White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1932-05-26
CHAPTER VI-Continued

Il don't know" she said. IT hope
he will, of course. But Ned, I'll be
sort of relieved If he doesn't"
He nodded, as If he understood,
which was more than the girl did.
"Oh, dreams are dangerous, know"
he said. "But you'll find we're harder
boiled than we were last October"
Next morning the quarter hours
crept away as if nothing had hap
pened. Edith and her father sat and
looked at each other. Every time they
heard car in the street outside Edith
went to the window.
"He won't come now" dad remarked
finally. He'd already said the same
thing few minutes earlier. HE told
me has was coming in the morning,
and the mornings over. It's vile
day, Of course. That may have put
him off. But it wouldn't, If he'd really
meant business. Anyhow, I'm going
out to lunch. Want to come along"
ooh, brought mine with me from
home" she said.
I'm not coming back" he told her,
mot for quite a while, anyhow. There
are some people want to see, and
I've got to go to the bank"
"But what If he comes!" she cried.
"He WON'T" her father asserted, but
with more assurance, she thought, than
he really felt. He gave himself away
by adding, II can call up, of course.
I'll do that; some time around the
middle of the afternoon"
Still, he hung about few minutes
longer, and it was with visible jerk
that he finally tore himself away
Edith didn't eat more than half her
lunch and she bolted that in panic
lest Mr. German should come in and
catch her at it. But she might have
fletcherized the whole lunch, for the
hours went by and nothing happened.
She decided she'd stick around for
a while. There was nothing to wait
for, really but she thought she might as
we'll. (She was to decide later that
this had been a genuinely prophetic
hunch.)
She was telling herself that mother
was right-that it was relief to
have the possibility Of Jake German
definitely written off the books-when
she heard the door open, swung around
and saw him standing there.
There was no possibility Of enter
tanning moments doubt as to who
he was. He couldn't be anybody else.
He had on the biggest, thickest beaver
coat she'd ever seen. 1t seemed to fill
the whole Office. His big square face
had, at the first blink, a look Of in
jured surprise upon it. as If he were
saying to himself, "Is this all y
1t annoyed her. She decided that
his small, bristling, dark mustache
looked ridiculous. It was too small to
go with his wide nose. He looked like
some sort of animal; she couldn't
think what.
Nobody homer" he asked.
With great dignity she rose to con-
front him. "Mr. Patterson's gone out"
she said.
$50 it seems" he observed, but not
In discontinued way at ALL He was
taking her in with evident interest.
II told him 1 was coming around to
see him today" he went on.
eff you are Mr.. German" she said,
"he was expecting you this morning."
ooh, you know who l am? Well,
that's something. You might invite me
to sit down."
She didn't care what he said or
did, If only he didn't go away before
she had time to think what to do.
won't you be rather warm in here
with that coat on?"
make myself at home, eh? All
right, that suits me-
He took off his coat and hung 1t up,
pulled up chair beside the desk, and
sat down.