Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1886-03-19
OFFICE WORK.
BY LILY CURRY.

"You may come in IN the morning. if
you please" he said at length. eight
o'clock is the hour we usually begin bust
ness" He spoke slowly and almost con,
strainedly; perhaps it seemed to him that
he should hardly be so addressing her.
She stood but a moment outside the wal
nut railing; tall, slight, pale, with
dignity beyond the years that her coun-
tenance betokened. Her face was like
delicate flower for an half-hour there in
the dusk and grind of the great Office.
He saw, moreover, that her attire was
neat and wholly befttinga lady.
Then she turned to go.
"Thank you," she said, simply. "I will
come at eight.
And Immediately she seemed to have
vanished.
He whirled about sharply, and looking
out of the great window saw her descend
ing the steps to the street. She turned
her head neither to the left nor
to the right, but facing straight ahead
passed briskly from the place and from
his sight
He remained at the window looking
out even after she was gone, but, lost in
thought, saw naught of the city's uproar
and warfare.
Two persons, the only others present
in the Office at that moment, exchanged
glances and smiled half contemptuously.
These were Price, the manager, and Miss
Allison, the copyist. Price was distant
relative of the proprietor, and loved him
none too well. Margaret Allison was
jealous of her own position and fearful
Of another woman clerk being hired.
Duval Fraser still stood looking out of
the window, and Price, leaning over to
Miss Allison, whispered sneeringly;
"The blonde god is easily affected"
They often called him "the blonde
god;" he was tall and elegantly fash
ioned, with golden head of ideal con-
tour. He was, indeed, handsome man,
and young for the position he occupied,
the Western representative of an Eastern
business of millions and milliOnaires.
The copyist, a sharp p-featured brunette,
forgot herself at the words Of Price, the
manager, and Uttered audibly.
The sound recalled the head of the Of
fee. He came away from the window,
and picking up scrap of paper from his
private desk brought it over to the mana
gers.
This is the handwriting" he said,
very slowly, 'of that young lady" lie
laid it down before his assistant, "She
will be here to begin work in the morn
ing; we shall not be so rushed then. I
wish you would show her what to do.
Let her attend to those statements and
anything else that is pressing" He
turned away then and took his hat to
leave. At the door he paused, as with
an afterthought
"Her name" he said, "is Rose Madi-
son." Then he went out.
Miss Madison was punctual. At eight
o'clock that keen March morning she en-
tered the Office of Duval Fraser and was
pleasantly received. 1t was less of an
ordeal than she had anticipated The
black-eyed copysist was gracious to her
new co-workcr beyond conception, and
Price seemed kindly disposed to the
strange young lady. When Duval
Fraser arrived at ten o'clock there was a
slight young form perched upon a high
stool at desk that had been hitherto
unoccupied; there was a delicate face
bent earnestly over great account book,
busy pen in a small, frail- looking hand
He went over and spoke so kindly that
the pale face grew scarlet and the small
hand trembled at its work.
And so Rose Madison began life of
"office-work," such life as, twelve
months earlier, she would have laughed
at as absurd in connection with herself.
She hardly knew how the first days
went-the days of her initiation. 1t was
all so new, so strange At night she was
curiously exhausted, and it sometimes
seemed difficult to reach home-such a
home as it was, boarding house attic
But she managed somehow, and then
the office grew more familiar,
And Frice the manager, grew quite
friendly. He was an older man than the
proprietor; he might have been forty
perhaps trif1e less. He had a dark
face, whose hardness of features was only
relieved at moments by good -humored
SiHilO. n hCdNy pCdIu COlCSdltu Jlc
lines of a mouth that might have ap-
peared vindictlve had one Judged by the
bitterness of speech in which its owner
occasionally indulged.
Rose Madison said to herself it must be
that Richard Price was under some great
obligation to Mr.. Duval Fraser, else he
never would have shown such resent
ment-such disposition to run down" his
employer and relative. And when he
spoke, as he came frequently to do early
in the morning or at noon hours, when
Fraser was absent, disparagngly, almost
sneeringly, she felt a sense of singular
annoyance and strove Ut to listen, but
to attend the more clc 3ely to her work.
But Miss Allison, tho black k-eyed copyist
was an attentive he rer, and Miss Mad-
son could not escape the convers ltion of
the two. 1t displeased her more and
more as the days went by, even beyond
concealing.
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