of his plans.
Life was hard! Here was he bearing burdens he was not fit for, and missing the chance of a lifetime.
Alan reached for his hat, but as he did so, the telephone rang out sharply in the empty store. With a wild hope that this might be Judge Whiteley, Alan reached for the receiver.
But it was only Sherrill Washburn calling, in her capacity of president of the young people’s group in the church.
“Is that you, Alan?” The tired boy thought her voice sounded like cool, sweet petals, blowing in the breeze. “Your mother said I’d find you at the store. I’ve been thinking, Alan. You know that fund we have for Bibles? Why shouldn’t we give one to Robert Lincoln to take with him? Or do you think he would be offended? He’s never been to any of our meetings, nor been with our crowd very much. But I thought—somehow—we hadn’t ever tried very much. I thought—maybe—you could give it to him somehow. I wouldn’t like him to feel—we were—well—trying to missionarize him or anything! Do you think it would do, or not?”
“Sure!” said Alan heartily, albeit with the least twinge of jealousy, which he knew at once was beneath him. Now, if he had been the one who was going to the desert, Sherrill would be getting this Bible for him, and how wonderful it would be—whispered the tempter—to have a Bible like that to take out in the desert and read, and feel they were all praying—
“Sure!” said Alan again, recognizing the natural man cropping up and trying to grind it beneath his heel. “Make it a good one. I believe it will please him. I sure do. Can we get it in time? He leaves early in the morning, you know.”
“Yes,” said Sherrill eagerly, “we got two the last time, you remember, as premiums for those who passed the examinations in the Bible course, and Cameron went away before the contest ended and we had it left over.”
“Sure, I remember. Say! Those were Scofield Bibles, too, weren’t they? Boy! I’m glad about that, for I don’t think he knows the first thing about what the Bible means, and a Scofield Bible will be so helpful about understanding the dispensations and covenants and things like that. That was a great idea, Sherry.”
“Then you’ll give it to him?”
“Sure thing, Sherry. But not as a gift, you know. I’ll say it was a gift from the crowd. I’ll make him understand. A reminder of us all at home or something like that. I’ll give him that list of the Bible study we are all taking together. Haven’t you got an extra copy?”
“Oh, yes! That’s fine. Tell him to join our group in reading and then we can send him the examination slips every month. Tell him we want to count him as one of our group.”
“Sure!” said Alan. “That’s a great idea, Sherry! A sort of a binder to home. How about getting word around to the crowd and having them down to the train station in the morning? Just give him a little send-off. Do you think they would do it?”
“I think they would, Alan. I think that’s wonderful of you. May I tell them you asked it? They’ll—be a little surprised, you know— They’ve always considered you two were enemies.”
“I’d like them to know that we are not anymore,” said Alan gravely, setting his lips in a firm line that gave a very lovely look to his young face.
“All right, Alan,” said Sherrill with a lilt to her voice, “I’ll send the Bible right over to your house. Keith is going past there and he can leave it at the door without troubling anybody, can’t he? And I’ll begin calling up the bunch right away. Is it the eight-thirty train? All right. And we’ll have the farewell hymn ready, too. How’s that?”
“Okay. The very thing!” said Alan feeling a lump in his throat at the thought. Oh, why hadn’t he known Bob before? How wrong, how sinful it was to get angry at anyone—to judge anyone—to pick out any human soul and make powerless one’s influence toward him. Why had he never thought of that before?
Sherrill’s voice sang cheerfully over the wire, “That’s great of you, Alan! Simply great!”
“Nothing of the kind,” said the boy huskily, with a thrill of pleasure at her tone, nevertheless.
The musty old office looked almost glorified to his eyes as he hung up the receiver and looked about him. Well, at least if he could not go to the desert, he could have a part in preparing his substitution. Now, wasn’t that great of Sherrill to remember that Bible!
He reached for his hat again and then caught sight of the open safe. He must lock that up, of course, before he left. How careless he had almost been. It showed he was not fit to take charge of the business. He must buck up and get his mind in working order.
He stooped to swing the big safe door shut and then remembered something else. What was it his father had said about papers in the safe? He ought to have looked them over earlier in the evening. How careless of him to have gone to the city and left the safe unlocked. But then, Joe, who had stayed behind, was of course perfectly trustworthy. Dad always trusted Joe utterly. But it was careless nevertheless.
Papers? Yes, now he remembered. The deed to the lots in the city. Well, he should have taken those with him of course. If there had been a chance of selling, he would have needed them. Yes, and the Westbrook Securities. And the insurance papers. Of course! And what were these?
He drew out an envelope and opened one of the crisp, crackling documents, drawing his brows in a frown. The other papers lay beside him on the floor.
Suddenly, a noise behind him startled him, and he glanced up.
There was a window behind the desk that furnished light in the daytime, and its shade was stretched high, for Joe had been reading a novel late in the afternoon and wanted all the light he could get. Instinctively Alan looked toward the window where the sound had come. Was that a face he had seen, vanishing as he looked up, or were his nerves getting on edge? Nerves, of course. Who would want to look in at a back window of the hardware store at this time of night? It opened on a back alley. Nevertheless it was careless to work at the safe so near to an open window. He reached up and drew the shade down with a snap and then turned back to his papers, lying in a heap on the floor in a little pool of bright light from the drop lamp, their titles standing out clearly. Anyone looking in the window could easily have read them. But, of course, there had been no one looking in. Should he take those papers home with him now and get acquainted with them? Perhaps that would be a good idea. Or would they be safer here behind a time lock? Safer? Why, they were safe enough anywhere, weren’t they? What were they anyway? Of course he ought to know what was under his care. Or would it be time enough for that tomorrow? He was late now for his tryst with Bob. He must go at once.
When he had turned out the lights and locked the door, he glanced back uneasily, as an inexperienced nurse might look anxiously at the sleeping infant placed in her care, and wondered if he had done everything that was usually done at night in leaving the store.
Then his mind switched ahead to Bob and the Bible, and Sherrill. Great girl, Sherrill. She was not just an ordinary girl. Not just a girl! She was as good as a fellow in some ways. A real comrade.
Bob met him at the corner.
“I thought I’d wait for you here,” he said, “and not disturb the house for two incomings.”
“That was thoughtful of you, kid!” said Alan. “I say, old man, I’ve been thinking all day how tough it’s going to be to lose you now, just as I’ve found you.”
