The Washington times., 1907-08-25

sale floors. onyx wainscoat ting. gilded
pillars. bronze electroliers. rosewood
counters. and mahogany desks. the
whole done after designs by the gem
eral manager himself
No doubt anyone more reverent than
Terry Long would have been impress
ed by evidences OF wealth. But
Terry had been on the local staG OF
the Register for FIVE years. during
which time frequert conta,st with the
Observation-Disclosures "letding citi-
zens" and 6uauciers had duIled his APP
probation Of their greatness. Further
more, he weighed 80 pounds, carried
Il lightly, was equally at home In the
rush line or the ring. and owed no
man anything, except the life-insur-
ance premium he had come to pay.
He. too. held a policy in the Equinoc-
tiaI
Long stood az the cashiers window,
gtooping To bring himself to level
with the man behind the gilded bars.
Good morning, Mr.. Long" said the
cashier. remembering him well. by VIZ
tue Of his Ike and his quarterly pay
r1ents,
Long responded IN his mtlder tones.
the same suggesting. as had been re-
marked oy one with a gift for mixed
metaphor. a fog horn with its foot on
its soft pedal Then he drew out his
notice OF premium payment due
handed some currency TO the cashier,
pocketed his receipt and change, and
seemed ready 20 give place 10 those
who were waiting in line behind him.
when an apparent afterthought halted
him.
"Pv the way" he remarked, relax
ing the soft pedal just little, i see
thar YOU sent this notice to my correct
address. I wanted to ask II that Is 70
he the common practice as in the past
or II the Kent matter IS to be the pre-
cedent hereafter"
The cashier grew a tribe red. Uncer-
tain what was coming. he pleaded
ignorance and lowered his guard
IT don't know what you mean," ne
said. 'sOf course, notices are sent 10
the right address OF policyhoiders-"
"Oh, dent you known queried
Terry. sylnpatheticaIly. the soft pedal
raised a trihe more. well. I'll tell
you all about II. OF course. you know
Allan Kentf' he observed compre-
hensively. glaneing at those behind
him, as he were plased to take them
into his confidence.
You see, Mr.. Kent has been lying
almost at the point OF death for two
months, broken down By his hard
work in the Philippines and South Al
RIGA. Wei, he's been carrying policy
in this company for several years,
and q premium was due on IL day be-
fore yesterday. AS usual, the notice
was mailed to him a month before.
But instead Of senNing It to his ad-
dress as registered here and used for
the last three years, It was directed 70
an address he has not uyed for that
time, and so It was forwarded al over
the country, but Il finally reached
some one who knew where 70 send It."
The circle was growing. IS people
from across the room edged toward
the big fellow. The cashier made
feeble attempt to avert the catastro-
phe.
eff you have any complaint to make,
Mr. Long" ne inte-jected with .;ierkiy
dignity. ''ycu should make II - the
general manager himself. You are
blockading the window and delaying
the customers.
ooh, don't know" responded Terry.
"It's with you / always do my bust
ness, and II was you who said YOU
didn't know what I meant ! guess
they're in no hurry. This is a good
story, and / think they'd rather like to
hear it."
Whereupon, he continued .inexorably
to the end, the cashier making but one
futile effort at INTERRUPTION, and sub
siding when one Of the scowling lis
aggression and demanded his silence.
There were a number OF men grouped
about Long BY this time. and his voice
was no longer modulated. as he
dropped his cumbrous ironies and said
harsh things in harsh phrases.