Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1896-01-20
A CHICAGO VlGNETTE.
The Clerks Excuse About the Sick Baby
Ia Investigated by the Manager.

/ Ia Investigated Oy the Manager.
! He had been in the habit of uncere-
moniously absenting himself from the
office for two or three days at a stretch
at VARYING intervals for about year,
| and at last the manager got mad and
swore ND and down that he wouldn t
| stand it any longer.
.tWhen he comes back this time,
said the manager, rumpling his bushy
gray hair with one hand while he
brought the other fist down On the ste
noera, hers desk with a bang that made
10 t1pow-.:er Keys rattle, "I'll dock
him for every minute that hs has been
gone. III discharge him Oh the spot
and bo done with it, but he's a good
worker V hen lie 5 here and L like him
and will t1y D put Up with this hit and
miss way of coming around for little
whil3 longer.
That was ca Monday. The clerk
didn t show UP till Wednesday at noon.
"What's been the m0tter?' asked the
manager, pushing his glasses Gown over
the end of his nose and eying his en-
ployee severely.
The man took his place at the long
table and commenced slowly pulling Cd
his black Office sleeves.
'The baby has been sick again, he
said gravely taking up his pen and be-
ginning to write.
sI'm sorry,'' he said, ''buG please
bear in mind that the next time you go
off this way you will lose your wages. -
The mans face seemed to take Oh an
other degree Of paleness, but he answered
calmly, "All right and went on writ
ing.
1t was six weeks before he sta1d away
again and that time he was gene two
days. He came back on pay day. His
face was sallow and haggard and his
eyes were sunken and red.
''Baby been sick again?'' asked the
manager, with facetiOus little smile.
EYES, was the quiet answer. "She
was worse than usual this time" And
the clerks grinned and made up their
minds that he had had high old time
that trip.
Six dollars were deducted from his
salary to Offset the pleasures of that lit
tie spree, and the manager thought that
such summary punishment ought to
bring about a pretty effectual retorma
tion But it didn't. At the end Of three
weeks he staid away again, and although
his salary was again diminished at the
same rate, he took another self appoint
ed vacation within month. When he
sent note around the fourth time after
the docking process commenced and ac-
counted for his absence by the same old
plea that the baby was sick the manager
made up his mind that he would inves-
tigate things
I'm going over to his house and
straighten this matter out he said to
the stenographer between sentences of
the letter he was debating. "That child
ism sick any more than l am, and not
half as much so, and I'll catch him face
to face in his trickery If go over
there and find him drunk, as l suppose
I will be pretty sure to do, I'll discharge
him SO quick he won't know what his
name is. -
The stenographer said she thought that
was the only way to fix him, and right
away after lunch he started for the
South Side to hunt up his delinquent
employee. The man lived in the third
fiat, and by the time the manager had
pulled and painted himself up the two
long flights of stairs he was enraged
with the world in general and his clerk
in particular for putting him to SO much
trouble.
The clerk himself opened the door
and let the manager in. His coat was
off and his eyes were swollen and his
hair was pushed back i'll reckless confu-
sion. The manager tapped his cane en-
phatically on the hardwood floor as q
prelude to the coming lecture and said
with u testiness that was made still
more bitter by suspicion:
''Well, sir, I did happen to find you
at home, didn't L? How IS that baby?"
The man held out his hand with
gesture Of entreaty.
"Hush !" he said, with a quiet dig
nifty made strong by grief. "She's dead.
She died just an hour ago. "-Chicago
News.