The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1899-04-14

concerning her future standing with /
Vaughn 4 Co had brought on a head
ache which Of itself would have spoiled |
her enjoyment effectually. SO, after
q dismal attempt TO take part in the |
gayety she left early and came home !
ready to cry with disappointment.
The next day Glanced TO be q holt
day, and the one following IL was Sun
day. Forty-eight hours of greater APP
parent length Mildred was sure she
never had passed. On Monday she
probably would learn whether or not
Vaughn & Co. were TO lose several
hundred dollars by her blunder If
blunder it was; meanwhile the sus-
pense she was being kept in seemed
intolerable.
If the firm were called upon TO bear
the loss, would Mr.. Vaughn visit the
consequences, so far as he could, upon
her head and decide that he had no
further use for so unlaithful stenog-
rapher? Whatever might be the event
she was forced to admit that she de-
served to lose her situation, that she
no longer merited his confidence, and
thus, with unhappy doubts and self
questionings, the two intervening days
dragged slowly by.
Earlier than was her custom on
Monday morning Mildred reached the
Office. AS she was removing her out
of-door garments her glance fell in
voluntarily on the pile of mail matter
that George had brought from the
postofice andlaid ready for Mr.. Vaughn
upon his desk. It was large pile, so
large that the upper part of it had slid
backward so as to reveal the edges of
some of the lower envelopes.
She caught sight of a printed
name in the left-hand corner of one of
them: Marshall & Hobbs" She
would have given weeks salary to
open that letter, but taking such a lib
erty was out of the question.
Mr.. Vaughn arrived late, and in so
leisurely a manner did he open and
read the letters that Mildred began to
wish she bad taken occasion to place
that from Marshall & Hobbs on top OF
the heap and thus saved herself many
long minutes of torturing suspense.
Finally, when he reached it in due
course, he showed the most exasper-
ating calmness in making acquaintance
with its contents-quite as if the los
ing of several thousand dollars were g
matter of no Importance whatever.
While pretending to be busy herself,
Mildred watched him with tremulouf
anxiety. His face, however, was ut
terly inscrutable, and after having
held the open sheet in his fingers fol
full five minutes-or so it seemed t
her-he turned and extended it toward
her, remarking briefly 'This may in
terest you.
She seized the letter in what came
near to being frantic clutch and re
seating herself, for she felt too veal
to stand, began to read
, fYour valued favor of the Goth inst
has been received and contents noted
, The letter has been somewhat deface,
! in the copying-probably from to-
free use of water by your Office boy
:, but we think we have been able t
> make out oil Of it except the estimat
given for the No 1909 castings. w
are in doubt whether the figures il
!. tended are ID or Is. Please telegrap
the correct amount on receipt of this
y as we cannot delay much longer i
y submitting our bid. F"
:, ''The moral of that seems to be,
4 said Mr. Vaughn, quizzically, ''if 20
q must make mistake make such yer
= bad one that nobody can decide whi
Il on earth your driving at. Now, Nil
Chadbourne, / wish you would go OIL
and telegraph Marshall & Hobbs tn
= the proper figure is fifteen. Prepf
T. the charges, and have the message +
Il peated, so as to make sure it is RICH
II Do you understand, and can tru
T. you to do that?"
~ eyes, sir" the girl answered, blus
! ing at what she fancied to be cove
IS sarcasm. "And, Mr.. Vaughn" 81
thought it best to add, 81 want to tt
a. you how sorry 1 am for my carelessne
e. in copying that letter, You may
/ sure such thing will not occ
n. again.
ed ST trust not, indeed, was all t
Sc response he made, and she left the
is fee in some uncertainty as to how b
1T apology had been taken, but as he d
Of not refer to the matter afterward s
IS, was finally encouraged to hope he b
20 not lost faith in her entirely.
ne She never really knew whether Il
be important figure in the hurriedly WI
ut ten letter was a three or a five, |
ct she never allowed herself to be tro
I'D bled with any painful doubts as to
- figures again; one escape from disas
VINO apOuob