The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1907-02-07
Old fashioned
Strategy
BY 0,fIb1r BofeS
Copyright, 1903, by c. H. sutolifre

HlOtlSI Udu seiecleU her clothes
That is not just the way the girls at
the Empire lunch room. No. s. express
ed it. Kitty Behman, who had al
ways queened it over the force of
black frocked. white aproned wait
resses, patted her marceled locks plac-
idly and remarked:
well, his nibs sure picked a lemon
in that"
THAT" otherwise Sally Lotus. sat in
the cashiers booth near the entrance
arranging small change in neat piles.
Her head, crowned by brown locks.
parted demurely and almost severely
in the middle, was bent above her
work. but her quiet glance Travelled to
the group Of gossiping girls Incl
dentally they took in other things. At
one table the ice had melted in the
butter dish and water trickled over the
mahogany surface On another table
the glass sugar bowl was nearly emp
ty. A soiled napkin and butter plate
had been left at a third table.
The girl who looked as If her grand
mother bought her clothes fingered the
round buttons on her queer cashmere
basque, and then her well manicured
nails tapped gently against the old
fashioned brooch at her throat Inside
the chased circle of gold repOsed braid
ed strands of hair the exact shade Of
the girls. Her glance finally rested
on the sloping shoulders of the young
man who stood by the big plate glass
window, where a white aproned youth
poured a stream of white dough on
hot griddles
The young man, who was Ralph Put
nam, son of the owner of the Empire
circuit of lunch rooms, started back
to the kitchen, and as he passed the
new cashier he flung her q glance that
was almost appealing. She met him
with one oddly reassuring and fully
understanding He frightened per
ceptibly, but as he passed the group Of
| girls near the coffee counter the light
died out of his eyes once more
Kitty Behman smiled up at him IA
miliarly
"Where'd you get the Christmas tree
ornament, Ralph? There's one thing
sure. You needn't worry about any OF
the boys coping her out. She's had
her fortune read old maid by every
clairvoyant in town, or l miss my
guess"
Her father went to school with
mine. She comes of very good family,
he said apologetically
Gee, but it's fine to have a pull!'
was Kitty's contemptuous reply.
Ralph wandered into the kitchen.
More than ever he hated the lunch
room and everything connected with
it. And in truth he was not entirely to
blame. His father had sent him from
private school to college, where he had
taken the classical courses, and then
his somewhat unreasonable parent
could not understand why his bookist
son could not walk, diploma in hand
into an Empire lunch room and man
age it as we'll as the other young meI
in the same position of responsibility
who had served their apprenticeship
even to cooking griddle cakes in the
window. Ralph had trouble auditing
his accounts, settling quarrels in the
kitchen and preserving some sem
blance of discipline among the per-
Mattresses.
All this-and more-Sally Loftu;
learned before the breakfast rush Sc
in. It was a soggy day, and gradually
discomfort seemed to permeate tn,
room. A tired looking stenographer II
bedraggled skirts was arguing with {
waitress because her toast had beer
burned. The waitress replied tartly
that some folks expected q lot for Il
cents. Ralph stood helplessIy at the
table, afraid to take hand in the ar
gument, but when the waitress finally
fiounced to the coffee counter he step
ped in awkwardly and told the patron
he would bring her some fresh toast
After he had done this he paused wea
rily at Sally's elbow. She crossed he
hands demurely on the marble ledge
and said quietly:
Il was so glad to see you reprimanC
that waitress She was very imperti
nent. and we ought to make every Gus
toner feel that she wants to breakfas
here regularly. Don't you think soF'
Ralph started. He had not called
down the saucy waitress. He haC
merely tried to undo the mischief sh
had wrought Now he wished he haC
scolded her before the customer
I'VE have a lot of regulars" he sal,
in the same apologize tone he had EN-
pIoyed to Kitty Behman.
But we want lot more We ough
to have every place at these table
taken between 100 and 8 o'clock
Suddenly Ralph started down tn
narrow aisle For the first time ne nc
ticed the water dribbing from the but
ter plates. He approached the sauc
waitress and said with a funny al
tempt at sternness which was quit
lost on the astonished girl:
"Clean up those butter plates, an
don't you ever again tell a custome