then the
brisk young man appeared, conducted
him to a large, pleasant office. In i
sat two men. One Of them. a keen
eyed, well groomed individual o.
forty, extended his hand.
I'm Mr.. Thatcher" he said. Nee
Mr.. Sims, our chief engineer. Simms
this is Mr. Hull, representing th'
| Standard Asbestos Roofing Company
| We might be interested in his product
| If it meets our requirements. Sup
| pose you go over the matter with
| him and make me a report"
Mr.. Simms rose, led the way to an
| other office. For an hour and a hall
John was subjected to a merciless fire
of questions regarding the advan'
| tages and disadvantages of asbesto:
roofing. Thanks to a clear head, ant
a thorough knowledge of the subject
he was able to answer them withou
] difficulty. The figures he had pre-
| pared the night before proved th'
truth of his claim. 1t was gratifying
| to deal with a brother engineer, the.
! spoke the same language.
TT is true that the first cost of ou
roofing Is greater" he concluded, "bu
| it costs more because 1t is better
not because we are asking exorbitan
| profits. There are other good roofing
| materials on the market, but whel
you take into consideration the saw
ings, the advantages 1 have pointe,
out, I defy you to name one that i
better or cheaper in the long run. I
simply can't be done"
Mr. Simms looked up from his note
and smiled.
"I will take the matter up with MI
Thatcher" he said, "and let you know
this afternoon. Come in after luncl
say about o'clock. Our plans 70
the new buildings"-he indicated
mass Of blueprints-"called for a diff
ferent type of roof. but the figure
| you have presented are interesting
At o'clock, then. And suppose yo-
leave me one of your contract forms
containing the guarantee clause o
which you spoke"
John laid the blank form on MI
Simms' desk and went out. He ha
made a good impression, at least. A
the hotel laconic wire from Mr.. Nc
Intyre confronted him. Report thi
office immediately" 1t must hav
been sent after the receipt of hi
night letter. What did it mean? Ha
Mr.. Mcintyre found out-had he, in
deed. known all along-that Mr.. Jane
Austen was not the president of tn
Austen Thatcher Co., and had no au
thority to place orders on its behalf
II so, John reflected. he might b
accused of something more seriou
than madness-of downright dis
honesty, in not having corrected a
; once the mistake he had made
pretending to business he knew to b
fraudulent. His luncheon was a dis
NAL one, but he kept up his courag
and thought of Miss Burnett. Not
! line would he send to Mcintyre unit
after he had seen Mr.. Thatcher a
8 o'clock. At the stroke of the hou
he again sent in his card.
There was a shrewd twinkle in Nj
Thatchers grey eyes as he greeted hi
caller and took up tabulated repor
'tMr.. Hull" he said briskly, ''w
find that it will cost our company ap
proximately $4,000 more to instaI