, 1925-06-03
XIII-Continued

When, in 1918. Dirk took off his uni
'orm he vent into the bond depart
nent of the Great Lakes Trust COM
oany in which Theodore Storm had a
arge interest. He said that the wal
aad disillusioned him.
What did you think war was going
20 do?" said Selma. "Purifyl 1t never
has yet"
1t was understood, by Selma at
east, that Dirk's abandoning of his
profession was a temporary thing.
Quick as she usually was to arrive at
conclusions, she did not realize until
100 late that this son of hers had def
-nitely deserted building for bonds;
:hat the only structures he would rear
we're her own castles In Spain. His
1rst two months as a bond salesman
aetted him more than a years salary
At his old post at Hollis & Sprague's.
When he told this to Selma, I'm tri-
1mph, she said, Yes. but there isn't
much fun In 1t, is there? This selling
!hings on paper? Now architecture,
that u be thrilling. Putting a build
ng down on ~paper-little marks here,
straight lines there. figures. calcula-
lions, b%lueprints, measurements-nnd
then. suddenly one day. the actual
building itself. Steel and stone and
prick. with engines throbbing inside It
Ike a heart. and people flowing in and
jut. Part of a city. A piece of actual
beauty conceived by you'll oh. Dirk y
TO see her face then must have given
him n nanO II y-o CO alive
He found excuses for himself. sell
ne bonds that make that building pos
sible isn't so dull. either"
But she waved that aside almost
,ontemptuously. "What nonsense.
Dirk. It's like selling seats at the box
office of a theater for the play In
side"
Dirk had made many new friends In
he last year and a half. More than
hat, he had acquired a new
IN air of quiet authority, of asstr-
ince. The profession of architecture
vas put definitely behind him. He did
aot say to Selma that he had put the
ther work from him. But after six
months In his new position he knew
hat he would never 60 back.
From the start he was a success.
Within n year he was so successful
hat you could hardly distinguish him
from a hundred other successful young
Chicago business and professional men
whose clothes were made at Peel's:
h lunched at the Noon club on the
roof of the First National bank where
chicago's millionaires ate c%orned-beef
nash whenever that plebeian dish ap-
peared on the bill of fare. He had
had a little thrill out of his first meal
At this club whose membership was
made up of the big men" of the clty's
financial circle. Now he could even
feel a little flicker of contempt for
hem. He had known oAi Aug Hem
gel. of course, for years. as well as
Michael Arnold, and, later, Phillip EN-
cry. Theodore Storm, and others. But
ne had expected these men to be differ
emit.
They were not at all the American
Big Business Man of the comic papers
and of fiction-that yellow. nervous,
dyspeptic creature who lunches of
milk and pie. They were divided into
two definite types. The older men of
between fifty and sixty were great
high-colored fellows Of full habit.
Their faces were impassive, their eyes
shrewd. hard. Their talk was colloqui-
al and frequently illiterate. They often
said was" for 'were." "was you go
ing to see Baldwin about that South
American stuff or is he going to ship
IL fhrnstph prifhaps Mot ~.-
mad known little Of play in their youth
and now they played p~onderously and
little sadly and yet eagerly as does
one to whom the gift of leisure had
ZONE too late. They ruined their pal
ates and livers with strong cigars.
thinking cigarette smoking undignified
and pipes common. Only a few were
so rich, so assured as to smoke cheap
light panatellas. Old Aug Hempel
was one of these. Dirk noticed that
when he made one OF his rare visits
20 the Noon club his entrance was
met with n little stir. a Difference. He
was nearing seventy-fve now was still
straight, strong, zestful Of life; a mag
nifcent old b%uccaneer among the pet
,ier crew. His had been the direct
and brutal method-swish swash
and his enemies walked the plank. The
Younger men eyed him with u certain
amusement and respect.
These younger men whose ages
ranged from tw~enty-eIght to f~orty-five
we're disciples OF the new system In
business. They were graduates of uni
versltles. They had known luxury all
their lives. They were the sons or
g%rnndsons OF those bearded. rugged.
and rather terrible old boys who. In
1885 or 1910, had come out OF County
limerick or County Kilkenny or out
II Scotland or the Rhinelnnd to mold
this new country in their strong hairy
hands.
Dirk listened to the talk OF the Noon
Rub. looking about him carefully. APP
. -. nl.n .xaatln.t q. ~, al