Los Angeles herald., 1907-06-30

two short stories of Adoniram's a humorous article
of mine Hearing New York" (the scheme was
to bottle the noises and sell them as a remedy for
nostalgia), and half a dozen Christmas poems OF
Macs It was July then, but they were all written
under the influence of her azure gances, etc.. etc.
and they did have zip to them To our mad sur
prise she sold seventy per cent OF them, and re
turned with forty dollars spot cash. We raised her
salary Immediately to twelve week and expenses.
Then we got busy turning out stun. You've no idea
how it helps to have few things sell!
She used the common meetng-room as her head
quarters but she seldom had it to herself, for we
would work like mad to get chance to read our
things to her and watch for her expression to
change
Sh, had only about three-patient boredom, pat
ronizing amusement and rapture. We seldom drew
rapture but always hoped for it, and expected it,
The Prettiest had mind near to that of the
Average Reader it would be possible to find.
If you boiled down the whole Mississippi Valley
into one brain, that would be Clara Fosters. We
reverenced her opinions accordingly. 1t was an
education and joy to have Old Subscriber always
ready to listen and give her verdict through lips
like those of the Prettiest 1t began to dawn upon
that Art and Common Sense needed no no divorce
She said one of two things: either II like it" or
" don't like it," She didn't bother you with an
alysis and reasons
Our next step in cooperation was to pool our in
terests and, abandoning lust for private fame,
we sent everything we wrote out under the name
OF r. Mari. Fiction and poetry humor, pathos
and essay, it all travelled to New York in the
Prettiests green cloth bag attached to that short,
romantic name. Before long e. Marr began TO WIN
mild renown in the magazine field, and we didn
bact into the ranks OF the Great Unknown. Our
best customer the Public Magazine, brisk,
new illustrated paper, and E Mari was getting
four cents a word for everything sold. But II
wasn't always easy to satisfy the editor who seemed
to have more personality than most of them and
not even the Prettiest Girl in Railway could force
all our manuscripts down his throat. She went to
see him regularly twice week, though, and we
worked like elephants to keep her provided with
ammunition.
Now, as I'VE said, her first attitude towards our
work was that of modest ignorance of art, mere
expression of interest or the reverse. Soon, how
ever, we noticed a change in her mental processes
She seemed to be growing up to us, mentally. and
she delivered cold, practical suggestions with a
remarkably steady aim. From this, she some
times got to actual analysis and critical advice
1t did SEER funny that she was developing so fast
but what she said proved to be so true when she
came to sell the work, that we got to rely on her
more and more. I think, too, at about this time
we began to mix up opinion of her intelligence
with our opinion of her looks
Ore day the Prettiest went step further and
came out with scheme she had evidently been
thinking out for some days. l had noticed that
she hadn't eaten so much candy, and expected a
crisis
what you want to do is to divide up the labor,
the same as they do in factory" she said "Any
business man would know better than to do this
hit-or-miss way. You want to specialize and each
man ought to do what he can do best. Adonram
here is most ingenious at plots, but he can't write
good live story with human interest or upft in
it. Mark. MacComus ought to do all that for he's
got Just heaps of pathos and local color and char
scterization and all that. You'-po1nting pen
Gil at me-"have the best literary style You
ought to do the polishing and whacking into shape
and the architectural part the finish and the
sparkle We ought to talk over the story and let
Adonram rough it out till he's got the mass. Then
MIC will put in whole lot of feeling and blood
and poetry, and then you, Jack, will boil 1t over
and sharpen 1t up and rearrange 1t and sandpaper
the edges. Then,--I'll sell it, We can do better
work and more of it, that way. What d'you say?"
We looked at the Prettiest in amazement, then
we surrendered She had no imagination; 1t was
only good horse business sense. But combined with
her dinpes it convinced us completely. She was
elected General Manager of the Syndicate. She
insisted upon roll-top desk and she got it. She
bought blue pencil out of her own money. Then
we proceeded to open the works on strict CONNER
cial principles, keeping Office hours from a. m.
till D. m, with hour off for lunch
Things went briskly with the S. S. S. after that.
We saw more of the Prettest, and she did seem to
have the art of making the sun shine on all sides
of the house at once I've seen curls and dimples
before, and thought was girl-proof but the
Prettest had Cupids bow mouth into the bargain.
and white teeth that made her smile sheer magic
The trouble began when Adoniram started to go
iuto executive session with the General Manager
two three times In forenoon. Mac and didn't
like it little bit When the two of them had con-
sultation and put their heads together, the heads
little too close.
This thing of Ads coming her so ought to be
stopped, McComus said to me, after he'd stood 1t
as long as he could. "The girl has mother to
her. and think it's up to us to give her a
hint not to see so much of him. Besides, he's ne
glecting his work.
about it,
mo. / think it will be better for me to do it,
lie said decidedly. ''Pm the oldest, and I'll be
more brotherly, you know.
We finally compromised by making ourselves Il
committee of two, and the next time Adonram was
oft duty, stated our views to her The Prettiest
surprised, she grieved she hurt by
suspicious. She threatened to leave If didn't
like tho way she acted. That scared us SO that we
smoothed 1t over we'll could, and by the
time that was over and she had turned her smile
on again, we were in no condition to give advice.
In week McComus and were racing hard for
her favor that poor Adoniram had to interfere and
protest. For time watched each other
and made remarks but the Prettiest was as cool as
glass and played no favorites.
But pretty soon we had another complaint.
She going into town often that we missed
her something fierce. We'd got into the habit of
working " here could look over the top of the
table to see her-for the inspiration you know
and It was no fun at all watching empty roll