The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1927-05-07
The Peacemaker
Baby
Ccopyright.)
BY Fl. IRVING KING


for the hair he thought he would go
to the extravaganza of having his
nails manicured.
Miss Camberwell," said the man.
ageress of the manicure room, will
you please attend to this gentleman"
The name Of the young woman who
was assigned to him gave old Murvin
mental jolt. He looked at her
keenly across the little table while
she prosecuted her professional minis
trations and tried to keep up, mechan-
ically, the patter all manicure girls
are supposed to reel off.
what part Of the country are you
from?" he asked abruptly.
New England" she replied-and
named a small manufacturing town
In that section.
ANY relation Of Roger Gambler
well?" asked Murvin.
HE was my father replied the
young woman looking at the old man
with inquiring eyes. Did you know
him?"
Hunt Yes. slightly" hesitated the
millionaire. He's dead, l believer
Eyes, sir" said Miss Camberwell,
'he died five years ago"
Murvin asked no further questions;
the operation went on in silence-and
the millionaire paid his ticket and
went off, leaving no tip and not even
saying "good-by."
All the way to his gorgeous palace
Of house off Fifth avenue, where the
childless widower lived alone with
spinster sister, the man of millions
was In deep thought. So that was
what Roger Camberwell's daughter
had come to, was it? Well, he did not
wonder. Roger never was a business
man. If he had been-well, if he had
been, perhaps Murvin Jones would not
have had as much money as he had
now.
He took up his library telephone
and half an hour later a young man
reported to him for orders. 1t was
the young mans business to find out
things for people who could pay. The
next evening the young man made his
report: Bertha Camberwell, mani
curist. Small salary. Lives in
cheap boarding house. Is twenty-four
years old. Engaged to Roscoe Pal
mer, aged twenty-six, formerly in Of
fee of the Marquard Canning com
pany. Now out of a job because of
dissolution Of firm. Too poor to get
married"
Il don't know why I feel this way
about that girl" thought Murvin. "As
to my cheating her father, that's non
sense. True, 1 might have kept our
firm going but Roger would always
have been a drag. Never made a sue
cess with him in the game. What
could I do but squeeze him out?
Foundation Of my fortunes? Yes; but
It couldn't be helped. Roger was hope
less"
A few days later Bertha received
a letter from Murvin, brutally direct
and offering her monetary assistance
as "a friend of her family" She sent
back an indignant refusal Of Murvin's
assistance. She would accept no
help from the man who had ruined her
father" Old Afurvin's ire rose.
} "She's got about as much money-sense
as her father" he stormed. Am 1
going to be defied by silly girl?"
To her surprise when Bertha told
Roscoe OF her refusal Of the million
aires offer he did not show the en-
thusiasm she had expected.
Perhaps you did right" said he
''but / do hate to see you working
the way you do. And can't seem to
get job anywhere"
A week later Roscoe blew in like
an elated whirIwind. Got the best
Job 1 ever had in my life" he an
nounced. Confidential man for
Houghton, Carstairs & Co. Sent for
me! Said they had heard Of the
good work did with the canning COM
pany. Got a three years contract.
Glad you rejected old man Jones' offer.
He and his money can go to Jericho.
You resign your position the first thing
tomorrow morning. And now name
the day, old girl"
And Bertha named the day.
Roscoe had been in the employ Of
HOughton, Carstairs & Co. for a year,
and there was a little stranger In the
cradle at home, before he found out
that the hacker Of the firm-the man
who, secretly, furnished the funds for
It's successful operation-was Murvin
Jones. This exciting his suspicious,
he managed to worm out of one of the
partners that it was owing to Murvin
that he had been taken into the firms
employ. $50 the old geezer had his
way about helping Bertha after ALL,
thought he. When he went home that
night he told Bertha. Bertha thought
deeply for minute and then looking
at the sleeping baby, said: Let US
forgive him-for baby's sake, Rossie.
If he could only see baby newl"
And the next day he wrote a note
to Murvin stating he had just become
aware of the fact that he owed his po-
sition to the said Mr.. Jones-and
thanking him for the interest he had
taken In his welfare. Also he extend
ed the thanks of Mrs. Roscoe-and
mentioned the baby
Old Murvin chuckled. Didn't get
the best Of me, did she?" he laughed.
And then he went to see the baby and
started a bank account for that In
fantile wonder. He insisted, however