The Desired Woman(Fiscle Part-3 Of 2) by Will N. Harben (e book reader pdf TXT) 📕

Manager To Have Too Many Irons In The Fire. The Trouble With Hobson Is

That He Is Now Giving His Best Thought And Energy To His Own

Business."

"I See," Drake Said. "Well,  That's Accordin' To Human Nature,  I

Reckon. They Say Hobson Speculates In Grain An' Cotton,  An' When A

Feller Gets To Playin' A Game As Excitin' As That It Is Hard For 'Im

To Get Down To Humdrum Matters."

Saunders Linked His Hands Across His Knee,  And Looked Down At The

Floor For A Moment In Silence. He Seemed To Be Trying To Formulate

Something More Difficult To Express Than What He Had Already Touched

Upon.

"The Truth Is," He Plunged,  Suddenly--"Just Between You And Me,  In

Confidence,  I Was Compelled To Speak To Him About The Matter The Other

Day; And,  To My Surprise,  He Told Me Bluntly That As He Was Now Placed

He Would Not Care To Give Full Time To The Management Of My Affairs.

He Has His Sights Pretty High. He Is Making Money Rapidly,  And He

Feels Independent."

"Good Lord! You Don't Mean That He Would Throw Up The Job?" Drake

Exclaimed,  In Astonishment. "He's A Fool,  A Stark,  Starin' Fool. Why,

I Never Heard O' The Like! It Is By All Odds The Best Berth In Our

County."

"He Is To Quit On The First Of Next Month," Saunders Said,  "And That

Is What I Want To See You About. The Truth Is That--Well,  I've Had

_You_ In Mind For Some Time,  And I Was Rather Disappointed When I

Heard You Were Thinking Of Getting Work Down Here. You Are The Very

Man I Want For The Place,  If You Will Do Me The Favor Of Accepting

It."

The Stare Of Astonishment In The Eyes Of The Mountaineer Became A

Fixed Glare Of Almost Childlike Incredulity. So Profound Was His

Surprise That He Was Unable To Utter A Word. His Hand,  Suddenly

Quivering As With Palsy,  Went To His Tobacco-Stained Lips And Stayed

There For A Moment. Then His Imprisoned Voice Broke Loose.

"You Can't Mean That,  Jarvis--You Can't,  Surely You Can't!"

"Yes,  I Do," Saunders Responded,  Drawn Into The Other's Emotional

Current. "I Want A Man Who Is Popular With The People,  And You Have

Hundreds Of Friends. If--If You Accept I'd Like For You To Remain Here

In Atlanta For A Week At Least,  To Help Me Buy Some Implements And

Supplies."

"_If_ I Accept--_If!_" Drake Laughed At The Sheer Absurdity Of The

Word. "Do I Look Like A Fool? Just Now I Was Ready To Go Back Home,

Ashamed To Look My Family In The Face Because I Couldn't Find Work At

A Dollar A Day,  And My Board To Pay Out Of It,  And Now--Now--" The

Voice Faltered And Broke.

"Well,  It Is Settled,  Then," Saunders Said,  In Relief.

"As Far As I Am Concerned,  It Is." Drake Cleared His Husky Throat. "I

Know The Sort Of Work You Want Done Up There,  And I Can Do It. I Can

Get As Much Out Of Hands As Anybody Else,  And You Sha'n't Lose By It;

By God,  You Sha'n't!"

"Well,  Come To See Me At The Bank In The Morning." Saunders Rose.

"You've Taken A Load Off My Shoulders. I Was Worried About It."

The Next Morning,  As Saunders Sat At Breakfast In The Cafe Of His Club

Scanning The Morning Paper,  His Attention Was Fixed By The Big-Typed

Head-Lines Of A Report Of The School Convention At The Capitol. The

Details And Object Of The Meeting Were Given In Only A Few Sentences,

The Main Feature Of The Article Being A Sensational Account Of The

Brilliant Speech Of A Young Woman Delegate In Support Of The Bill

Before The Legislature Favoring A Much-Needed Appropriation For

Schools Among The Poor Mountaineers.

The Paper Stated That The Youthful Beauty,  Vivacity,  And Eloquence Of

The Speaker,  The Daughter Of A Confederate Veteran,  Had Roused An

Enthusiasm Seldom Witnessed In The Old State House. She Was Introduced

By The Governor,  Who Was Chairman Of The Meeting,  And Fully Three-

Fourths Of The Members Of The Senate And The House Were Present. Miss

Drake's Speech Was A Rare Combination Of Originality,  Humor,  Arid

Pathos. Her Aptitude At Anecdote,  Her Gift For Description And Dialect

Had Fairly Astounded Her Audience. The Applause Was So Constant And

Persistent That The Brave Young Speaker Had Difficulty In Pursuing Her

Theme. And When It Was Over The Members Of The House And The Senate

Had Pressed Forward To Congratulate Her And Pledge Their Support To

The Bill In Question. Such A Complete Acceptance Of Any Single Measure

Had Never Been Known Before In The History Of Georgia Politics.

