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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1939-12-21, Page 14WINGHAM ADVANCE-TIMES ■||yeut into the bedroom as she flung back from her face, Out of Dora s Bfeght she stood still a moment press- Kjng her hands against her hot cheeks. HBr, Curtis! Dora must be mistaken, gfB'he doctor was kind •— Jan .thought [fire must be the kindest man in the ■florid -— but wasn’t it because he was MEmply interested in Dora's case? Hpora was such a darling, and she had Eggad so many romantic stories that HEmp’was always trying to figure out HSSyeal life romance for Jan. KffiH'an put on her hat and picked up bag and gloves, She took her iwShwivy coat from the closet and flung BOBybr. her arm and she went through l^^^fjttin.g room. “I won’t he ES^inner. darling,” said Jan. “You MHraKb.e lonesome, will you?” — Mr. Harris — ” Dora col- MSgfflFfaintlv as she spoke,“ said that ■Eg&ould come up and have dinner me tonight.” *■FOh,'he did, did he!” Jan tweaked . ■Erie of Dora’s cu'rls gently, but ne- E^lected to mention that she herself Hffwas on her way down to see 1 aul STf-Iarris that very minute, K* As she went down in the elevator R she tried to plan whafe she would say || to the hotel manager. Plainly, now If that Deverest had appeared once at the show, Paul expected him to drop : jn with a party regularly. But though iTony himself would have been will- dug, Jan was set. against the idea. ■ Tony had a good job and it was sim­ ply criminal to risk it just for the ■ sake of pleasing Paul Harris. She wasn’t going to permit him to imper­ sonate his boss again. Chapter X Paul Harris was as nearly effusive as was possible'for a man of his hab­ itual restraint to be when he saw Jan in the doorway. “Come in, come in,” he invited. Then as Jan obeyed, “Off to see — somebody?” “I’m going to see Mr. Deverest appear cas- again!” ex­ L harder was a forced than brief her- gaze her. ; '.of disagreement.1 s' “Perhaos tlier I ■ipuu, tit xesa salary man J. am paying ?. vou. I need never have mentioned s ; j ’ * - • • V ; lei, muun ius P “But Dora l! * ful room where we used to live. . - •• “ i off,” Jan said, trying to ual. “He’s not going away claimed Paul. “Yes, he is.” This was she had expected. There but chilling silence. Jan .self to meet the suddenly alert that, the manager turned on There was disbelief in his penetrating stare which changed, as Jan watched him in fascinated distress, to a sort of icy anger. But when he spoke his voice Was controlled as ever. “Will Mr. Deverest be gone long?” Paul inquired. “Indefinitely,” said Jan. She might as well get this thing settled once and for all. “You wouldn’t by any chance have had a quarrel with Mr. Deverest?” Paul began. “Well, it wasn’t exactly a quarrel,” said Jan .hastily. “It was a sort of — - *• n Perhaps there is a new — what the columnists call ‘heart throb’?” Jan colored at his tone. “I don’t know,” she said shortly. “Really, Mr. Harris . . .” ,w “Come, come, Miss Payson,” PauL ’Ai' was suddenly the practical man of the world. “I don’t have to explain to . E you again that your value to the show I is chiefly aS a drawing card for Mr. Deverest and his friends. I could ’■; .have hired a girl ‘who could sing and dance as well, perhaps better than !you, at less salary than I am paying i supplying her with a room in this ho- ! tel, much less a whole suite.” A t — I thought you want- ■ ed to get Dora away from that dread- faltered Jan. “That’s beside the point,” said Paul 1 sharply. “It is true that I have a cer- | tain — sympathy — for your sister | and — er — a certain desire to be of .1 help to her. But I never allow senti- | meilt to interfere with business and when I brought you to this hotel, it was, I assure you, a business arrange- i ment on iny part. I was making an . > investment in the hope *— and appar­ ently mistaken belief — that I would realize on that investment. I felt sure i that Mr. Deverest would be a frequent visitor and that his wide circle of ■ friends would join him more often than not for an after theatre party.” Jan hoped she would not cry. She took a firmer grip on the edge of the desk, staring down at the bright blue ffi blotter which Covered the