The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1901-09-10
Brown, Smith
And Jones
How They Were All CaptIvated
by Pretty Woman.
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q How They Were All CaptIvated
8 by Pretty Woman. x
/ was a young lawyer and had the rep
utation of being shrewd, and I do honest
~ believe that had remained at the bar
l might have been fairly successful. /
had no idea of leaving it until Brown Of
Brown, Smith & Jones, came to me and
said:
"As you know, old Foss, our con6den-
tial man, is dead. We think 1t better to
fill his place with a young man, and I
have come to offer it to you"
Having accepted the post l found my
duties to be almost numberless. l opened
the mail, sorted the letters and attended
to the correspondence. l Checked" on
the cashier, verified all balances. investi-
gated all risks, hunted up the standing of
all would be borrowers and to a great ex-
tent had charge of the entire business.
In less than a week found that each one
of the firm had his official popularity, as
follows:
Brown would never open the mail.
Smith would never answer letter.
Jones would never sign check.
The street called them CONSERVATIVES"
but the street never met them in the pri-
vate Office and consequently did not know
of their oddities. The morning pro-
gramme was a very funny one. l reach
ed the Office at $50 sharp. At exactly
$40 Jones came in. At 8:44 Smith en-
tered. At $50 Brown appeared. The
last man of the firm name was the first
to appear As each entered he hung up
his hat on his own particular hook, sat
down in his own particular chair, picked
up his own daily paper, and none Of them
ever recognized each other by as much as
a bow. At $50 l had the mail opened,
they laid aside their papers and the busi-
ness of the day came up to be discussed.
1t took me couple of years to fall
into the ways of these strange men, but
in spite of their eccentricities they were
very kind to me and trusted me almost
without limit. Everything had run along
very smoothly and nothing whatever had
happened to break the routine when
something dropped from clear sky. Our
private offices were arranged so that oc-
cupied the first, which was also consult
ing room. Then each of the firm had
private office back Of that, and each re-
tired to it when not otherwise engaged.
One forenoon at II o'clock, while | was
alone in the front Office, a lady entered.
1t was rarely that woman had any bust
ness with US beyond the teller's window,
and l was considerably surprised at the
presence Of this one. She was about 20
years old handsome as a picture, and l
soon had reason to declare to myself that
her manners were fascinating. She took
my breath away by inquiring if Brown
was in. So far as the legends Of the office
went he had never yet been interviewed
by a woman, and hesitated to reply to
her direct question.
81 have business of importance with
him." she continued, "and desire to see
him in his private Office. 1t is the first
one on the left, believe. Pray don't
trouble yourself to announce me-"
She went to the door and raped.
Brown opened 1t, and when he saw her
standing there he turned pale and stag
gered back. She entered and closed the
door behind her and was closeted with
him a full hour If | was dumfounded at
this action, | was almost paralyzed at
his conduct as they came out He was
actually bowling and Sinking and trying
to be gallant-he the man who insisted
that his landlady should never employ a
female servant unless she was a hunch-
back or cross eyed! He followed her
through the room and out to the door Of
the bank, and when he returned he was
smiling blandly and his lips were moving
as if talking to himself. He didn't say
word to me. If he had, could not have
replied to him, as | was completely
knocked out.
After that day l noticed a marked
change in Brown. He seemed to thaw
out to take more interest in life, and
caught on to the fact that he was writing
private letters to some one. One day he
added to my establishment by calling me
into his private room and inquiring If 1t
wouldn't be a good thing for US to pick
I'D silver mine out in Nevada, providing
we got low figure and sure thing.
The next astonishing circumstance hap
pened a week later. | was out on the
street at II 80, an hour when every man
of the firm was invariably closeted with
himself and | suddenly caught sight of
Jones going into a hotel Believing my
self to be the victim of an optical delusion,
| soon followed, and as / looked about
the office the clerk beckoned to me and
said, Room 44-Mrs. Temple-silver
mine"'
She had been to the office to call on
Brown, and now shs had probably sent
word to Jones to call on her. would
have bet a hundred to one that Jones
wouldn't have gone, even to close deal
In which there was sure profit of $lO,-
900; but there he was, sure enough, and
| began to feel annoyed and uneasy. |
was at the office when Jones returned,
two hours later. He not only had grin
on his face, but he felt so good that he ac-
tually whistled a bar or two of popular
air.
IF anything further was needed TO con-
vince me that things were at SKIES and
sevens in the house of Brown, Smith s.
Jones the conduct of Smith furnished It.
| On a certain Wednesday morning he was
! % minutes late. As if this were not
enough, he came in looking frustrated and
excited. An hour later a boy brought a
note, which | carried to his room. 1t was
addressed in a woman's hand, and within
20 minutes after receiving it he left the
bank. evidently to keep an appointment.
He had hardly gone when Jones came ou'
to me and began to discuss business mat
/ tiers. Luis uuu ucNeI huppSANu oSANAS "
and / was regarding him with surprise
and establishment when he observed:
IF we could pick up a silver mine
known by insiders to be worth a million
dollars and get it for about S3O,0oO, II
might be a good investment, ehT"
| mumbled something in reply, and nc
took two or three turns across the room
and disappeared into his private office
At | O'clock Smith came in. He had for
gotten his usual dignity of entrance, anc
he was so absentminded that he hung III
his coat on the wrong hook. He hdgetec
and then observed:
~ have had an offer of mining property
which promises great things. Did yor
ever hear of the Queen Anne mine OF Ne
vada"
replied that never had, and aftei
sitting in deep study for awhile he als'
retired. He had evidently been to see
Mrs. Temple also. Mrs. Temple theI
was a woman who had a silver mine t
dispose of. OF all men in the worl(
whom l should have hesitated to ap
proach were the three comprising gu
firm. OF all people liable to succeed witt
them a woman would be the very last.
couldn't make it out. 1t seemed to M
that the natural order of things had beer
reversed.
Before the week was out Jones escorte'
Mrs. Temple to the theater, Brown hat
taken her out for drive and there wer
II l. i