Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1899-08-10
held in check BY his sagac1ty.

held in check by his sagac1ty.
He net me with his gray eyes peer
ing alertly out from under his shaggy
eyebrows and over his puffy purple
cheeks, to see whether, after all. had
really been having such a bad time
with that ankle. l had come down to
fight out little question of salary, and
Mr.. Higgins met me as both counsel
and plaintiff on the other side. The
contest and its results are matters aside
from this history, but we are concerned
with the touch of humanness that now
and again, against his will and his
theories, diversified his simple brutali-
ty, and to which we owe another
glimpse of Bentley.
1.-The boss always began an inter-
view with me by a distinct declaration.
in manner, that l was an employee,
and only an employee, and that he ut
terly refused to take the slightest notice
of the fact that was also woman. A
helpless sense of his own small, much
degraded, much outraged. but still not
quite eradicated masculine instinct of
chivalry toward women underlay and
mainly produced this buster and lit
tie tact could usually be counted upon
to still it and even to play upon his
weakness SO far as to insure the poor
woman before him something like fair
treatment-a thing he was by no means
in the habit of according except on the
self respectful and unquestionably jus
tifable ground of immediate self inter-
est.
The queer thing was that this novel
experience Of disloyalty to his principles
nearly always pleased him for few
minutes. He found it pleasant until
the predatory habits of lifetime de-
voted to Cuisines" closed in upon him
again, perhaps bringing about reac-
tionary irritation. Today, when the
question of salary was settled, he drop
ped back in his leather chair and began
little conversation. He was always
above the familiar, cheap affectation of
being impossibly busy.
He asked where I lived, as he had
done more than once before, and what
rent paid. and what kind Of doctor
| had, and then he said inconsequently,
with his own odd compound of humor,
suspicion, scorn and simple human in
terest: "You'll be getting married
some of these days, just like any other
fool They say that ass Bentley is in
love up there, pointing with rough,
fat thumb to the ceiling.
81 knew he'd turned almighty no
account lately" he went on. $50,
when got hold of this, sent for him
and gave him some good advice. But
he told me he wanted to marry the girl.
I had notion to dismiss him on the
spot.
He drew down his overhanging brows
and looked at me as piercingly as if he
We're moved by some weightier motive
than simple elephantine, inscriptions
desire to Detray me into an amusing
burst of sentiment
only said how justi6able such a step
would be and how right he was in pub
, fishing Mr.. Bentley's unworthy senti-
!. ments His temper ruftled little.
+ "A good deal more justifable than
, you'd think, = he asserted aggressively.
81 wish I'd never knocked under to
, hire women.
, sob, WE'LL" l replied soothingly,
"you can comfort yourself with the re-
Election that you did it only to save
. money.
He shot another scowling, scrutiniz
ing glance at me.
''Do you know the girl?" he asked.
No said 1 had never spoken to her
"She must be a queer fool " Went
on the man of reason. "Why don t she
J haul him in and get the thing ovel
with? She can't expect to do any bet
, ter.
said that perhaps she did not wan
, to marry him. My employer snortee
, with genuine irritation.
: "Want! What else are you wome,
always wanting?" and then he added
. after obviously swallowing an oath,
| special courtesy | much appreciated
) "Unless there is every reason why you
: should want it, unless you'd be SOM
/ good to somebody married, then it's
r fact there is no telling what fine scru
pies you'll set. There's no counting
Then, interrupting himself, he said
; with change of tone and return t
his habitual grim rudeness of manner
9 rudeness differing from that he ha,
= previously shown in this conversation
Q inasmuch as it put an end to inter
3 change, 81 don't like lowering aroun
8 the shop: l amt going to stand nue.
i, Of it, . and with that he began to Snuff
the papers on his desk in aggressive IN
3 consciousness Of my existence.
| l got some pleasure out Of the famil
! lar comedy of this dismissal and IN
9 own manner of exit, but still it CAV
t now, as always, a little special emphasi
d to the diStaste felt for the down tow
}, world, and l found myself hurryin
n through my battle of business in til
counting room, which was complicate
J. by a frank established system of sma
|, thefts from employees, that might tn
h sooner get home, out of this wilderness
/. of primitive savagery modernly disgui:
d ed, into world where civilization hs
n made a little progress. was so glad t
d be in my own fat that not till afte
i. dinner did let my mind turn back I
q the afternoon incidents and inspet
h certain reflections which was half col
L..