The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-03-20
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
HAYDEN entered Il

CHAPTER TWENTY-T TWO
DAULINE HAYDEN entered the
l. Office where Janet was working.
There was no one else in the room.
Pauline came over to Janet's desk
and said quietly What's it all
about? Do you know?"
whats what all about"
Pauline nodded toward Hamil-
tons desk. Your boss is talking
to Chambers, isn't he? They've been
at it half the morning. Something's
going to happen around here, I'll
betl"
What makes you think SOP" ia
net asked.
"Oh-lots of things. I can tell
by the way Bradford and Daily had
their heads together a while ago.
They know something's on foot, but
they don't know what it is"
But there isn't anything strange
about Mr.. Hamilton'S talking to Mr..
Chambers They're always having
conferences"
4 know. But this is different"
Pauline picked up a typewriter
eraser and toyed with it. You'll
see I'm right" she prophesied.
Janet smiled. Pauline, who
wouldn't for the world have asked
a personal question, always was
seeming such rumors. The fact
that almost always they proved
groundleSs never seemed to dampen
her ardor.
Janet herself didn't think it
strange that Mr. Hamilton should
spend most of the morning in the
business managers office.
1t was Pauline's prediction, of
course, that made Janet little sur
priSed when Hamilton announced
later in the afternoon that he would
not be down the next day, possibly
not on the day after.
He didn't say that he was going
out of town, that he had other
business, or make any explana-
ton. He simply told her he
wouldn't be down.
He outlined some work that Janet
was to do in his absence, told her
he'd trust her to keep the shop"
and departed fully three quarters of
an hour before the time he usually
left the Office.
Maybe Pauline was right. Janet
didn't bother much about that. If
anything was to happen, she would
know it soon enough.
TIME two days of Hamilton's alb
l. sence dragged. There was little
for Janet to do and she preferred
to be busy.
When she was busy or when she
was very tired, she did not have
time to think. She avoided the
other girls at the office, avoided
Mollie Lambert, and did not see JEFF
Grant.
Then on the third morning Bruce
Hamilton was back at his desk
businesslike and brisk as usual.
He said nothing about where he
had been, looked over his letters and
went about the days work exactly
as usual.
Once that day when Janet was
sitting at her desk tipping she looked
up to find Hamilton watching her
Her cheeks colored.
Hamilton said, Miss Hill, how Ole
are you?"
"Twenty-four," Janet told him
She had been "a for just about a
week now.
The man smiled. "Twenty-four,'
he repeated. Getting on, aren't
you?"
1t was intended as a joke but
it did not seem a joke to Janet
Twenty-four was getting on. She
was getting on and there was SO
little to look forward to except
day after day of sitting at a type
writer or scribbling curves and dots
and pothooks in a notebooks.
Twenty-tour she was, and life
and happiness and the beautiful
things she had dreamed about were
rushing past. All this flashed
through her mind, but she said
Yes" to Mr.. Hamilton and smiled
and wondered why in the world he
should have asked such a question.
He saw that she had taken him
seriously and laughed. Twenty
four in a wonderful age" he told
her. Wonderful 1 wish I could
be "a againl I wish there was a
way to manage it."
Janet didn't know if she should
go on tipping or if there was some
thing more he wanted to say. She
hesitated and as she did so the
man leaned forward.
Tell me-" he said, do you Ike
cats? Persian cats?"
1t was preposterous! Janet
couldn't believe her ears and yet
she knew that was what he hao
said.
"Why-yes," she answered slowly
THAT is, some cats. I don't like
them when they bite and scratch.
HAMILTON laughed again. So
l. J. he had only been joking! Janet
was accustomed to quick changes
of mood on the part of her en-
ployer, but she had never seen him
quite like this.