The Indianapolis times., 1929-01-30

won't you say you're glad, Ben
ny?" Ruth coaxed tenderly.
"Oh, sure!" the boy mumbled.
"Sure I'm glad! Why not? He's a
great guy-best-lookig man in the
Starbridge building. Gee! What a
swell pair you two will makeI"
He gulped back his tears manful-
ly. "But say, Ruth, you'd better
douse the glim before Handsome
Harry surges in. T m tellin' you
Talk English for a change, Ben
ny!" Ruth laughed. "'Douse the
glim'-?"
"Put on them yellow specs OF
yours and slick back your hair like
you been wearin' it" the boy urged,
with O. curious sort of desperation.
Honest, Ruth"
"Mr. Borden's affections are SO
thoroughly engaged at present that
I don't think we need worry" Ruth
laughed. "But to please you, Ben
ny, I'll revert to the Lillian Gish-
In spectacles' role"
= n
CHE was reaching into the top
~ drawer of her desk for the big,
yellow-lensed, horn-rimmed spec
tacles which made her blue eyes
look a sickly, pale green, when the
telephone rang.
main $780," she announced.
Then, after a pause during which
she raised her eyebrows significant
ly as she glanced over her shoulder
toward Benny, mo, MI. Borden is
not in. ;. don't know. I'm sorry.
What name shall say? =. .
Oh, thank you'll"
She hung up the receiver and
shrugged. '"The woman with the
lovely contralto voice. I wonder
who she is. I put Mr.. Borden on
the line once when she called, and
he told me to remember her voice
and never do it again. Some old
flame, I suppose"
She pushed back the telephone
and was reaching for the disgust
ing spectacles, when the outer door
opened and Henry p. Borden
stepped into the room.
Ruth wnirled toward her desk in
her swivel chair, so that not just
yet should he see the transforma-
ton with which she had chosen
to celebrate her engagement. She
had not meant him to see, had in
tended to have the golden curls
pulled into tight knot, exposing
her ears and elevating her golden
brown eyebrows, had intended to
peer up at him as usual through
the disfiguring yellow lenses.
Morning, Miss Lester. Anything
important?"
Borden was striding toward the
door that led into his private Office,
not vouchsafing a look at that pallid
little secretary whose only appeal
to him was that she was an incom-
parable secretary.
Henry P. Borden, known along the
city's White Way as Handsome
Harry" Borden, deserved both the
adjective and the slight sneer with
which it was accompanied. For
handsome he undoubtedly was, in
a bold, striking black. and white
way.
If he had chosen the movies in
stead of dubious finance as career
he would inevitably have been cast
as the heavy" but invariably as
g drawing room, silk-hat type of
villain.
He was tall and large. but not at
all fat. Sleek, thick black hair,
into which 40 years of self-indul-
gence and at least twenty years; of
fast living had not introduced a
single strand of white. Bold, wide
black eyes, which had a trick of
staring at a woman until her heart
fluttered and her cheeks went either
pale or crimson.
A stubby black mustache, which
Borden was too wise to wear small.
extraordinarily white skin, for a
man, despite the thick growth of
beard which he shaved close twice
day. Rather thick but we'll
shaped red lips, always slightly