Evening star., 1929-11-17

"Tf you fancied you could use my son as
a lever against me, you tUere HeUer so
thoroughly mistaken"
told what I'm going to do. I'm here to tell
you what you're going to do"
The president was grimly amused He IN
spected her as though she had been an In
sufferably conceited child 'Well?"
You're going to buy my land"
"Ahi"
"At my price And it's much more than
yours--infinitely more"
His jaw frightened, and into his eyes there
crept slow, cold hostility. 'In that case," he
said icily good afternoon, Miss Kent"
She rose and moved toward the door, but
at the threshold she paused and looked back
and quietly returned.
MY gloves" she said apologetically and
retrieved them from the corner of the big
desk.
He made an imperative gesture to her.
''What price is it you'll think I'll pay?"
She sat down again. Perhaps ought %
tell you, Mr.. Bradburn, that before 1 kept
this appointment I'd gathered a good deal
of information about you. You settled here
about Is years ago. didn't you?"
What Of 1t? I asked you what's your
price"
'I understand that you needed more capital,
so you got it from the man who owned this
very house. He"
Miss Kent, you're wasting your time"
mo-" she said refiectively. I'm not even
wasting yours. This man was apparently q
lovable sort Of person, but rather goat
wasn't hep"
"Goat9" echoed the president astounded.
"Goat?"
We'll wasn't he? He lost practically every
cent he had-and since then, you've had .
brilliant career Haven't you?"
Bradburn transfixed her. "I see the idea
You've been collecting gossip. You hear I'm
close buyer, so when offer you three times
what that place Is worth, you think you're
going to be in on the-b boom. Wake up!''
"Oh, of course, know" she went on that
the business wasn't paying then. You made
it pay later--after taking the precaution to
buy his stock for next to nothing. ought
to know, hadn't I? Hadn't I? Don't you
remember when you used to give me pill
boxes full of mercury to play with, and bits
Of sodium and potassium to burn on water.
and let send packages down the chute
and one day slipped and went down the
chute myself? And"
He half raised himself from his chair. mo!
you can't be George Ferne's little grill"
"Oh, but can thought"
But her name wasn't Noel! 1t vast
'was--'
1T was Ada Noel Fernie. I dropped the
Ada"
Impulsively and cordially, he had put out
his hand. "AdaI That's right. But"
And then was married. That's how the
land got recorded in the name of Noel Kent.
Much of the heartiness went out of his
manner. She hadn't taken his hand; and
moreover, he was thinking rapidly But then
this land must have belonged to Georgel
George must have willed it to you Why, r
yes! And yet you've stayed under cover all
this time-even this afternoon. and-why,
don't grasp this at all!'
you see," she said "after father and
mother died. the title was recorded in my own
name. 1t was all the inheritance I had, ex-
cept few thousand dollars. Daddyd kept
it, because he thought that some day it might
be worth something"
RRADBURN had resumed his glacial atti-
tude. "And so you imagined that you'd
have some mysterious advantage by hiding
your identity, and then springing your bomb?
What did you expect to gain by all those
innuendos in regard to myself and your father2
Did he ever remotely hint that I'd been unfair
to him in any way?"
ooh. neverl But, after was old enough to
hear the bare facts, he didn't have to. No. he
never said word But know what generally
happens when there's clever, powerful man ON
one side and trustful simpleton on the other"
The president nursed his foot. Mrs. Kent.
George Fernie was once my friend-but that's
no excuse for me to swallow any such imperti-