Temple Work at Logan

Discharged

By Henry Nicol Adamson

On a dull November evening, Nan Robb looked out of the office window at the rain and the tops of umbrellas, and decided she would emigrate. She was tired of the big monotony of her life in Leith. After the war, lots of girls and men would sail away to new lands, leaving stuffy offices and crowded cities, to start out upon a life of adventure. Nan's mouth set in a determined line. "I'll go with them," she murmured to herself, turning from the window. She covered her typewriter, and arranged some papers in a neat pile. From the University tower across the Park six o'clock was chiming, and everyone was getting ready to leave the office. Nan had no engagement to keep. She might have joined the opera party, but that would mean an expense, and at present she was saving every cent she could against the day when she would sail away to the colonies. "Good night, Nan Wish you were coming," cried one. !

"Thank you!" answered Nan cheerily. "Sorry I can't. There's a pile of darning and sewing awaiting me when I get home." was still raining heavily when Nan emerged into the It street. She stepped back to the doorway of the office to open out her umbrella. It was a new one, and she had some difficulty in getting it to go up. As she stood struggling with the catch, the swing doors behind her opened, and a man came out. Nan had seen him before. He was the new head of one of the departments. In the lapel of his coat he wore a discharge badge, and down one side of his face there was the mark of an ugly wound. But he was a handsome man, despite the scar, with grey, kind eyes, and a strong square chin. Nan looked up from the obstinate umbrella, and met his eyes. "Allow me, please," he said, taking the umbrella from her hands. "Oh, thank you!" exclaimed Nan. "Something has gone wrong inside, I'm afraid." She watched his strong fingers manipulato the stiff little catch, and in a second or two the umbrella was up. "Thank you very much!" said Nan, when he handed it to her. The man smiled, and, raising his hat, wished her good evening. At the depot, Nan waited for her car. She had been

862 IMPROVEMENT ERA

standing on the wet pavement for i'ully five minutes when at last it appeared, but, to her annoyance, she found that it was full;

there was not even standing room. — "Well, that decides me I'll have lunch out," she said to herself, as she turned away and made her way to Hart's Lunchroom. "At any rate, I wasn't feeling in a mood for lonely lodgings and stockings to darn to-night. In the lunch-room, Nan's favorite corner table was empty. She sat down, and after a chat with the pretty, red-haired waitress, ordered luncheon. From the depth of her big coat pocket she produced some brightly illustrated booklets. They were guides for prospective emigrants, guides to Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Nan began to study them while she waited for lunch. * * *

Lee Herps lost count of time among the interesting books spread all over the counter of the Emigration Office. "Can I do anything for you, sir?" a clerk broke in, after he had watched the big man with the scarred face go through guide after guide. "Thank you; I'll be glad if you will let me have one or two of these. I'm thinking of giving the colonies a trial, but I'm blest if I can make up my mind where to go," Herps laughed. The clerk glanced sympathetically at the discharged man. There was a bitter ring in that laugh; it was not happy. "Certainly, sir; take one of each, and if we can help you in your choice, it will give us pleasure to do so. What line of business, may I ask?" "Engineering —structural." "Oh, there's a spendid field for you then, sir, in Canada, or the Argentine." Herps accepted the booklets the clerk had chosen for him, and after thanking the young man for his interest, and promising to look in again soon, he hurried out into Regent Street. When he glanced at the clock over the Waverly Station, he discovered that it was past the lunch hour at his boarding-house in Crestdale. He decided he would have lunch in the city. Nan did not see Lee Herps enter Hart's. She was so engrossed in a booklet, bearing the title, "California, Land of Eternal Sunshine," that the big man sat fully three minutes studying the serious little face opposite him before Nan raised her eyes from the delights of California. A flush spread over her face as she recognized him. Herps felt a thrill of pleasure as he smiled across the table into her bright eyes. "You are Miss Robb, from Department F," he said. "I hope — vou don't mind me sitting here it was the only empty chair." There was a hint of apology in his voice.