The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1892-07-22

Now Gco.rc Peters was "a very. cary
mcthodical person for SO young a man.
When q letter got into Peters hands n
went through q certain routine and the
answer departed from him IL the copy
ing book and from the copying book 20
the envelope and tho envelope. letter
and all, with Enclosures marked. went
into the letter box with q regularity
that nothing but the Office clock could
emulate, and even that. the clerks said.
was not as regular rs Peters. for they
claimed il was always fast in the morn
ing and mighty slow in pointing TO six
o'clock.
1t Is little wonder then. that Peters
stood high IN the confidence OF old man
Beutham. Ecntham was Bcntham
brothers * Co. There were no broth
crs and no compauy-1hat was merely
the firm name-it was all Bcnth2m-
Perhaps there once were brothers and
perhaps there was once company.
but that Is all ancient history. anyhow.
and has nothing 10 do with this strictly
modern story. And il did not interfere
with the fact that old Bentham's name
was q lovely thing to have at the bot
tom Of a large check.
The clerks never speculated on the
cause It never occurred to them that
such thinTas Peters falling in love was
within the bounds Of possibility. Love,
they argued. was not an article that
can be docketed and ticletcd and re
fcrrcd back for further information,
and entered in the day book and posted
on the debit or credit side Of a ledger.
50 what on earth could Peters do with il
if he had it? Manifestly nothing. If
they had known as much about human
nature aS you or !. they would have
surmiscd that when Peters did fail it
was time To stand from under.
And who should Peters fail in love
with but the very woman OF all others
whom he ought never have given a
thought to-in other words pretty lit
tie Miss Sadie Bentham, if You please.
1t made Peters himself cold when he
thought OF It, for he knew he had Just
as much chance Of getting the moon or
the laureatcship as the consent of old
man Bcntham. The clerks always said
that it was Miss Sadie who fell in love
with Peters. principally, | suppose, be-
cause she should have known better,
and ! think my sclfthere i something 10
be said for that view Of the matter.
Anyhow, she came to her fathers place
of business very often and apparently
very unnecessarily, but the old man
was always pleased TO see her, no mat
ter how busy he happened TO bc. At
first She rarely looked at Peters, but
when she did flash one OF those quick
glances of hers at him poor Peters
thought he had the fever and aguG lie
understood the symptoms later on.
l don't know how things came TO
.lS 4 g.1a
matter, although they pretend to. Be
sides, they are divided in their opinions,
so l think their collective surmises
amount to but very little. Johnson
claims that il was done over the tele
phone, while Farnam says she came
TO the Office one day when her father
was not there and proposed TO Peters on
the spot. One thing the clerks are
unanimous about, and that Is that Pc
tiers, left to himself. would never have
had the courage. Still, too much at
tention must not be paid To what the
clerks say. What can they know about
it? They are in another room.
Peters knew that he had no right to
think about that girl during business
hours. lie was paid 10 think about the
old man and his affairs, which were not
nearly so interesting. But Peters was
conscientious, and he tried 10 do his
duty. Nevertheless, the chances are
that unconsciously little Miss Sadie oc-
cupied some small portion OF his mind
that should have been given up 10 the
concerns OF Bentha.n Bros. 4 Co, and
her presence where she had not the
slightest business to be threw the rest
of his mental machinery ont of gear
1t i very generally admitted now
that the sprightly Miss Sadie managed
the whole affair. No one who knew
Peters would ever have given him the
credit of proposing an elopement-''ac-
cuse him OF it," as Johnson puts II.
She claimed that while she could man
age her father all right enough mp 10 a
certain point. yet that in this particular
matter she preferred 10 negotiate with