The enterprise. [volume] (Harlem, Mont.) 1899-1926, 1914-04-23

| without ever thought OF yielding tt
those temptations that beset a cir
who is at once poor and charming.
! Among her fellows were some like
!, herself, others unlike OF her owl
sort in this single particular were the
two girls with whom she shared 6
| cheap room. Their common decency
in attitude toward the other sex was
the unique bond of union. In their as
ISOLATION she found no real compan
ionship Nevertheless they We're whole
some enough. Otherwise they were
i|literate, altogether uncongenial.
In such wise, through five dreary
years, Mary Turner lived. Nine hours
daily she stood behind counter. She
spent her other waking hours in oblig.
atory mental labors cooking her own
scant meals over the gas, washing and
ironing, for the sake of that neat ap-
pearance which was required Of her
by those in authority at the Emporium
yet more especially necessary for her
own self respect
With mind keen and earnest she
contrived some solace from reading
and studying since the free library
gave her this opportunity. BY candid
comparison of herself with others
about her she realized the fact that
she possessed an intelligence beyond
the average. The training by her ia
ther, too, had been of superior kind.
There was as we'll. at the back vague
ly, the feeling of particular self re-
spect that belongs inevitably to the
possessor of good blood. Finally she
demurely enjoyed modest apprecia-
zion of her own physical advantages.
In short, she had beauty, brains and
breeding, three things of chief impor-
lance to any woman.
There had been thefts in the store
They had been traced eventually to a
certain department, that in which
Mary worked. The detective was
alert. Some valuable silks We're miss
ed. Search followed Immediately. The
goods We're found in Mary's locker.
That was enough. She was charged
with the theft. She protested limo
cence, only to be laughed at in deri-
sion by her accusers. Every thief de-
clares innocence. Mr.. Glider himself
was emphatic against her. The thiev-
ing had been long continued. An ex-
ample must be made. The girl was ar
rested
The crowded condition of the court
calendar kept her for three months in
the Tombs awaiting trial. She was
quite friendless. To the world she was
only thief in duress. At the last the
trial was very short. Her lawyer was
merely an undedged practitioner as
signed to her defense as formality
of the court. At the end twelve good
men and true rendered verdict of
guilty against the shuddering girl in
the prisoners dock.
That which was the supreme tragedy
to the broken girl in the cell merely
afforded rather agreeable entertain
ment to her former fellows of the de-
partment store. Mary Turner through
out her term Of service there had been
w
none was ready to mourn over her
fate. Even the two roommates had
felt some slight offense, since they
sensed the superiority Of her, though
vaguely. Now, they found a snug
satisfaction in the fact of her disaster
as emphasizing very pleasurably their
own continuance in responsibility.
On the day of Mary Turner's tria!
there was subtle gayety Of gossipings
to and fro through the store. The
girls plight was like shuttlecock
driven hither and yon by the battle
dores Of many tongues. 1t was the
drst time in many years that one of
the employees had been thus accused
Of theft. Shoplifters were so common
as to be stale topic. There was re-
freshing novelty in this case, where
one of themselves was the culprit. Her
fellow workers chatted desultorily of
her as they had opportunity, and COM
placently thanked their gods that they
were not as she-with reason.
Smithson, member of the executive
staff, did not hesitate to speak his
mind, though none too forcibly. Yet
his comment, meager as it was, stood
wholly in Mary's favor. And he spoke
with a certain authority, since he had
given official attention to the girl.
Smithson stopped Sarah Edwards.
Mr.. elders private secretary, as she
was passing through one Of the de-
partments that morning to ask her if
the owner had yet reached his Office
"Been and gone," was the secretary's
answer. HE went downtown to the
court Of general sessions. The judge
sent for him about the Mary Turner
case"