The Early Bird: A Business Man's Love Story

N AN ABS

it and filed it away for future reference; and his clothes clung on him with almost that enviable fit found only in advertisements. Immediately he threw his luggage into the tonneau of the dingy automobile drawn up at the side of the lonely platform, and promptly climbed in after

ped the voice.

an, with a most aggressive beard and solid corpulency, gesticulating at them with much vigor and earnestness. Standing beside him was a slender sort of girl in a gre

k Inn?" he a

er, not at all abashed, and he smile

pprobation in his tone, as well as a subtle intonati

er of New York. I judge that to be Mr. S

from his seat he opened the door of the tonneau, and waited with entirely artificial deference for Mr. Turner of Ne

Meadow Brook, and they were to send a conveyance for me. As this was the only conveyance

nscious of his consciousness of her, he cast her deliberately out of his mind and concentrated upon Mr. Stevens. The two men gazed quite steadily at each other, not to the point of impertinence at all, but nevertheless rather

bout a half hour, I suppose," insisted the driver, opening the door of the

ere very glad of this interruption, for it gave the old

Creek?" he demanded in a tone full o

uctantly admit

or a dubious carryall," offered Mr. Stevens, but with frigid p

d making way for the others. "I had intended," he laughed, as he took his plac

f. The remark, however, had well-nigh stopped all conversation on the part of Mr. Stevens, who suddenly remembered that he had a daughter

fine clump of walnut trees; an even half-dozen, and e

nterest, "they are fine specimens. They would scal

n immediately, already reaching for his card-case. "My name is T

e name seems distinctly familiar to me, but I do not s

profit. We-that is my kid brother and myself-have engineered a deal or two in lumber lands, however. It wa

o you're the Turner who sold us our own lumber! Now I know y

h barely more than a glance, they poked in the other flaps of their cases; then they took a new and more interested inspection of each other. Both we

young man," resumed Mr. Ste

aid us for it, wasn't i

l at the last minute, we could have secured it

ned Mr. Turner with an easy laugh. "Now you send out

o be in the deal at all. When we sent out our men to inspect the trees they

heard about your man looking over this valuable acreage; so I just slipped down to

re which had slightly clouded the latter gentleman's brow, faded away under th

ift scrutiny and appraisement that he had the father. He was evidently highly satisfied with what he saw, for he kept looking at it as much as

r a good man to wat

If I want anything, I go prepared to gra

verything you want?"

in the eyes so speculatively, albeit unconsciously so, th

nodded in

ngs," he said. "What are y

But do you know that in all those times since I left school I never took a lay-off until just this minute? It feels glorious already. It's fine to look around this good stretch of green country and breathe this fresh air and look at those hills over yonder, and to reali

d opera seem harsh and jangling. Both men turned to her in surprise. N

o silly," she said; "but I jus

ver taken the time I ought to enjoy funny t

the young lady intended to make sport of him he would take her down a peg or two. He would find her point of susceptibility to

ind enough to ask him to drop over to Hollis Creek. Mr.