Part 16 (1/2)

”Then that's the price,” decided Johnny. ”Can't we come to an agreement now?”

”To-morrow afternoon at three,” she dryly insisted.

He saw that she meant to-morrow afternoon at three.

”Can't I arrange with you for a twenty-four-hour option?” he begged, becoming anxious.

”I shall not bind myself in any way,” she declared. ”To-morrow afternoon at three.”

”That's a beautiful piece of property,” commented Johnny as they drove by. ”By George, the apartment-house will shut those people off from the river!”

”That's the only reason she'd be willing to sell,” replied Val. ”What set you hunting up this property?”

”The De Luxe Apartments Company intends confining its operations to this quarter. They'll go scouting among the listed properties first--and they may not find this one until I am asking them two hundred and fifty for it.”

That afternoon, Johnny, always prompt, was ahead of time at the final committee meeting of the Babies' Fund Fair, but Constance Joy did not seem in the least surprised at his punctuality.

”I was in hopes you'd come early,” she greeted him. ”I want to show you the score board of your game.”

”Honest, did you make one?” he asked, half-incredulous of his good fortune, as she led the way into the library; and his eyes further betrayed his delight when she showed him the score board itself.

”See,” she pointed out, ”you were to make five thousand dollars an hour for two hundred working hours, beginning on April twenty-second and ending May thirty-first.”

Johnny examined the board with eager interest. It was ruled into tiny squares, forty blocks long and seven deep.

”I want to frame that when we're through,” he said, admiring the perfect drawing.

”Suppose you lose?” she suggested, smiling to herself at his unconscious use of the word ”we”.

”No chance,” he stoutly returned. ”I have to paste a five-thousand-dollar bill in each one of those blocks.”

”You've kept your paste brush busy,” she congratulated him, marveling anew at how he had done it, as she glanced at the record which she had herself set down. ”I have the little squares crossed off up to two hundred and sixty-five thousand dollars.”

”The money's in Loring's bank,” he cheerfully a.s.sured her. ”That pays me up to next Tuesday, May second, at two o'clock. This is two o'clock, Thursday. I have twenty-four working hours to loaf.”

”Lazy!” she bantered him. ”That isn't loafing time; it's only a safety margin.”

Her eagerness about it pleased Johnny very much. When he had his million he intended to ask her to marry him; and it was pleasant to have her, all unaware of his purpose, of course, taking such an acute interest in this big game.

”If a man plays too safe he goes broke,” objected Johnny seriously, still intent on the diagram, however. ”I notice that none of these Sundays or Sat.u.r.day afternoons have money in them. According to my plan I also allowed for two possible holidays; but why are those two special days left white?”

”Well,” hesitated Constance, flus.h.i.+ng slightly, ”May thirtieth is Decoration Day; and then I allowed for a possible birthday.”

”Birthday?” he repeated, perplexed. ”Whose?”

”Oh, anybody's,” she hastily a.s.sured him. ”You can move the date to suit. You know you said you weren't going to work on Sundays, evenings, holidays or birthdays.”

”I have but one birthday this year, and it comes in the fall,” he answered, laughing; then suddenly a dazzling light blinded him. ”It's the score keeper's!” he guessed.

In spite of all her efforts to prevent it Constance blushed furiously.