The Coolidge examiner., 1932-04-15


envied him, too. Mariner had some
thing 10 hope for. No doubt he was
! still hoping. Was he plodding about
the streets, turning into this office
/ and that, telling his story over and
over again? Or was he waiting be-
side his own telephone in the hope
that Edward would call him up and
| tell him he could have the money?
1t was Edwards duty of course
| TO put him out of his misery. And
yet, when it came to the point of un-
hooking his receiver and calling
Mariners number, his will seemed
paralyzed. Perhaps, if he waited a
while longer, he'd learn that Mar
iner had got the money. Some one,
friend or stranger, might have
turned up with the needed help. Not
a rich man, necessarily. Mariners
help, If he got it, would be some
bOdy's savings. 1t was the poor who
took long chances. Six thousand
dollars in the savings bank or in
Liberty bonds didn't amount to
much, Edward knew. The amount
he himself had succeeded in putting
by amounted, outside his house and
his life insurance, to just a little
more than that. If anybody yielded
to Mariners spell, it would be some
body with a pair Of shoes very like
his own. Somebody who, in the reg
Iluar course of things, hadn't much
to hope for.
His muscles frightened suddenly
and his heart gave an unexpected
flutter. There was wild idea Non
sensical, of course, but literally
true. He could give Mariner his
six thousand dollars tomorrow morn
ing. 1t was only question Of get
ting into the bank and unlocking his
strong box. Oh, no, he wouldn't ac-
tually do anything like that-not
yet. But it was an amusing thing to
have thought of. Imagine how
Julia would look when he told her |!
The day had worn itself out at
| last. There was hardly anyone left
in the office. There was nothing
left for him to do but go home.
Home to another dinner of frozen
silences; an evening of pretending
| to read; another restless, beastly
night in the spare-room bed. Was
that Julia's step in the hall? Was
she coming to his door? Oh, Cd! !!
He wouldn't go home yet. There
was certain peacefulness in the
silence now the activities Of the Of
fee were dying down; an occasional
! door opening and shutting; a voice
saying good night to somebody. He'd
stay a little longer. He must tel
ephone to Mariner before he went
| home.
Two statesmen were talking frag-
! mentarily as they lounged toward
the outer door. One was urging
something, and the other was hold
ing back. Presently the urgent one
raised his voice little with a note
of evaporation. "Oh, don't be a
crab !" he said. You're getting more
like Old Aunt Patty every day"
Edwards face pringled at the
words. He caught his breath in
something like a laugh before his
mind had had time to tell him whom
the young man meant by "Old Aunt
Patty" 1t wasn't an accepted nick
name of his. AT least he'd never
heard it before. But there was no
mistaking it.
Edward tried to tell himself he
was amused. He'd spring that nick
name himself tomorrow on one of
those young fellows and see what
he looked like But he couldn't
manage that attitude. His lips were
trembling. There was a lump in
HE throat. He'd had enough and a
little over.
In another minute, with the re-
ceiver to his ear, he was asking
Mariner to dine with him at half
past six at the club.
He felt shaky as he walked to the
club, tremulous, excited and de-
pressed at the same time. He didn't
mean to do anything, not in a hurry.
He made himself a solemn promise
! while he waited for Mariner that he
wouldn't bind himself to anything
tonight. He'd make visit to the
factory, too, in order to get notion,
such as his layman's mind could
form, of the actual physical basis
of the inventors prospects.
This promise served him in good
stead during their long talk over
the dinner table and after. Mariner
was a hard man to resist. The
mere possibility that he'd found a
rescuer had restored the manner
which he had for a few minutes at
tanned during the interview in the
office. The stricken, desperate look
about him was gone.
He didn't pretend that the ad-
venture was sure thing. "Of course
it involves taking chance" he
said. IF it didn't you wouldn't be
getting in for six thousand dollars.