Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1894-03-09
The
Junior Partner.
ghe

ings on Broadway. You probably
would never have noticed the name On
the window even though you passed
by the place ten times a day; for you
would have been forced to tilt your
neck far back and count seven stories
up and then two windows to the right
OF the main entrance before you came
to the correct one, and In the mean
time you would be necessarily josued
and trampled ON the toes by the bur-
rying stream of brokers, errand boys
and the like, who would either mental
Iy or out loud swear at you for block
ing up the sidewalk and you probably
-~Ould never have noticed the firm
.alIne ON the directory Of the building
PAINTED Oh the tile wall of the YES
ubule; but nevertheless a number Of
people each day assembled and entered
the ground glass door on which was in
scribed in modest black lettering
stone, Graham & Stone;" and the firm
had Interpolation of doing a very
profitable business.
Henry Truman Stone, beside being
an able and eloquent lawyer, was u
very pleasant gentleman. He was Il
joviaI sort OF man, an inyeterate club
man since the death Of his wife over
fifteen years back; he brushed his hIr
carefully over the bald places that no
amount OF restOratives would reiertlI-
Ne, liked to 90 UP to Rosters once in
Il while when there was Il good show
I,.1f
was the envy and admiration Of his
large circle pf friends. He also had a
son, the junior member of the firm,
who was Il worthy successor TO his
parent. u
Mitchell Truman Stone, or as he was
invariably called by his college class
mates, Mike" had been brought up III
New York. After the usual school edu-
cation, he had gone UP TO AndoVer and
thence TO Yale from where he had
graduated with more or less honorS-
mostly in the way of ID. *. E., Banjo
club, and prom. committee. lmmedl-
ately after graduation he had entered
his fathers office to pursue the study
OF law and had just been admitted 10
the bar and taken into the firm Us
Junior partner.
Duncan Graham, the other member
OF the firm was Il man OF thirty eight
or forty and therefore some ten years
younger than his senior colleague. He
was professionally sharp, shreWd and
dexterous Just Il shark ut rafting u
Witness an cross pya mju1tipu - the
n:lngers-on i'll the court room said.
Personally Graham was u hard man to
get along with. lie was both polnpouS
and arrogant. Lie had Il dlsagreeaD-e|
way of issuing orders which made him
thoroughly disllled by his employees.
lie made it Il rule never 10 give tip
and 50 ut the cafe Savarin he was
always kept waiting for his lunch III
teen or twenty minutes longer than
necessary, and when he rose to so, the
waiter was invariably too busy ut an
other table to throw his napkin over
his ann and help his patron OH with
his coat, smiling blandly all the while
and making pleasant little remarks
about the weather us he does 10 you
or me. Other unpleasant character
iSticS about Graham were his self eS-
teem-the unfortunate fact of his hay
ing had ancestors, and that he was Il
bachelor. But no one denied his being
a clever lawyer.
Beside the individuals already men-
toned, the office force consisted OF 4
few clerks, an eIrand boy who cordial
ly hated "old Grah;un' and adored Mr..
Mike Stone, and Il Typewriter girl.
Her entree into the place had been
a little out Of the usual Three or
four months previous, Mr.. Alberts,
who had held the position of stenogra-
pher for years, had left, declaring that
he had stood old Walkers domineer
ing ways long enough and that he
wasn't going to stand them another
day. Whereupon the next morning an
advertisement was inserted in the
Tribune stating that a typewriter was
wanted, good wages, steady man re-
quired, apply to Stone, Graham and
Stone, Astorbilt Building, between
and 10 a. m"
OF course that morning the usual
crowd Of drinking men, incompetent
men-in fact almost every sort of man
that was not wanted-came through
the ground glass door and sat in the
outer office. The partners interviewed
each one separately in one of the in
ner rooms while the remainder sat
around In various awkward positions
twirling their hats and making Occa
sionn remarks to one another in low
tones
1t took until noon to discover thai
none of the applicants were suitable
for the position, and when Stone anC
Graham parted in front of the build
ing, the jolly red face of the former
was little redder than usual, and ht
kicked a cigarette box viciously init
the gutter as he strobe down to the
Down Town club for his lunch; while
the other repulsed a bootblack ever
more cnillily than was his wont as h
took his course in the opposite direc
ton.
The next morning when Mr.. Duncan
Graham arrived bright and early at hi
place of business, he found a girl 0
about nineteen or twenty seated in tn
mai1ng,ro0m Mother divorce suit
i suppose" he thought,and theI
Blamed pretty girl, too" and bowin.
Is there anything l can do for you?
he INQUIRED. His visitor rose also.