Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1910-07-28
! HER LOSS
A GAIN
BY GEORGE WEYMOUTH

1t was against the rule of the house.
and contrary to business ethics, Marcia
knew that. But what are you going to
do? Even when girl becomes part
of the great business machine, she is
not piece of machinery.
OF course he didn't mean ANYTHING
by it. Every three months he came
breezing in from his western trip. full
of enthusiasm and glad to see every.
body in the firm. If he held Marcia's
hand with a lingering pressure and
looked at her until she blushed, it was
only his way. If he gave her flower
and leaned minute over her desk,
saying commonplace with his tongue
and wonderful and mysteriously elo.
quent things with his eyes-why, it
meant nothing 1t was only the way
of him.
But poor Marcia, part of the ma.
chine and yet not piece of machin.
cry, treasured the flower, remembered
the pressure of the hand, and inter
preted the message of the eloquent
eyes in her dreams.
Which was against the rules of the
house and contrary to all the sound
ethics of business.
Then there came the day of the
awful explosion. He had just come in
from the road and there was trouble
about his expense account.
eve can't stand for it, Mr.. Jerome. -
said the head, angrily.
And because Jerome was young and
foolish and didn't know how impor.
tant the head was, and perhaps also
because he Travelled much in the west
where men are free, there was flip.
pant reply that grated on the awful
dignity Of the big man of business.
and the first thing Marcia knew there
was beautiful row on hand.
The head proposed to kick the sales
man out of the office, and the sales.
man landed his resignation with a stiff
uppercut on the adamantine cheek of
the sacred head.
Many men came running to the help
of the mighty one, but the salesman
strobe out with quivering nostrils and
glazing eyes, and no man dared to lay
hand upon him.
He looked about the office defiantly.
and then when his eyes fell upon Mar
cha they softened. He came and
leaned over her desk.
well, little girl" he said, '.I've left
the firm. won't see you any more,
Will 1?'
I'm sorry-that you've left the
firm" murmured Marcia.
You're the only thing In the firm
that hate to leave, little girl-and l
guess the towns not. so big but I'll find
you again."
And he said other things, putting
into words the tender messages that
his eyes only had spoken until now.
And Marcia blushed and trembled.
and could say nothing, though per-
haps the one little look she gave him
was not without its meaning.
All of which was a fragrant viola
ton of the rules of the house, and
against the Medean laws of sound
business. But Marcia was too dazed
and happy to care. Really, she was
glad that she wasn't piece of ma
chinery on this great day, but Just
girl with a heart and a soul.
It might have been 4 o'clock that
afternoon when the boy came with a
package for Marcia. Without think
ing. she opened it-a dozen long
stemmed American beauties, and on
the card that nestled among the BIOS
SONS she read: James Fleming Je.
rome, with the Consolidated COM
pany."
Now, the Consolidated was the
hated rival of Marcia's company. But
she did not think of that. She Just
rejoiced in her heart because Mr.. Je-
rome had found another position so
soon.
Before Marcia could hide the flow
ers and the card she knew that some
one was looking over her shoulder,
and she dared not turn back to see
who it was. But some instinct told
her it was the head himself
A moment later, when he moved
around in front of her, she knew that
it really was the head, and that his
eyes were cold with anger and the
bruised place on his cheek, where
the resignation had landed, stood out
pitifully prominent.
you will send those flowers back"
said he, witheringly, "and you will
write that no employee of this house
receives any gifts from ruffians"
Indeed, will not" said Marcia.
She was so indignant that she forgot
to be afraid of the head
"Then you will go to the cashier
and get your weeks pay-this min
ute," he snapped. and you need not
refer to us when you want another
position"
When Marcia found herself on the
street with her weeks salary in one
hand and the roses in the other hand,
she still was too indignant to be sorry
that she had lost her job.
She was walking along one of the
principal streets when she ran into
Mr.. Jerome. In spite of her efforts
to be brave there were tears in her
eyes before she had finished telling
him what had happened. After all.