White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1932-06-16
CHAPTER VII-Continued

her face. There was moment before
she answered.
"Yes," she said, II guess would"
At the foot Of the stairs he paused.
"We've really been having row. he
said. do you suppose we've walked
Edith?"
She laughed as she clasped his arm.
II don't care" she said
Edward had a window-seat on the
shady side Of the fve-eighteen. He
had opened his paper and was skim
ming the headlines; not reading them
exactly, but giving them fair chance
to attract his attention if they could.
CHANGING up, he saw Bert Willard
in the act of passing his seat. No one
had taken the other half of it yet; the
car wasn't full enough for that. He
got q sharp impression-the sharper
for being unanalyzable-tha Bert had
seen him and meant to pretend he
hadn't. Equally surprising was his
own impulse, in the same moment, to
let him go by unrecognized. Neverthe-
less, he called his friends name, and
Bert, with start not quite convinc-
ingly genuine, came back and sat be-
side him. He opened his paper.
"Nice to have spring show signs of
coming around again, isn't it?" he said.
Edward agreed that it was. "Got
your golf started yet?' he asked. II
should think nice day like this would
have tempted you"
"Oh, I get tempted sometimes when
l don't fall" Bert answered absently
His eye was on the smu 'gv numerals
In the Extra column-the first three
innings of the afternoons ball game.
"The Cubs are showing signs Of life
this year." he remarked. wouldn't
surprise me If they turned out to be
pretty good"
Edward had nothing to say to that.
He couldn't even make conversation
about baseball He returned into his
own newspaper.
This was worse than he'd expected
it to be. He had known, Of course.
that there was loose end to be tied
off with Bert. He'd been meaning for
days to seek him out; tell him of the
revolutionary turn that had taken
place in his affairs; and, incidentally,
acknowledge that Bert had been right,
more than right; that he'd played the
part of true friend in circumstances
that had made it about the hardest
hjv,o hA Ia 1o
shouldn't have put it off, 1t was
heavens, 1t was more than two weeks
since that CHASTITY morning when
they'd brought Edith home from Ashe-
Vile!
Why hadn't he, the very next morn
ing, at least written note, apologize
ing and saying that he meant to follow
his advice? OF course, not having
done that, it had been progressively
easier to put it off. And then, when
he had seen things moving to point
where it was going to be possible to
show that he really didn't need any
outside help, there had been reason
for waiting for that point to arrive
1t had only arrived as matter Of
fact, today.
The train was slowing down. The
brakeman put his head in the door
and called, High Forest!"
The two newspapers were dropped
simultaneously, and the two friends
stared at each other. They'd ridden
five miles beyond their own station.
"H-l!" Bert said. There was a
twinkle in his eye, though, and the ice
broke with crash. Oh you, Ned !"
he went on, "were you going to Mil
waukee before you said anything?
How are things going with your"
"All right" Edward told him. ~
SUPPOSE I've stuck because the first
thing I had to say was that I'd been
d-n fool and don't really believe
1t vet. At least, If 1 was, I'm glad of
It. I've got rid of the choke, though.
I'll tell you all about it,
"Better get off here first Bert sug-
pested. I'VE don't want to ride an
other FIVE miles on this d-n train.
We can drive over to the golf club and
nave QlUucI. 1cll Jul NlNCS lAilI c
what we meant to do all along. No
use looking sillier than necessary"
1t wasn't until they'd washed W
and sat down to dinner that Edward
began his story-the story of the
inadvertent sale to Jake German of 6
Thousand dollar life insurance
contract.
ut wasn't what you meant to dt
when you went after him?" Ber
asked.
NO" Edward told him. I'm SURE
It wasn't, and yet l don't think
meant to ask him to put his none.
into the choke. l don't think ! coul'
have asked him. You'd convinced me
as far as my mind went, that ia be
crook If l persuaded anybody to IN
vest in that. I'd already gone out t
ask Julia to let me put mortgage o.
the house to keep the thing afloat, an
when 1t came to the point, l wouldn
let her do it.