Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1899-07-17

"Mr. Lacy" cried Mildred, breath.
lessly, "I did not break that. 1t fell
off when the young lady caught her
gloves"
at was your fault, then, for not
seeing that it was properly secured"
said Mr.. Lacy. craftily, for, of course,
it was his business to affix blame, not
to the wealthy customer, but to the
defenseless shop girl, who had no one
to take her part. "You are response
BILE for this counter. And Tape and
Sparkle expect these little things to
be settled at once"
Mildred grew pale. Ten dollars!
AS far as she was concerned, he might
have said ten hundred. She had just
risen from long and expensive bed
of sickness, and beyond the fifty cents
that was to pay for her dinner and car
fare, she had not penny in the world.
Gerald Avenel stood quietly by the
counter, while Flora Watson gulltily
arranged her furs and settled her bon
net strings, affecting to be ignorant
of the colloquy going OH. For it was
Flora's hand that had precipitated the
statuette to the floor and she knew it
perfectly we'll.
''Will she be base enough to let the
other girl suffer for her fault?" he
thought. "If 80, it is a revelation of
her character of which 1 had never
dreamed before"
Bat Miss Flora did not mean to
spend any unnecessary money. She
disliked Mildred first, because she
was pretty; secondly, because Gerald
Avenel seemed to be interested in her,
as an old acquaintance; thirdly, be.
cause she was shop girl, earning her
living by her own hard work.
"Come, Mr.. Avenel," said she, i'm
patiently. IT don't see anything to
suit me here. Let us CO."
"Not yet" said Gerald, composedly,
opening his porte.monnaie. "Not un-
til have paid for the statuette which
you knocked down"
Flora burst into tears.
eft wasn't my fault" she cried. ''I
couldn't help it. And I wish 1 had
never seen the horrid thing. Come,
Aunt Libbie, let's go home"
81 will put you in the carriage"
said Gerald Avenel.
"But you are coming, too, Mr..
Avenel?" said the discreeter matron.
"Not at present. Perhaps I will
come around this evening for little
while"
So he shut them into the handsome,
claret-colored brougham and watched
them drive away before he went back
to the store.
"Flora," said Aunt Libbie, almost
Indignantly, as the horses moved
away, "what made you behave SO like
petulant school girl? You've lost
him now. A man never can endure a
display of temper like that! You may
depend upon it, ne will never propose
to you now."
Meanwhile, the unconscious subject
of Aunt Libbies harangue had re-
turned to the counter, behind which
Mildred no longer stood.
"Where is Miss Erskine?" he asked,
with the innate air of superiority and
command which belonged to him as
by gift of nature. Mr.. Lacy involun-
tarlly cflngeu Deiofe MIN.
"Shes gone to put on her things,
sir" he said. Miss Erskine is dis
charged"
"Discharged"
"Yes, sir. Wouldn't pay for the
figure she broke" Lacy glibly an
swered.
"Your statement is erroneous in
two particulars" said Gerald, calmly.
''In the first place, it was not she that
broke the image. In the second place,
you have already been paid for it out
of my purse"
"Much obliged to you, I'm sure, "
said the smirking Mr.. Lacy. "But
it's our invariable rule always to make
the young women responsible for their
own counters. 1t teaches 'em to be
careful, sir, you seen'
Gerald Avenel turned away with q
sneer before whose fiery scorn, Mr..
Lacy could not but vince in spite of
himself.
cit will teach me to avoid such q
den of cheating and villainly for the
future!" he said, as he left the elegant,
lildI Dlc-hOOIeu lSil lpoilull, thclCDy
depriving Messrs. Tape & Sparkle oi
| one Of their best customers.
But he fingered outside until the
gray, slight figure crossed the thres.
hold.
"Mildred"
How she started. "Mr. Aveneli
thought you were gone"
ST waited for you. I have no UNI
brella-neither have you. Where are
YOU going? What do you propose tc
, do?"
II am going home-if you can call
q fourth STORY back room home.
propose to starve," with forced
laugh. "For, really, I know not what
else to do"
"Mildred. will you take my ad
vice? We were old friends once, you
know.
What is it?" she asked, half turning
her wan face away from him.
"There was man once asked you
to marry him. He was perhaps little
abrupt-you were young and capric