Following This Account Was The Report Of The Reception To The

Convention Of Teachers At The Executive Mansion,  Which Had Been

Largely Attended Owing To The Desire Of Many To See And Meet The Young

Heroine Of The Day. Saunders Read And Reread The Article,  In His

Excitement Neglecting His Breakfast And Forgetting His Morning Cigar.

"God Bless Her!" He Chuckled. "She Is A Brick. Put Her Anywhere On

Earth,  Against Any Odds,  And She Will Win!"

When The Hour Approached For Her Train To Leave He Went Down To The

Big Station To See Her Off,  Finding Her Alone In The Waiting-Room

Looking Quite As If Nothing Unusual Had Happened,  Though He Thought He

Noticed A Slight Shade Of Uneasiness On Her Face.

"Anything Gone Wrong?" He Inquired,  Anxious To Help Her If She Needed

Assistance.

"I Haven't Seen My Father," She Answered. "You See,  He Went To A

Boarding-House. Rooms Were In Such Demand That He Didn't Go With Me

And The Other Delegates To The Hotel. Then,  He Had Determined To

Economize As Much As Possible. I Thought He Would Come Around This

Morning,  Anyway. I Don't Want To Go Back Home Without Seeing Him; My

Mother Would Simply Be Wild With Uneasiness."

"You Have Several Minutes Yet," Saunders Answered. "He Will Be Apt To

Turn Up." Therewith Saunders Began To Smile. "Have You Read The

Morning Papers?"

"I Haven't Had Time To Read Them Carefully," Dolly Declared. "Several

Of The Men Teachers Sent Copies Up To My Room Before I Came Down For

Breakfast. The Teachers Had A Lot To Say About Me And My Talk. Really,

I Feel Like A Goose,  And Mean,  Too. It Looks As If I Thought I Was The

Whole Show. Why,  There Were Women In The Convention Old Enough To Be

The Mothers Of Girls Like Me,  And With A Hundred Times As Much Sense."

"But You Turned The Trick!" Saunders Cried,  Enthusiastically. "You Did

More With That Speech Than A Dozen Conventions Of Men And Women Could

Have Done. You Hit The Nail Square On The Head. You Won. The Bill Will

Pass Like A Flash. It Is A Foregone Conclusion."

"Oh,  I Wish I Could Think So," Dolly Cried,  Hopefully,  Her Fine Eyes

Beaming. Then She Began To Smile Reminiscently. "That Was The

Strangest Experience I Ever Had In All My Born Days. Talk About The

Debates We Used To Have In Our Club; They Were Simply Not In It! When

They Put Me Up There On That Platform,  Side By Side With The Governor

Of The State And Three Senators,  And They Were All So Nice And Polite,

I Was Scared To Death. My Tongue Was All In A Knot,  And I Was As Cold

As If I Had My Feet In Ice-Water. Then When The Governor Introduced Me

With All Those Compliments About My Looks,  And I Had To Stand Up And

Begin,  I Give You My Word,  Jarvis,  That Big Stone Building,  Solid As

It Was,  Was Rocking Like A Cradle. Every Seat,  From The Front To The

Back,  Had A Man Or A Woman In It,  But I Didn't See A Single Face. They

Were All Melted Together In One Solid Mass-And Quiet! Why,  It Was So

Still That I Heard My Mouth Click When I Opened It To Catch My Breath.

_It Was Simply Awful._ I Remember Thinking I Would Pray For Help If I

Had Time,  But I Didn't Have Time For Anything. It Was Lucky I Thought

About Beginning With A Funny Tale,  For When They All Laughed And

Clapped I Felt Better. Then I Forgot Where I Was. There Were Some

Young Men Reporters At A Table Right Under My Feet,  And They Kept

Laughing In Such A Friendly,  Good-Natured Way That I Found Myself

Talking To Them More Than Any Of The Rest. The Audience Really Made It

Easier For Me,  For While They Were Applauding I Had A Chance To Think

Of Something Else To Say. I Found Out The Sort Of Thing They Liked,

And Piled It On Thick And Heavy. And When I Sat Down And They All

Packed Round Me To Shake Hands,  I Was More Surprised Than I Ever Was

In My Life."

"It Was The Hit Of The Day," Saunders Replied. "It Was As Great A

Success In Its Way As The Speech Of Henry W. Grady At The New England

Banquet. I Am Proud Of You,  Dolly. You Will Let Me Say That,  Won't

You?"

"If You Really Mean It." She Raised Her Eyes Frankly To His,  And A

Flush Of Gratification Suffused Her Sweet Face. "I Would Not Like To

Be An Utter Failure On My First Visit To Your City. I Didn't Want You

To Hear My Speech,  But I Do Wish I Had Asked You To That Reception. It

Was Nice. I Can See Now What You All Find In Social Things. It Was

Like A Dream To Me--The Music,