The Topeka state journal., 1901-08-31

| didn't remember that he was very par
/ ucular to send it off himself SO there
would be no mistake. This was 4 par
THAN shot and we all grinned sar-
donically For the old man was one
OF that numerous class of employers
who never make a mistake. Some
times when visitors cane into the
office, he would say in his genial little
way that he did not, as did many man,
regard himself as infallible. And we
| would smile grimly into our ledgers,
for in the bosom of his Office all the
mistakes were stenOgraphic or clerical
The stenographer told me once she
wrote on an average of half a dozen
several page letters every week ex-
planning elabOrately how those mis-
takes came about. But he would never
admit that he made 'em He always
ragged at her and would threaten her
with loss of her position, which he
knew, and she knew, and We knew,
was one grand bluff, because she was
invaluable to him. She knew more
about his affairs than he knew him
sell Today, however, there was a Dig
mail, and what with the senatorship
going glimm ering and the ranl6le of the
returned check, he worked her unIner-
cifully- He dictated at lightning speed
out OF pure devilment and when she
would stop to say she couldn't keep
up with him any longer. he would take
ten minutes off to bunyragging and
giving his views on shorthand systems
lie said he would like to invent a sys-
tenn that would permit is manipulators
to come up to their supposed require
ments. She family stated that Vic
toria had knighted Sir Isaac Pittman
for giving to the world the system she
was using, and doubtless If he-the
Old Man-wOuld go one better, the
president would make him a sultan,
Which charming impertinence rendered
him almost apoplectic. During a lull,
while he was hunting som ething on his
desk, glanced at the stenographeI-
She had dropped back in her chair, pale
~ nd D ~ ~ NI10
expression about her eyes, the droop
of the mouth, the detected attitude
"TOdt" 1 ground my teeth. If 1 We're
anything but the damned failure I am
Id take her in my arms and go to the
end of the world" And I clinched my
hand7-I would would. Just tliea the
Old Man whirled round in his chair ana
caught me idling- Danny, get to
charity institooshunl" and I scratched
wildly away, sick at heart-for l
couldn't afford to lose my place
This is what comes of havin' wo-
man in the Office" snorted tire Old
Man. Why can't you tend to bust
ness, instead of sittin' round maxim
eyes and playin' the devil?"
i vast Il Was't-I-"
Shut up. viii you?-not a word-not
a word-Ive had enough of your damn
sassiness and your high-falutin' airs
I wouldn't give a blankety blank for
such a StenOgrapher. Ou can't read |
your own notes. I've had enough, l |
have. If there isn't an Improvement, |
I'll get some one else Women are all I
confounded fools anyway. If had my /
way I'd turn every woman out of every I
office in this country. BY George, If m |
not sick of the whole damn fniclzy I
lott All this and a good deal more |
in rambling growls, interlarded with a
prOfusiOn of e1pletives. The steno- |
grapher got up from her chair. white /
and shaking. She said she had stood |
just as much as she intended to- She
preferred starving on the streets to
losing her self-respect by permitting
herself to be talked to like that. She
said he only talked to her that way /
because she was a woman, and depend
ent on her own resOurces-he wouldn't
dare to talk to a man like that. She
said he could get a new stenographef,
but she would advise him to take a
tuck or two in his vocabulary, as the
new stenOgra pher might have pugilis-
tic male relatives. The Old Man inter-
jected that she needn't try to fool him
He knew she wasn't going. She knew
she couldn't afford to. She had her liy-
ing to make and it would be a long time
before she found as easy a place. sit
down and take this letter." he shout
ed, tand stop this dam n tomfoolin',
And then we hardly knew how it
came about but there was a crash of
desks and inkwells and chairs and
books. and Johnnie had the Old Man
on the floor, banging his head on the
carpet. beating and pounding and
choking him. "Damn-damn-dam
yelled Johnnie. Wont teach you
how to talk to a woman! You d ras
caIiil You black-hearted hypocritei.!
You cheating, lying scOundrellii You'd
cheat me out of my farm. would your
you'd abuse a woman because sh s
poor and defenseless, would you-ifl'
And we sat down in fiendish glee- To
prevent Johnnie from ending his life
0n the gallows. however, we finally had
to drag him off, painting. fighting, dis
heveIed, passion wrought
4 uf0
her hands clasped. her cheeks Grim
son, her eyes full of tears-but now she
ran toward him. "Oh, thank you, thank
you, thank you'll" she cried. running
to him with both hands outstretehed.
He took them in his and kissed them
repeatedly-the rushed out of the Of
fee hatless. The stenographer pinned |
1n her hat with trembling fingers. She
vavered, hesitated-I looked up and
here stood Blake of the Morning Star.
Ffe had seen it all and the next day the
whole thing came out, with a third of a
column of startling headlines Blake
made such a good story of it. he was
given the city editorship of the Star,
which just then happened to be vacant
0n account of a. resignation and rev
lays after that was n arried to the
It seems he had been III
owe with her q long time. but couldn't
afford to marry. They live out in the
some place. and sometimes
see them at the theater Burford got .
he sena torship and the Morning Star
S supporting him for the presidency.
# he succeeds Blake will get something
uicy in the office line. They say Bur-
sOrd's tremendously grateful to Blake,
or Blake practically assured him the
domination with his story of the Old
Nan. The Old Man, of course, was kill
ID politically He took to collecting
1oOkplat tes and finally went abroad,
eaving his business to his partner
As for Johnnie. I never heard what
became of him Not a soul of US ever
a-w him after that morning The part
Ter employed BurfOrd's stenographer
md I've changed the position of my
esk. The light, 1 found. was in my
yes. and then-she has ginger hair and
pale. green eyes.-People's Home Jour
aal ,