top.i “What do you. want me to do w now?” she asked in a hushed tone./** % Patti Was silent. When-he finally I, spoke, she felt the icy fingers that ij plutched her heart beginning slowly to relax. She and Dora would stay on in the suite they now occupied. Although they thought it so regal, Jan learned with astonishment that it was by no means one of the desirable suites in the hotel. Its location, the shape of the rooms and its proximity to the elevator made it a renting problem to the hotel manager. The wardrobe Mary Elizabeth Howard had already provided for her would see Jan through the season, the manager went on. They would also take their meals as before. And in return, Jan-was to receive a nominal — ---- - Salary while continuing her work in'I won’t be .back . the floor show. ‘ 1 Jan stammering a little, managed to thank Mr. Harris and escaped to the street where Tony Williams was waiting, the car drawn up to the curb. Disturbed and upset as she was, Jan did not see for a minute the white box he held out to her. Almost with­ out noticing what she was doing, she undid the string and lifted the cover, Three magnificent white orchids lay carefully disposed on a bed of tissue, Jan stared down at them, aghast. White orchids! The most expensive flower that could be bought, Suddenly she hated them for what they represented — for the money they had cost, money that might have meant the difference between life and death to someone — to Dora and her­ self, indeed, just a short while ago. An unreasoning wave of anger swept over her and when he vision cleared the orchids were lying in the street, crushed under the wheels of a pass­ ing taxi. Without comment, Tony urged her into the c^r, a firm hand on her arm, and then took his o„wn place behind the wheel. Together they sat in silence, star­ ing gloomily at the people passing on the sidewalk. r' “I thought you liked flowers.” Tony’s face, in the light from the dashboard, looked a little hurt. “Yes, I like flowers,” said Jan. “I like lots of those things — like beau- . tiful cars, such as. this — gorgeous /jewels — grand houses — but I have always had to do without them, and as long as 1 have to do without All ' the rest of these things, I might just as well do without the orchids, too!” “Jan,” -Tony demanded, “what’s the matter with you tonight?” Jan said nothing. “You always took the flow­ ers 1 sent you before.” “It’s just silly for a chauffeur, even a chauffeur to a rich man, to spend his money on orchids for a girl like me, who. needs other things so much more than she’ll ever need hothouse flowers.” . Jan suddenly choked and broke x>ff, fumbling in the pocket of her coat for her handkerchief. Then Jan managed to tell him, a little in­ coherently, about her interview with 'Paul Harris. She explained that she would still keep her job at the hot.el and live there, but that Paul was paying her only a tiny allowance for her work. It wasn’t so much the money, she told him, but she had been hoping to save up enough Tor an operation for JDora. Dr. Curtis had not decided yet that an operation would help her sis- ■ter, but he had hinted that there was just a possibility of a cure by the sur­ gical route. “But he can’t stop paying you,” Tony protested. “He is really being fair in his own way, Tony. It is only that hotel man­ agers must be pretty' hard-boiled. Paul can’t afford to let sentiment ‘in­ terfere with business,’ ” Jan quoted bitterly. Chapter XI “There is Jack Mallord, too, Tony,” Jan began after a few minutes. “Dora and J had been planning to give him a real Christmas this year. He’s nev­ er. had anything a little boy likes. I don't think he ever even believed in Santa Claus. .If he did he must have been sadly disappointed.” Tony listened with growing interest as Jan outlined the trouble Jack had been in when he and a group of boys broke into the Y.M.C.A. and went swimming in the pool. She was not looking at him as she spoke softly, and did not notice how the man’s jaw tightened and his eyes narrowed at her vivid description of Jack’s home life and his 'companions. “I’d like to see Jack,” Tony said, bringing the car to an abrupt halt, “where does he live?” “Would you really like to go there?” asked Jan