The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1936-09-25
A Friend in Disguise
BY STANLEY CORDELL
g Associated Newspapers.-wNU Service.

EN- ALLERTON has the dampest
IL ideas on friendship that you
could imagine. He's hard boiled
about it, too. Declares in no UNI
certain terms that such a thing as
a real friend can't exist.
Lens theory has caused Chef
Nichols no end of unhappiness and
concern. You see, Chef is Just the
opposite of Len. He's an idealist.
He likes to believe in such things as
true friendship and honor and sacri-
fee and honesty and sincerity and
all the other things that to most
of us make life worth living.
And, worst of all, Chef wants to be
friend of Len Allerton. Len has
many qualities that Chef admires
and is in sympathy with.
Chef broods over it. He is unhappy
because of it and never tires of
trying to understand and change
Lens ideas. "You can't Just make a
statement like that without having a
reason, without having logic to SUBJ
stantiate your theories" he'd say.
Len gestured carelessly. "Oh,
friendship is all right. l like lot
of friends and like to be good
friend to lot of people. But, shucks,
I'd never be fool enough to depend
upon their loyalty in time of
pinch"
Chef sighed. "By gosh, you're be-
yond me. And confdentially, Len,
I think you're all wet I think you
don't believe any such thing. think
you're like the rest of us"
Sure, 1 am" Len grinned. "Just
like everyone else. Selfish. Doing
things for other folks as a sort of
investment.
Chef was annoyed and troubled
and unhappy. He liked Len, he
wanted him for a friend. He hated
to hear him make such statements.
And then something happened of
such vast Importance in Chefs life
that nothing else seemed worthy of
a consideration. He lost his job at
time when he needed it most. His
wife was about to have a baby.
At first he didn't worry a great
deal because he felt that other jobs
could be had for the seeking. But
within a month he learned that this
wasn't so. The future doomed pretty
black. The baby was born and it's
coming took every cent of cash that
Chef could rake together. He be-
came pretty panicky and desperate
and wondered what he was going to
do.
While he was thinking about it
Len Allerton dropped in one day and
sennounced he'd just made a little
extra money on a real estate deal
and wondered if Chef could use it.
Len stayed for an hour and talked
with Chef and before he left he
succeeded in learning the true con-
dition of affairs.
During the next month Len
dropped in frequently and each time
announced that good fortune had
come his way and he could let Chef
have twenty-five or thirty dollars as
easy as not.
"Gosh, Len, I'll owe you plenty
before I get through
"Forget it. You owe me nothing"
"But, darn it, it doesn't look as if
I'll ever get a job-ever be able to
pay you back" He hesitated. "It
isn't so much the money, Len. It's
the way you've acted. So darn de-
cent and kind and considerate of
Bess and me and the kid. It's the
little things you've done, your in
terest in how we're. getting along
that appreciate.
"Nuts!" said Len.
Two weeks later Len called Chef
on the telephone. GIVE got job
for you. Not much to start, but it
may lead to something"
1t was a good job, the sort of
work that Chef liked. And because
he liked it he went ahead fast. After
a while he began to pay Len back
the money he had borrowed, but
Len only took it when he was con-
WINGED that Chef had it to spare.
Chef was secretly amused. Things
were looking brighter now and he
had time to think. One day he
dropped in on Mrs. Allerton when
Len was away. And that afternoon
he called at Lens Office.
"Len," he said, you're a hypo-
critic and a fathead and-and the
best friend a man could ever have
or hope to have"
you're crazy" said Len.
Friends are the bunk"
IT happen to know" said Chef,
"that most of that money you loaned
me when I was hard up, you bor-
rowed. happen to know that that
job you got me was the result of a
couple of months of searching. I
happen to know that you almost
lost your own job and that you and
Rita sacrificed good deal to help
me when I needed it. No one else
came near me, no one else offered
to do a thing. Len, you're a real