“Oh Douglas! How can you?” cried
Leslie.
“How can a man live in luxury when he is stealing
other people’s money to pay the bills?”
he retorted.
“Yes I know, but Douglas, I wish you would buy
this place and plow corn, or fish for a living.”
“Sometimes I have an inkling that before I finish
with this I shall wish so too,” replied he.
“What do you think, Daddy?” asked Leslie.
“I think the ‘way of the transgressor
is hard,’ and that as always he pays in the
end. Go ahead son, but let me know before you
reach my office or any of my men. I hope I have
my department in perfect order, but sometimes a man
gets a surprise.”
“Of course!” agreed Douglas. “Look
at that water, will you? Just beyond that ragged
old sycamore! That fellow must have been a whale.
Isn’t this great?”
“The best of life,” said Mr. Winton, stooping
to kiss Leslie as he said good-night to both.
A Safe Proposition
When Mickey posted his letter, in deep thought he
slowly walked home. That night his eyes closed
with a feeling of relief. He was certain that
when Peter and his wife and children talked over the
plan he had suggested they would be anxious to have
such a nice girl as Lily in their home for a week.
He even went so far as the vague thought that if they
kept her until fall, they never would be able to give
her up, and possibly she could remain with them until
he could learn whether her back could be cured, and
make arrangements suitable for her. In his heart
he felt sure that Mr. Bruce or Miss Leslie would help
him take care of her, but he had strong objections
to them. He thought the country with its clean
air, birds, flowers and quiet the best place for her;
if he allowed them to take her, she would be among
luxuries which would make all he could do unappreciated.
“She wasn’t born to things like that;
what’s the use to spoil her with them?”
he argued. “Course they haven’t spoiled
Miss Leslie, but she wasn’t a poor kid to start
on, and she has a father to take care of her, and Mr.
Bruce. Lily has only me and I’m going to
manage my family myself. Pretty soon those nice
folks will come, and if she likes them, maybe I’ll
let them take her ’til it’s cooler.”
Mickey had thought they would come soon, but he had
not supposed it would be the following day. He
went downtown early, spent some time drilling his
protege in the paper business, and had the office ready
when Douglas Bruce arrived an hour late. During
that hour, Mickey’s call came. He made an
appointment to meet Mr. and Mrs. Peter Harding at Marsh
& Jordan’s at four o’clock.
“Peter must have wanted to see her so bad he
quit plowing to come,” commented Mickey, as
he hung up the receiver. “He couldn’t
have finished that field last night! They’re
just crazy to see Lily, and when they do, they’ll
be worse yet; but of course they wouldn’t want
to take her from me, ’cause they got three of
their own. I guess Peter is the safest proposition
I know. Course he wouldn’t ever put a little
flowersy-girl in any old Orphings’ Home.
Sure he wouldn’t! He wouldn’t put
his own there, course he wouldn’t mine!”
