Trenton’s week in town lengthened to ten days. Minnie Lawton’s
apartment proved to be a convenient meeting place, and on two evenings
Grace and Trenton dined there alone, with Jerry to serve them. Trenton
had persuaded Kemp to go to a hospital for rest and observation. The
reports of the local physician merely confirmed what the New York
specialist had told Trenton as to his friend’s condition. Trenton took
Irene and Grace to the hospital to see Kemp one evening. They found him
looking a little thin and white but he greeted them joyfully. He wasn’t
wholly cut off from civilization in spite of their efforts to get rid
of him, he said, pointing gleefully to a telephone at his bedside which
he had obtained as a special concession. He boasted that he could lie
in bed and direct his business affairs almost as well as at his office.
“But the nurses won’t flirt with me,” he complained, “and you
girls showed up just in time to keep me from passing up your whole
unaccountable sex. I’ve got to be amused even if I am locked up here
with fourteen disagreeable things being done to me every day. The
purpose of woman is to amuse.”
“There you go, Tommy! Women are divided into two classes,” said Irene
in her spacious manner, “those who amuse their husbands and those who
amuse other women’s husbands. It’s not for me to say to which variety,
subdivision or group I prefer to belong.”
Trenton had visited Stephen Durland twice at his shop in the Power
Building and at the hospital he mentioned the matter of Durland’s
improvements on the Cummings-Durland motor. The issuance of the patents
to Durland had brought inquiries from several Eastern manufacturers and
the representative of one concern had opened negotiations for an option.
“Look here, Grace,” said Kemp when Trenton had explained concisely the
nature of the improvements, “I’m going to be mighty sore if you let
this escape before I have a look at it. Go on, Ward, and tell me more
about it.”
“You father must have something good,” said Irene, who had listened
attentively to the talk, “for I don’t understand a word of it. I hope
there’s millions in it.”
“That new composition Mr. Durland’s working on for non-cracking
spark-plug porcelains will be worth something handsome if it’s as good
as it promises to be,” Trenton remarked. Kemp’s alert curiosity had
to be satisfied as to the nature of the substance Durland was working
on and Trenton went into the chemistry of the composition and said it
would have to be subjected to more exacting tests.
“We’ll test that at my plant too,” said Kemp, “but the sooner we get
to work on the motor the better. We’ll give Mr. Durland a corner in my
shop, and all the help he needs; I’ll call up the superintendent in the
morning and explain what’s wanted.”
“It’s all too good to be true!” said Grace. “Father’s such a dear,
patient, gentle soul and to land something now will mean more than you
can understand. Thank you so much, Tommy.”
She walked to the bed and took Kemp’s hand.
“I suppose your father would rather Cummings had the new features for
the engine,” he said drily.
“Gracious heavens, no!” Grace exclaimed. “Father would cheerfully die
in the poor house before he’d let Cummings have anything of his.”
“That’s the spirit! Ward, don’t be stingy with Mr. Durland. Double
whatever anybody else offers for an option on the motor improvements
and we’ll hope it’s only the beginning.”