La Junta tribune., 1913-10-04
Dischar9in9
Mary Drake
I tcopyrixht. i3i,. BY Associated Literary
Preas)
by JANE Osborne

pnsf AT biilluktCn =, NA hHcesiHS SS
fore the Ming cabinet In the outer
office Old Grenobl. paced back ana
forth through the Offices clutchsns his
! long white hands In restrained annoy
ance Never. In all the course OF ~
years experience as prime minister
10 the great steel king. Bi,iinston. had
IN. wheels OF the Office machinery
played such a trick. and now mere
slip OF ten-dollsr aveek siri had
He'd up big deal involving tens oi
thousands OF dollars by misnlinS An
important letter
Gr.nobie came back 20 the outer
Office and stood behind the pretty
stenngragher She vas such a de
renseless. we'll meaning hit. thlns
and nov she turned around and look
Cd at him 30 squarely and uaalnehins
~ as she admitted that n. letter vas
stlIl missing that Greuoble VAS speech
less
The fact xas that Mary Drakes $
simple chiidlike frankness and pret
tiness had once more disarmed old
Gr-uoble The little stenosraphers .
smile had proved again 10 be her
surest means OF self defense
still sh. searched with unru'ned
serenity through he nles. and still
Greuoble stood torn between real an
ger and compassion
Il do wish could md ths, letter.
tho girl murmur.d in = conversational
tone
At this moment Tom Wayne. Gre
mobiles clever young assistant. came
Into tn. ono. and his eyes fell from
force OF the habit tina, h. had been
acquiring for tn. last few weeks on
m. figure OF the pretty st.nosrapher
Then b. sa~ Gr.nohl. pale and strus
Cling With suppressed Irritation. and
h. knew that something had gone
wrong
Mis. Drake VAS the nrst 20 break
the silenc.
Please. Mr. Wayne" she said ap
p-alingly. without looking at him.
can't you think where ! might har.
put that order from Smiths. You see
Mr. Gr-noble wants TO have Il righ,
away and II will take all the after.
noon for me TO look in every folder
In thi. cabinet 1t Isn't where II
ought 10 be and can't think where
could have put IT"
OF course. the letter vas found
Tom Wayne himself helped the sirl
look through the nl.s for It 1t had
t.e.n mi-ni.d Miss brakes fault. OF
cours~-and even Mr.. Wayne realized
then that Miss Drake would have "a
leave. for this error. and several 9th
er. which had no, been OF 80 great
moment. only wen, 10 prove that the
litti. woman VA. a.. useless on the
rles a. sh. had been at typ~~ritinE
or s,-nosrnphy. or st Nh. once '-le
?hon. switchboard. where. after a
week. sh. had proved herself inesp
abl. OF mastering the mechanism OF
the wires and plugs
Sc. her. WAYNE" Grenoble said
10 hl- young assistant ths, afternoon
when they had finished discussing the
important business Of IN. day. you
will have 20 dischafs. that Miss
Drak. have tried half dozen
times and somehow she doesn't seem
10 understand Tn. nr-, tim. | told
her to go she was 40 nic. about I,
that promised 10 le, her try another
week Then when ! told her that
she had shown no Improvement she
pleaded so earnestly to stay tha,
turned the telephone boy into an ON cs
boy and gave her . Try At the tels
phone. but you know hov impossible
she vas there Then II ~ on the
hI>s and she has failed. I have trisA
again to discharge her but I doa't ~
iisvs she quite undsrs'ond ne 70
tell YOU the truth. Wayne. she 10 %
near the age of my ovs daugAtess
that I havsa't The hsert 70 tell Ass
beutaiiy 10 90 Rut I tAiab II vosil
bs easy ssoaGA for yos. ~ nflhae-
toe vtn b baet IL . asy o. - asl ~
weu,l sssss stasA fos ssy oss ithe
Niss nrahs"
True. islssA. though, wsyss MAsy
nrNhs 0esh Asvs - bsavs tsfUPs
Nalfssgsoa's essues. Oos - tAs -
crsts of the great Assaeis<'s sueesss
vas HE abif'y 10 eAooes bic snployss
Nov sos the arst time sises be Asa
been In basiWsss he had cosssstsA 10
go avs, aad had saiied for Europe for
. fes months n resi BEFORE he had
gone he had sugses'ed that . new
s'enoGrapher hs employed 10 iiGhtes
the nsks Of The hardworkins vomsa
In IN. once during the summer
months Niss Drake vas the result
Of the suGkcstion-she had como from
the employment agency the day after
niIiinston i~f', and for the arst time
In history an ~mploy- Of Riliing,on's
wss chosen without his personal inter.
vi~~ Surely. thought Tom Wayne.
for the good of Miss Drake she would
have TO be discharged before Milling.
ton. return
I, was With thoughts of the cool.
deliberate manner Of the great chief
niiiinrton thar TON Wayne came
into the outer once that night 10.