Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury [Connecticut]) 1900-1903, 1902-08-29
THAT LETTER.


The Office was hot and sticky. The
office boy had the toothache and was
wishing it was O'Clock. The book
keeper was skurrying up and down the
ledger, muttering some rigamarole to
himself, and 1t was safe to say you
could do nearly anything under his
eyes and he would not see it. The
boss was out playing golf; he always
was when things were dull in the of
flee. The old man was in New York.
Miss Lacey got up and looked out on
the lake. lit seemed cool and pleas
ant out there and half dozen small
sails We're dipping lazily. The work
was all caught up, she had studied the
railroad maps until she was sick of
them, knowing that her vacation trav-
els would extend ovec about one-ten-
thousandth of the space she had
traced with her finger, and even then
it would depend. There wasn't even
any old indexing to do; she wasn't in
a mood to write letters, so she leaned
back, carefully noting the peril of two
window-washers in the building oppo-
site. Now, if they fell, 1t was only
eight stories down
She stopped thinking about it for
minute and then went back to her cal
eulations. II Carl the one on the out
side was Carl and the one on the in
side was Christi Carl fell there would
be a widow and four children, and the
widow would get place in the building
scrubbing stairs and the four children
would grow up to be hotel porters and
chorus girls, and OH yes, there would be
"a lawsuit, and-heavens! she would be
an eyewitness.
1t it wasn't for that letter! That
was It; II she hadn't received that LET
ter things wouldn't look so CHASTITY.
But then that was what he said and
there was no getting around it. II
am much obliged for your sympathy
and consideration, but do not desire
either" 1t was a mean thing to say
when she had tried to be sympathetic
with him in his trouble. She wondered
II trouble always made people feel that
way. She was beginning to feel that
way herself. She resolved to over
come the feeling and told the office
boy she would put up the mail If he
wanted to go home. His alacrity in
getting out of the room was cheering
at least.
Inc mail was put up and it still lack
ca quarter OF an nOur TO D o'clock.
The bookkeeper evidently was on the
home stretch from the way he whip
ped himself on. The windows in the
building opposite were rejecting the
afternoon sun in their clean surfaces
and the United Order of Scrubwomen
would soon be making the halls and
stairways exceedingly dangerous, fol-
lowing in the wake of the women whose
work is never done. Anyway, 1t would
do no harm to read that letter once
mor@ 1t would never do to let him
know how she felt about it and she
must think of nice way to answer it.
What is this? Let us go back and
read it more~carefully: 81 am much
obliged for your sympathy and con-
sideratton, but do not deserve either
If the room would only stand still
a minute until things adjusted them
selves into their proper places!
Miss Lacy" drawled the bookkeep-
err, why haven't you gone home?
There was no need of your staying.
supposed you had gone"
"Oh, don't mind, really; the office
is kind Of pleasant and / was just sit
ting here resting Z replied she. Chicago
News.