Argosy All-Story Weekly, October 7, 1922 — page 44: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

190 cars and built little canopies across the side- walk from the church door when their daughters got married. Nevertheless, Ed French was different. He himself didn’t realize how different, be- cause he had accustomed himself to the ways of a different world. He had perhaps forgotten that New York standards and Templeton standards were not the same, be- lieving that there was Only one set of stand- ards, and those the standards of New York. A good many people are that way. CHAPTER’ II. ED MAKES A HIT. HE evening at the country club moved merrily forward and every one had a perfectly splendid time. Ed French was a distinct addition to the company. Templeton people had always liked him and now they liked him more, because he brought with him a new atmosphere which was refreshing. He had a lot of new stories. He made an amazing hit with the girls. They hadn’t realized before how good look- ing he was, and now, with his acquired dirs of the big city, he possessed a fascination that was irresistible. Templeton folks con- gratulated themselves that Ed French had come back to live among them. He was go- ing to shed luster on Templeton; he was a real acquisition. Ed was pretty careful to dance with the right girls—and by that I don’t mean what you think I mean. He didn’t obviously pick out the pretty girls, the rich ones, the popular ones; rather, it was observed that he went a little out of his way to favor some of the most egregious wall flowers in Templeton, girls who weren’t used to being sought, girls who were actually grateful for being danced with. Consider how you would feel, provided you were usually pleased to have even the runty little misfits dance with you, the ones with two left feet, who breathed heavily, as if dancing were something like putting in baskets of coal—the ones whom other girls made excuses to avoid dancing with— consider how you would feel to have a chap like Ed French come rushing up as though ARGOSY-ALLSTORY WEEKLY. he were afraid if he didn’t hurry some other guy would beat him to it and make you think the happiness of his entire evening de- pended on this one dance? I guess you would be glad Ed French had come back to Templeton; and I guess you would think a trust company pretty lucky to have that sort of young man for its president; and I guess, yet a third time, that you would tell your father or your brother so. It is also well within the bounds of pos- sibility that your father or brother, being wise in the ways of this world, would reach the conclusion that Mr. Edward Chesterton French was a pretty smooth worker. But of course they wouldn’t blame him for that. “ Beth,” said Ed French when he get a good chance, “ how have things gone with you? Doesn’t seem to me you look much different from the way you looked when we went to high school together, and I—I was—well, you know, Beth. Look!” He pulled his watch from its pocket and popped open the back. | ““ Mercy!” said Beth. ‘ That old thing.” ~~ All through college, and all through the years I’ve been working to learn what little I know about the financial game—” ‘“‘ That being a part of one’s watch that is seldom opened,” said Beth, “I suppose it was easy to forget it was there.” “On the contrary, Beth, there hasn’t been a day—”’ “J hope you didn’t show it to any one. Goodness gracious, look at the sleeves! Aren’t they killing? Ed, how do you like banking? Don’t you wish you were a pro- fessor, like your father?” “It’s the greatest business in the world.” ‘“‘T suppose sé—in New York. But here in Templeton?” “ Right here in Templeton. In New York the field has been raked with a fine tooth comb; in a place like this it is prac- tically untouched.” “ But with two banks—father’s and the Sands County Trust—I should suppose the ground pretty well covered.” French laughed. “ Ask dad, he knows,’ he chuckled. “ T’ve heard him say a little healthy com- petition is good for any business.” comiclbooolx C©