Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1891-03-27
Ny TlPEW RITTER.

llN accepteu Nv the iliiunal winch III
more senses than one j. sitting upon
them. take pride in knowing that they
are innocent. and. virtue sua in
involuti. await the future acquiital
or irce pardon. of which they
feel certain. with tranquil minds
actually in some eases finding en-
ployment in the sensation of mar
Iyr,iom. am not one of them. for |
have not felt at any time SURE Of my
acquittal; and even now. when II should
be- practically secured, it is possible
hat ] shall not leave the dock alto
gether without "a stain on my charac-
ter. Besides which. even innocence
may be- n matter If regret 10 one who
has suffered i"r crime. or. let Us say.
an act of indiscrvtion. withou. having
enjoyed the pleasure Of committing il.
IL happened ia this way. Some few
months ago had an occasion To- re-
quirr IN my business the services Of "a
typewriter. and ! made my wants
known. As consequence ! was Wis
tied by no fewer than forty-seven can
didates in person. without counting
the hundrcd-odd who applied by letter.
OF the forty-se,en thirty-sevcn were
Of the weaker sex aud as these de-
mandcd slightly lower wage than
their male competitors decided for
that reason. and that only tn employ
one ri tncm. Now. the thirty-six had
all brought samples Of their work.
and. as all possessed the necdful quail
iiications and one typewriter letter Is
precisely like another. did what
every other man would have done
under the circumstances aud chose the
best looking one. She was very
handsome girl AMI very charmin z
one. too. ! say II In spite OF the trouble
she brought me.
For time she was complete
success. Apart from the fact that !
had to dictate TO her continually. IL
was obviously undesirable that she
should sit with my male clerks. Some
OF them. ] know. are frivolous. and
as a married man. had n sense Of
responsibility; 80 ! allotted her n
corner In my own room and she set up
her machine there.
II was pleasant To have some one To
talk 10 when one was not busy, aud
Miss King being Of u lively disposition
Interested me much with her cNpc-
rience rs "a beautiful aud meritorious
young woman fighting the battle Of
life Ia London. Some II her advent
ures were almost romantic enough to
have Interested the rra'i-ts 81 tho
Family Hcraid-to which. indeed. l be-
licve she had contributed. Others
might have amused students OF more
frivolous class Of literature; but. ex-
ccpt Ia account for the interest | still
feel In her. they have nothing 10 do
with the present narrative. I AMI not
In the habit Of taking the Office home
with mo" and worrying my wife with
shop" So naturally never mention.
cal typewriter In the domestic circle.
That simple omission has been thrown
In my teeth many hundreds Of times
during the last two days. begin to
fear II always will be.
My Typewriter. as ] have said.
worked admirably till withie about a
fortnight ago. when she became rest
less. melancholy. and distracted In
manner. For time I took no notice
OF u; but last Saturday. business being
dull. called her 10 me m sat nj my
table. and placing her near . window
looking over old Broad street far be-
low. where could get the light on her
face and observe her expression, be-
gan TO intcrrogate her In q kindly way.
- an employer always should inter-
rogate his clerks u he thinks they are
10 need Of his help or advice. while I
wns doing 80 the | o'clock post came In.
! did not look ut my letters for mo-
ment. - was saying to my typcwrit-
er:
'Gertrude-Q make n rule Of calling
my younger clerks by their Christian
names. and n a rule In my Office IL n
rule ] was resolved from the first 10
make no exception In her favor) Ger
trude." ] said. there IL something on
your mind; you arc anxious and dis
iressed."
1T Is nothing" she answered.
Nothing be hanged!' said In my
friendly way. Nothing does not
make . girl pale. aud absent. aud
silent for ten days at time. simply
do not believe you"
my dear Gertrude" I said Il am
not sure that ever called young Bob
my junior clerk. my dear
Robert" but circumstances alter
cascs). Il want you to try and let me
help it, or help you. Ia any way can"
You are very kind" she said.
Then tell me what Is the natter"
"You have not opened your letters;
there is ono marked Immediate
know she was only trying to put
ne Oh. ~ my clerks as q rule do not
dictate to me Ia such matters. How
sver. ~ ! could see that the girl had
tears In her eyes. took up the envel-
Dpe she spoke Of and opened il, to
give her time to recover from her cv-
dent emotion. At q glance saw to
my surprise. that the letter was n note
rom my wife. whom I had left nj
home In the Cromwell road at $50 that
morning. 1t ran rs follows:
DEAR CuARt.Es; ! want 10 take you TO the
eiiing you about. have decided must have
NJ once. 80 Mrs. Carruthcrs has lust rot q
,ew one. ! know the shop closcs ai } ON Eat
VIE" en-. G sor e sou 'sYH Seso SG rs
an 90 II. Your ancctionate wife.
"P. s.-Havc your cbcck-boos In your pock.
Now why. in the name Of fortune.
hrs. Charles johnson. who. ms her
etter shows, Is n woman Of decided
urposc when II suits her, could not
ave made up her mind 10 have the
before / left home that MORN
az. and why she could have grndgcd
Ixpence for telegram. do not know.
have spoken to her about IL. and all !
he says ~ that In future she Will |
isit me without any warning at all.
read her note. aud nj once grasped
re fact that my wife might come in
any moment. The presence Of
ranger. even Of my wife. who 4,
ally ~ her way very Kind woman.
ouid OF course have been unwelcom.
my typewriter Ia her distress; so I
I'd. without looking up.
Il will not press YOU further today.
erirude; hut on Monday I shall rs.
ct Ia be- treated with more ,opil.
nee. am expecting some one here
important private business. so YOU
~ go nj once"
She made no answer. and | could
ar her breath coming In short. mick
nis. l turned 10 look nj her. She
= standing with parted lips aud
leiy staring eyes. her tcar.stsiped
. tightly pressed against the window
'e. Itook her by the hand; then
turned, uttering a cry,