The guardian. [volume] (Boston, Mass.) 1901-1960, 1941-03-15
Golden Heart
g
By RALPH EMERSON
ASSOCIATED Newspapers-WNU Service.

Butch?" laughed Wayne Taylor.
That's my new case and j."
Sure, sure, anything to obige,"
returned Butch, shifting his weight
to the other foot and grinning at
his friend. ''Why we ever took up
with each other is more than I can
make out, Wayne. You with your
millionaire father and his acres of
greenhouses. And my dad a hard
worker all his life
'Oh, well, you and I are both
working hard enough now, certain
ly, even if we did take it easy in
college," returned Wayne, cutting
off a tiny cluster of golden-hearted
roses.
Got an order for those?" asked
Butch carelessly.
'N-not exactly. But a girl comes
in here every night and spends a
quarter for flowers. Curious thing,
too, she doesn't dress like a girl who
can afford to spend Is cents a day
for flowers"
Getting kind of soft over her?"
asked Butch hastily.
''No women in mine, Butch. Now
or ever! Just a selfish of bunch of
grabbers, every one of them"
Thoughtfully, Butch picked up one
of the tiny roses and cracked the
stem in four places before his friend
took it out Of his hand
Boob" laughed Wayne, FIRST
you try to lean your great hull1ing
weight on my best case of flowers
and then you snap off the stems of
flowers I'm going to sell. On with
you, boy, and continue counting
the nickels in folks telephone boxes.
Some day, with good luck, you'll be
manager of the telephone COM
pany"
"Betcha," Butch said cheerily.
He found that his bus had left
three minutes before. Eighteen
minutes remained until the next one
and Butch decided to collect two
nearby telephone boxes. Springing
up the stairs of an old-fashioned fiat
building, he knocked at the door.
Ordinarily it was unlocked and the
thin, pleasant voice of an elderly
woman in a Wheelchair answered
his knock. Tonight, however,
slender girl in pink opened the door.
Telephone man." he said briskly,
showing his Identification card
Butch put his black carrying case
on the floor beside the funny little
writing desk that held books on one
side. Deity Butch inserted his pass
key and let the nickels slide forth
into his hands. The girl had re-
turned to the tiny kitchenette and
was peeling boiled potatoes.
Nice day, wasn't it?" he said to
the little old lady in her wheel
chair.
Yes, indeed" she answered
cheerfully. Emma, dear, you for
got to bring in the water for my
flowers.
Just a second, grandmother.
Thought I'd get the potatoes started
frst-yOu must be starving. was
little late tonight"
But Butch heard nothing more.
He was locking at the golden roses
in the old Iady's lap-golden roses
in tiny cluster, one stem cracked
in four places,
Emma had gone to the sink and
was filling the vase and the old
lady looked after her with affection
ate eyes. "D'you know what I just
found out that dear child has been
doing?" she said.
Butch shook his head, his eyes
still on the golden roses.
why, the girl that works in the
same office with my Emma stopped
in tonight and told me that Emma
has been going without her luncheon
every day to buy me flowers on the
way home You see, I've always
lived in small town and | always
had nice big garden full of flow
ers. But when grandpa died and 1
had my stroke-a person who likes
flowers never, l reckon, gets over
liking them"
Butch counted his coins rapidly,
then hurried back to see Wayne.
and some way or other, l
b'lieve l hive fallen for that girl,
Wayne told Butch a half hour later
when Butch dropped in at the florist
shop. "You know, I've never even
thought of her in that way until you
put it into words tonight and when
she came in for the AoWers-say,
she'd just take your breath, Butch
great, big eyes-she just looks big
hearted but" here Wayne sighed.
81 suppose she is a gold-digger
along with all the rest of them"
"And suppose l told you that like
those roses with hearts of gold this
girl of yours had golden heart,
too" said Butch slowly. Suppose
l told you that she had gone with
out her monday meal every day so
that her grandmother, who loves
flowers, might have a little cluster
fresh every night, eh?"
I'D say it sounded like a fairy
tale" grinned Wayne, land you
couldn't tell me anything like that
for you don't know her name any
more than l do. But I'm going to