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He had played, following, helping her
until the violin and piano seemed to
talk together and understand each
v other.
"Oh, if you could only get the ear
of Merriden!" he exclaimed. "He
could make you!"
jM you mignt as weu try to get tne
P par nf thft o.7.ar nf all thp. Rnssias. T
am not going to attempt it again.
Yesterday when I called, after mak
ing an appointment, the secretary
said Mr. Merriden could see no one,
as he was not well and was going
away for a rest. So what's the use?"
- "You ought to have called your
self Mile. Lamberti, or something
foreign," laughed the young man.
"That's it!" she exclaimed, 'indig
nantly. 'If, instead of Hutchins, you
had posed as the great Hutchipoft or
any sort of a Russian with long hair
you would have 6een having them at
your feet by now. Oh, it makes me
"furious to think that Americans will
let their own artists starve while
they just showerflattery and money
on anything with a foreign name."
"It won't always be so," he said.
"Maybe not; but I've got to give it
up and go home. Phil, L don't be
lieve you quite understand all that
means. You see, my mother made
sacrifices for me to cone to New
York to study. My father was always
against it He made it pretty hard
for both of us. Now mother hasn't
any more money to send and I
wouldn't wsmt her to rif she had. I
meant to be earning something by
now. I didn't want to go back until
I had. You see, father in bent on my
marrying a man an old friend of his
who has barrels of money. He was
terribly angry because I refused. He
sum i wuuiu cumc iu my aeuses yet,
and come back. This man writes me
every little while saying he is Wait
ing. It doesn't seem to make any
difference that I have refused him
and send back the letters unopened."
"Well," smiled Hutchins, "I like
his grit, but," and his face grew se
rious, "you wouldn't "
"Never, Phil! Never!" she broke
in. "But you see now "
"Oh, dearie! You mustn't go! You
mustn't!"
It was her turn now to look the
problem fairly in the face.
"I must I can see there is no
other way," she said firmly. "But I
will come back when you send for
me." y
"Perhaps they will ask you tb
play ragtime in Glendale,' he said,
grimly.
"Not with my violin, my darling.
It would be so insulted it would
break."
"You're not thinking of giving
them Brahms or Saint-Saens?"
''I'm not thinking of giving them
anything," she said with a kind of
grim humor.
Ruth's mother met her warmly, as
mothers have a way of doing, and
even her father seemed glad to see
her. But it soon became apparent
that his gladness hid a covert chuck
le at what he construed as defeat and
surrender. He letvher know that he
had been losing money and he ex
pected her to either made the advan
tageous match which was still wait
ing for her or go to work at some
thing. v .
"If you won't many' Bond," he
urged, "you can have a place as
cashier in one of his stores. I think
it was pretty decent of him to offer
it."
"Oh, I couldn't do that!" she cried,
knowing well that it only meant
more opportunities for him to push
his' attentions."
A few days after this the neigh
borhood experienced something of a
sensation when the very rich and
fashionable young widow, Mrs. Ren
frew, stopped in her car before the
modest home of the Lamberts. She
w,as getting up a benefit for the
benevolent fund of St. Matthews,
and would Miss Lambert play for
them.
"But," objected Ruth, "I have no
accompanist"
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