The Coolidge examiner., 1932-04-29

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cloud castle of her dreams came
down to this. This was where they
were going to make their fortune.
! She tried to laugh at herself, but
couldn't. Her panicky impulse was
TO drive away again and pretend
she'd never come, but she was
trembling so, she was afraid she
couldn't drive. Finally she went in
through the grimy little door that
| said "Ofice" on it.
Dad was there sitting at a desk,
and seemed pleased as well as sur
prised to see her.
"Sit down." he said. I'll be
through in a minute" After ap-
parently hesitating a moment he
introduced her to the man who sat
opposite him at the desk. His name
was Weed, and she thought him de-
testable. The other occupant of
the room he didn't introduce. He
was younger, perhaps. He had a
thick, dirty-looking skin and a
pimply face, and he sat morosely
at a typewriter pounding out let
ter rather slowly with two thick
fingers. She turned her chair a
little to make it easier not to look
at him.
She'd made occasional visits to
her fathers old office and the con-
trast really was appalling. That
had been in its sober way palatial,
furnished with great dull mahog-
any desks and leather chairs. But
this place! Why, it was hardly
clean. 1t wasn't, really. And it
was shabby. The floor was bare.
And to think Of poor old dad hav-
ing to come to a place like this I!
1t was pitiful.
Another man came into the office
from the shop. A workman in over
alls, his face and hands streaked
with dirty machine oil like a man
in a garage. He asked, rs Mr..
Mariner coming back this after
noon, Mr.. PattersonW
Il believe not" dad said. And
then to her amazement he stopped
the man before he could go back
into the shop. "Oh, Charlie" he
said, wait a minute. | want you
to meet my daughter Edith. Edith,
this is Charlie Franklin"
Charles seemed to have an idea
of shaking hands, and he rubbed
his hand on his overalls, but then
he looked at it and laughed. Il
guess it'll hardly do" he said. And
then, "YOu haven't see our shop yet,
have you"
Luckily dad answered for her.
mo, it's her first visit. I'll bring
her out in a minute"
ITS pretty dirty out there"
Charlie said, land it isn't straight
ened out yet, but we're really max
ing something there, Miss Patter-
SON."
She liked Charlie Franklin-you
couldn't help liking anyone who
spoke as pleasantly and as comfort
ably as he-and his assurance that
they were really making something
restored somewhat her courage.
But she found the shop, when IA
ther made good his promise and
conducted her through, almost as
diSpiriting a place as the office.
The meagerness of it's equipment
was shock to her. The machinery
didn't anywhere near fill up the
space even in that little building.
1t was just pitiful. Did dad really
think he could make a fortune out
of that?
When she and dad got into the
car and started driving home, she
began talking feverishly about any
thing she could think of that was
not the shop. She settled finally
upon the senior play at school and
gave him a detailed account of the
misadventures of the last rehearsal.
He wasn't more than half listening,
she knew, ard at last the thing she
dreaded happened.
I'm afraid" he said, cutting her
short, that you were disap-
pointed in our place down there.
You know you can't judge thing
you can't judge what it will grow
intO-by what it looks like at the
beginning. A turnip's bigger than
an apple seed, but it won't grow
into a tree, and the seed will if it
gets the chance. We've got a seed
down there. and we're going to try
to give it a chance to grow. You
wait a while and see. l didn't mean
you to visit it quite so soon. |
thought I'd let you wait until we'd
put out a leaf or two"
"Oh, it's all right" she said. 81
understand what you mean." 1t
was a relief not to have to pretend
any longer. Il suppose if l hadn't
gone to see you so many times in
your other office.
He laughed at that, but, she felt,
a little uncertainty, and she per-
ceived he felt that contrast, too.