doubtfully. "I think we ought to see what’s go­ ing on,” said Tony, “Sometimes it sin- you and helps a kid to talk things ovei- with a man who understands his problems. Jan, vaguely distrustful of the ex­ periment, directed him through the narrow streets that led to her former rooming house. She was still more hesitant when a crowd of boys gath­ ered around the car as they stopped in front of the door. Although they stood respectfully enough they com­ mented knowingly on its make - price - speed - engine - and chronium trim­ mings. “Gee, that’s Jan Payson!” she lizard a voice from the rear of the group say with awe. “Jack!” she called, as she stepped to the curb. Importantly Jack Mal­ lord shouldered a couple of boys out of his way and sidled forward.. “Jack, is your mother home?” The boy grinned, and made some unintel­ ligible sound that Jan took ifor an af­ firmative. ' “Well, you tell your mother that I’ve brought a friend to see her and we* want to talk to her and you.” “Aw . . . gee!” Jack protested, his freckled face reflecting his anguish. “You can ankle in there yourself. She ain’t doing nuttin' now. An’ I wanna look at de bus. Lemme blow de horn just once, mister — huh?” Tony signalled to Jan to go ahead and invitingly threw open the door of the car to Jack. “All right, fella, hop in I” Jan smiled as Jack and his compan­ ions crowded around with alacrity — until Tony was lost to view. She was as utterly forgotten in the suddenly created man’s world as if she had never existed. She turned and climb­ ed the brown stone steps with a warm feeling at her heart. Mrs. Mallord, graciously forgetting the troublesome times when Jan and her sister lived in the apartment up­ stairs, was delighted to see her visit­ or. She hastily wiped off a chair and admired Jan’s Mary Eilzabeth How­ ard outfit with extravagant but cere praise. “Sure, and it’s grand to see looking so well, Miss' Payson, how is'you dear sweet sister?” Jan told her the latest news' about Dr. Curtis, and then went on to ex­ plain, growing slightly hesitant in the face of Mrs. Mallord’s undoubted in­ dependence, that she had brought Tony over to talk to Jack. “Tony is so interested in boys, Mrs. Mallord,” she told her, “and he is thinking of trying to form a boys’ ’ club, or something like that.” Jan re­ minded herself that she must explain this to Tony. “It’s a fine thing to have a smart young man talking to the boys,” Mrs. Mallord agreed, to Jan’s relief, “but you mustn’t be thinking, Miss Pay- son, that because Jackie got into that little scrape he’s a bad boy. A finer boy never lived, though it is my own I’m talking of.” Jan hastened to assure her that Jack would be doing Tony a favor in accepting anything her young man might do. With this view of the mat­ ter Mrs. Mallord was more receptive to the idea, and she went back to her original plaint that being in trouble with the law took so much time she had missed attending her uncle’s fun­ eral. “I just got a letter from my sister- in-law the other day,” she. said with evident enjoyment. “It was a fine funeral, Miss Payson. She tells me she never saw the like of it for flow­ ers. The first funeral I’ve missed in twenty-five years,” she said dolefully. Jan, her purpose accomplished, took Mrs. Mallord out to meet Tony. She found him just driving back, the ex­ pensive car jammed with dirty, gamin ■ faces that were strangely wistful and frankly awed by the perfection of the machine in which they rode. They were a subdued group as they tum­ bled out of the car and Stood in an Unmoving circle about it, their eyes fastened fixedly on Tony. He looked pleased and happy and, Jan thought, almost as young as the boys around him. She introduced Tony and Mrs. Mal­ lord and was delighted to see that her usually truculent landlady was in­ stantly won over by the grace of Tony’s manners and his instinctive aptitude for saying the right thing. “You have a fine boy there, Mrs. ’ Mallord. He and I are going to the hockey game tomorrow night if you will let me take him.” Mrs. Mallord, since she did not have to defend her offspring, began apologizing for him. She went on to explain Jackie’s goodness of heart as an excuse for his evident lack’ of pol­ ish, and this led