The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1909-07-23

Ethelinda was pretty as a pink in
a florists window. She had real gold
hair a dimple in one cheek and the
kind of a neck you can wear low col
lars with. She was little and dainty
and gentle-and not so very capable
from the Office managers point OF
view. OF course, If the manager had
been younger and not married Ethelin-
da wouldn't have lost her job. But
he was oldish, bald and married and
didn't like the mistakes Ethelinda
made in addressing letters Hence
she received the blue slip in her sal
airy envelope on Saturday night.
Lena Nagel, on the other hand,
didn't remind you at all of pink in
a florists window Not that Lena
wasn't attractive in her way, but il
was more the way nice granite iron
ware cake pan in house furnishing
shop attracts you. That is to say, she
was neat smooth and useful-looking,
and little square at the corners. But
Lena could always get job and keep
It, There was one other thing about
Lena that didn't show at first glance,
and that was her kind heart and a
good part of its affection was placed
on Ethelinda.
On a certain Monday noon, Ethel
india not having appeared at the spe
cial table where the two girls ate their
oyster sandwiches at lunch time, Lena
was greatly worried. Likewise on the
next day she was yet more worried,
for Ethelinda still came not. Accord
ingly, on her way home at five o'clock
Lena stopped at the big trust company
and inquired what had become of her
golden-haired chum.
The news of her dismissal was a
genuine grief to Lena's honest heart,
and with characteristic kindness she
set her mind straight to work to find
a way to help her. She thought and
thought and thought. There was no
vacancy in her own office, and it was
the very worst time of all the year to
find a place. People were wedding
out their forces rather than taking on
help And remember Ethelinda did
make mistakes in spelling and
couldn't be given the very highest
kind of an Al recommendation. So
Lena kept on thinking.
Some days went by and Ethelinda
stopped in to see Lena at lunch time
Her face was shade less rosy than
usual, her dimple was out of COM
mission and in her eyes was the pitiful
look of Encouragement that comes
after you've tramped through the
agencies and from one Office to an
other with bunch of cut-out adver-
tisements in your purse, finding moth
ing but a chance to copy lists of
names on the typewriter at six a
week
AS Lena saw her friend into the
elevator out from the same stepped
the chief clerk, who gazed so hard
over his shoulder at the little gold
and-pink vision that he ran into the
ice cooler and acutely barked his
shin. Lena marked the gaze, and a
plan for the solution of the difficulty
flashed like lightning into her mind.
That evening she paid another visit
TO the Trust Company and applied for
Miss Dimple's VACANT desk. The man.
ager scanned her neat German braids,
her powderless nose and her generally
unadorned appearance. He made a
quick mental calculation of how much
time probably would be saved to the
office in consequence of these details,
not TO mention an economy in tele-
phone calls and vacation for the Of
fee mirror She got the place.
This being settled, the rest seemed
easy, and she could hardly possess
her practical soul in patience until
she could put her plan in operation.
Next morning she hunted out the
chief clerk bright and early.
But why do you want to leave us,
Miss Nagel?" he queried, when she
had plunged through her resignation,
Were very busy just now, you know,
and | don't see"
ooh, | can send some one right
away to take my place" she inter
rupted. She's a special friend OF
mine, too, and-why, you may possi-
bly, have noticed her here yesterday;
she stopped in to see me?"
The chief clerks hand reminiscently
raised itself to adjust the managerial
tie, and he thoughtfully regarded the
green sock that adorned his barked
shin. A change came Ger the spirit
of his words.
"Oh, was that-er-was she-ahem
do you refer to the young lady l
caught sight Of as | stepped of the
elevator? She certainly appeared
very Northumberland very neat
and-er-quite So Well, of course,
Miss Nagel, If you are obliged to leave
us"
And so Ethelinda came and Lena
departed.