Evening star., 1925-06-21

-
ard and start off for the Five Towns
at once. It's 10 miles. He's to be
at Miss Maidie Furber's. 13 Clayton
street, Hillport knype. at 10 sharp
tomorrow morning to bring Miss Fur
ber here. and tell him he's to get back
here with her before tea time. Tele-
phone q message TO Miss Furber TO
say the car will be there for her, and
she'll oblige me very much by coming.
business
Yes, sir"
I ADY ELEANOR wandered into the
- room, although the room was his
den. Mr.. Furber permitted, even en-
courased, his week end guests thus
freely to wander about. on the un-
derstanding that they did not expect
sustained attention until dinner. He
| had no objection to some of them
listening-or pretending not to listen
while he transacted business.
Lady Eleanor was young. beautiful
and beautifully dressed. She, indeed,
had style, pedigree. She was the
daughter of an earl. and she had mar
ried the brother of baron. 1t was
impossible that any woman should
be as innocent as Lady Eleanor
L.
She had seen life. She had, in fact,
had to set rid of the baron's brother.
She was now free again. Ralph. with
his insight into human nature--of
which he was secretly very proud
knew that she would not he free for
long. He admired her. She WAS SO
slim. so 1.-THE, so elegant, so expensive.
She had such A quiet, tranquilizinS
voice. and such a way Of looking at
4 man-trustful. reassuring, apprecia
tive TO Ralph that such a jewel of
a girl, who knew familiarly the
whole of the great world. should be
on familiar terms with him. Ralph,
the brother of Dinah, who had mar
ried a iobbing builder. and of Mary,
who had married Il Prudential insur-
ance agent, and whose father used
to eat in his shirt sleeves in q house
of which the rent WAS S shillings A
week. He took her soft hand some
what violently and she yielded il
touchingly to his violence.
so that affairs all over and set.
tied now" he began. referring 10 the
late proceedings against the baron 5
brother.
She nodded
Shall We get yer costs out Of him.
Heaven knows" she exclaimed
with sigh and d smile. II hear
he 3 on to Central Africa.
They sat down side by side on the
blue sofa in the immense bow.window.
The secretary soon afterwards re.
turned into the room. Mr.. Ralph
| Furber did not move from the sofa
He continued TO talk in a playful.
rough tone to Lady Flea nor. and then
suddenly he faced the secretary and
| began curt1y and rapidly to give her
a long series of varied instructions,
which she scribbled down. about the
| electric light installation, the pur-
chase of Treasury bills. his new suits
a hammock. champagne, works dis
pute at Newca stle, etc. etc.
And tell ST. John" he finished-St.
John was his principal secretary
tell Mr.. ST. John to draft that letter
about the Charing Cross Echo. Tell
him the figures twenty-one thousand.
| Tell him to make 1t final. and III
give EN- until Tuesday TO decide
The secretary departed once more.
fully laden.
Lady Eleanor SaiG:
You know you'll never buy the
Echo for twentN-cue thousand. It's the
oldest established evening paper in
! London, and Steinheil won't take less
than twenty-siX thousand. He might
take twenty-five. but / don't think SO.
| It's cheap at twenty-siX.'
Cheap. is it," I know it's losing
close on thirty thousand year. And
I'm to pay twenty-five thousand for
the privilege of losing four hundred
! a week."
But you soon turn it into a pay
ing concern. Besides. you want a
daily. Owning a paper would round
you off. I quite see that. You
| wouldn't get one that was paying its
| way for quarter of a million. Every
body says it's dirt cheap
Ralph seized Lady Eleanor's hand
and looked her in the face loweringiy.
Listen to me. Lady Eleanor" he
said. with d mixture of Srimness,
cynicism. and benevolence. You're
going TO get a commission out of
Steinheil If that paper is sold TO me
for more than twentv-one thousand
why do You say such thing
Because it just came into my head.
that's all. I shouldn't he surprised if
he's offered you half of everything
over twenty-one thousand It's quite
all =; ,ht. Business is business He
lauSi - indulsently, as at rather
mediocre joke.
A deep blush spread Owe: Lady
Eleanor's cheeks and down 10 her
neck and throat.
Then I guessed right" ne ex-
=
a roar of laughter.
Listen here. l wont give Stein
he'll more than twenty-one. But III
| make YOU a present OF two and a half
thousand-for your trouble"
Lady Eleanor wept.
There was an interruption nf
guests into the room, headed by Sir
| Thomas. Lady Eleanor rushed pell
nell through the open French window
into the garden. She was holding her
hands to her face. and between her
hands cataracts OF laughter seemed
to escape. But only Ralph knew tha t
it was hysterical laughter.
x x X X
HRUT | thought you were ill.,
This exclamation came from
Maidie as she stepped out of the
Packard on the following Sunday.
The whole of the week end party was
trailing into the house after various
games and distractions. And the
week end party seemed to Maidie to
De alarmingly distin guished, smart.
fashionable, Londony. and sure to
itself. The women thereof intimida ted
her. The week end party thought that
Maidie must be some secretarial mes
senser arriving with important news
bearing on the hosts private affairs.
why did We think | was ill.," asked
Ralph, ignoring completely all his
other guests.
Well | couldn't think whv else We