to relating how it was that Jackie had had trouble with the law, and the funeral she had miss­ ed attending. Jan, worried for fear she would be late, tried to interfere, but Tony seemed strangejy interested in the recital, and asked for all sorts of details such as the deceased uncle’s name and where he had lived. “Well, I didn’t mean to let, you in for all that,” Jan said with a little laugh when they finally drove away, “bur when Mrs. Mallord starts, it’s like a steam roller. . . “I enjoyed it.” That was all Tony said, Jan would have been surprised, and Tony was a little surprised at himself, to find that he had memorized the departed un­ cle’s name and ^address, so that he could see his lawyer in the morning and arrange if possible for a posthu­ mous legacy for Mrs. Mallord and Jack! Chapter XII It didn’t seem to Jan that the day was any different from any of the oth­ ers since her talk with Paul Harris. The morning sunlight, streaming ac7 ross the deep blue of the sitting room carpet, lay in the same pattern; Dora’s smile was just as contented as ever as Jan settled among the pil­ lows on her chaise lounge. Ob, the blessed relief of Jhese quiet work-filled days! Now that Jan had made it clear that she was not going to be responsible for William Anth­ ony Deverest’s appearance at the floor show she felt that life was much brighter.Making conversation, -she rememb­ ered to tell her sister what she had heard about the suite, being one of the most difficult to rent. Dora’s eyes were round with amazement and her definite opinion was that anyone who did not like such a heavenly place must be out of his or her mind. As she spoke, she was lifting her break­ fast tray from the table to her knees. Jan watched her in silence, and then commented on it. “Dora! You lifted Jhat tray so eas­ ily. Do you really feel—” “Oh, I’m well enough — my doctor man has been giving me all sorts of little things to do that I never did be­ fore' It was going to be a great sur­ prise for you some day to see me go through my daily dozen all at one time. But I forgot and lifted the tray. I’ve spoiled the surprise,” Dora said sadly. , , .Jan hugged her so hard that the or­ ange juice and' coffee were in grave danger of falling to the floor. She could not speak; her heart was too full for words. But. she resolved that if there was ever anything she could do foiJ kindly Dr. Curtis she would never ..count the cost to herself. 'The sunny morning wore on. Jan returned to the room after rehearsal, glowing after a bit of unexpected praise from Zambrini. A .new had been added to her Jingle Bells song, and the orchestra leader declar­ ed she had learned it perfectly. Dora was napping, so Jan retired to the bedroom and busied herself with the little details of mending which kept, her show custumes in good condition.., The muted ring of the nouse tele­ phone interrupted her and wakened: Dora. The clerk was announcing the. arrival of Dr. Curtis. Jan thought again as she opened! the door to him that he was the clean­ est man she had ever known. His skim always looked freshly scrubbed, his. black hair, becomingly tinged with gray at the temples, seemed to have been polished strand by strand, and! his glasses twinkled brightly as lie walked across the room. As usual, he looked around for Pussy-puff, mind­ ful of the time he' had once stepped on the fluff of yellow tail. Dora laughingly pointed to the soft ball of fur now curled at her feet sound asleep, and demanded that he should not be moved even for her ex­ amination. t t Jan stood watching the doctors deft movements, her amber eyes glowing with the gratitude she felt for him. How wonderful it must be to have spent a lifetime bringing hap­ piness to others! Of course Dr. Cur­ tis had not really Spent a lifetime yet, Jan reminded herself; Tony had re­ vealed that the doctor was only a lit­ tle over thirty-five. Then suddenly Dr, Curtis looked at her above Dora’s fair head and said quietly: “J think this young lady is about ready for our experiment.” Jan could only stand and stare at him. He had always refused to admit that the operation wouldbe anything more than experimental in nature, al­ though Jan suspected he hoped it would give Dora a new life.