Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1906-06-29
Timid Nancy

! when 1 WIS appointed paylnaSter ar
the mills ] was given little shanty
In the yard for an Office | wanted a
safe, but they wouldn't give me one
The money was handed me in en-
velopes to pay out at once. made a
closet in the shanty with a lock and
bolts so that If | must leave the money
| there for Il short time | could lock it
up. In lieu of a clerk | had slip of
a girl. Marcy O'Neil when she came
to me was only fifteen, but she was
bright, and soon worked her in to re-
lieving me in my accounts. She was a
delicate, pale faced little thing, and I
never felt it safe to leave her alone
in the office with any cash there
One day went in to find Nancy on
chair looking frightened half out of
her senses. 1t was the old story of
woman's timidity, and there was a
mouse in the room.
Nancy" l said, this won't do.
am obliged, as you know, to keep
small sums of money in my desk, and
much about. Suppose some rascal
should come in here and help himself?
I'm afraid I'll have to demand a man
assistant"
was fully minded to do what 1
said, but Nancy begged so hard that
promised to do nothing in the matter
for awhile longer, though l was de-
termined to bring the matter up at the
beginning of the year, when all such
changes were usually made.
One Saturday soon after this l re-
ceived the pay envelopes for the week
and took them to the Office. I was
about starting out with them when
received an order to go at once to the
presidents Office. Meanwhile one Of
the principal directors had come in to
talk over some important matter with
him, and when l arrived I was told to
wait l had left the pay envelopes in
big drawer in my desk. l would
have put them in the closet, but had
been checking them off with Nancy,
and they were scattered over the desk,
and, not daring to keep the president
waiting, l opened the drawer scraped
them into 1t, locked it and told Nancy
l would be back in a few minutes.
While 1 was waiting 1 thought about
the money in the desk, but nothing had
ever happened, and l didn't worry
much.
At last the president summoned me
into his private office and told me that
they had taken up the matter Of ex-
penses for the coming year, and, as the
profits were dissatisfying to the stock
holders, he had decided to retrench. A
number Of the less important employ
ees We're to be dropped, and l must get
along without Nancy. This let me out
of the responsibility of sending her
away, so I said nothing and hurried
back to my Office, my mind occupied
with how I should break the news to
her.
When l entered Nancy was looking
out of the window watching for me.
determined to get the unpleasant duty
off my mind at once and commenced to
tell her that her services would be no
longer needed. She tried to stop me,
but l raised my voice above hers and
finished what had to say. To my sur
prise she didn't seem to pay any at
tention to the matter, waiting till l had
told my story; then, coming near, she
whispered:
There's man in the closet"
"a manW
Yes. He must have seen the cash
ier's clerk come in with the envelopes,
for no sooner had you gone than he
came in and told me that If | didn't
give them to him he'd kill me. | had
to make up my mind pretty quick what
l would do, for, you see I'm only a
girl, and he looked so fierce and held
knife at my throat
"WellT' l interrupted impatiently.
IL knew that If didn't do something
right off,
"Cut it short" cried fiercely lis
the money gomez"
II told him that If he'd look in the
closet-I didn't want to tell a real lie,
and l didn't need to, for I'd only got
that far when he ran into the closet,
and l shut the door on him and locked
and bolted it."
The first thing | did was to take
glance at the envelopes; the second
was to pick Nancy up and give her
such a hug that she cried out: then |
dropped her and gave an alarm Sew
eral persons came running in, and |
told one of them to go and tell the
president that the mems weeks pay
was in jeopardy and to come at once.
In two minutes he wasIthere. Then.
with revolver in one hand, opened
the closet door with the other and al
man came sinking out He was one
we had taken on a few weeks before
and had come ON purpose to rob.
THAT little girl ! said. pointing,
has saved the company $4,000"
How did you do it," asked the pres