El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-02-06
The TwO Sisters
By Virginia Terhune Van De wat.r
CHAPTFR -.

| NE at Baird's store. and this mar.
/ w ticular Monday was no excan-
1 ton to the rule. To begin with. the
girls at the lace counter were ont of
/ sorts and tired-Julia, because of the
headache that had tortured her nerves
! on Sunday; her fellow clerks. because
/ of the gay experiences of the day be-
! fore. After the fashion of New York
ers they sought recreation so strenu-
ously and to such late hours on their
one holiday that they were utterly
tagged out when working time came
again. To make unpleasant conditions
worse the day was hot. Summer. in
departing, seemed to be mastering all
her forces of heat in one final effort
to cause discomfort The atmospbera.
OF the store, never too good, was warm
4 and moist, and filled with hundred
warning doors.
The purchasers at the lace couD+ay,
were exacting, and it took all Of JuIia's
self control to keep her impersonaI
smile on duty and her voice calm and
polite in spite of the myriad annOv-.
ances that beset her today. Her fellow
saleswomen were openly impatient
and more than once called down uDon
themselves the reprimand of the floor
walker, who was not in a fOrbearing
mood himself.
It was a half hour before closing
time. Julia had just noted this with
an inward prayer of thanksgiving and
had then turned to straighten out once
more the stock of laces which a pre-
tended purchaser had handled and
tumbled. The floor walker approached
and stood watching her a moment
before breaking the silence.
It's been a trying day, hasn't it?"
he asked affably at last
Rather trying" Julia admitted,
smiling wanly.
"Oh. by the way" he continued with
an deliberately casual manner, when
you come in tomorrow morning will
you remember that the manager would
like to see you as soon as he gets to
his Officer"
The girls heart missed beat and
she felt herself grow pale.
rs there any trOuble?" she asked
The man laughed. None for you
at any rate" he assured her "But
there IS going to be a rshakeUp in this I
department though L wouldn't let that
less I am mistaken, the result will
benefit you. If you will go to Mr..
BOrlandS office on the eighth floor at
about. nine-thirty tomorrow he will !
be able to tell you more than I can"
He nodded to her and walked away, |
and Julia, somewhat cheered and not (
a little excited by this indefinite good /
news, went on with her arrangement !
of the stock.
At ten minutes past six she stepped /
out of the SultrineSS of the store into
the hot roar of the street and made
her way slowly uptown In spite of !
the thought of what the morrow might I
hold for her in the way Of advance /
ment she felt depressed. The noise and J
heat of the streets offered no respite 1
from the hustle and humidity of
Baird's. The people who passed her .
looked dirty and uncomfortable. The
rattle of the cars seemed louder than
usual Even the pavements looked hot
and there was the reek of warm
asphalt in the air.
As she plodded on uptown against
the current of workers from the Twen-
homes on the lower East Side, she
unused of how pleasant it must be to /
have the means to run away out of f!
town as Delaine could. She watched
the westering sun paint golden the
shabby facade of a stone building,
and she thought Of how beautiful that
glow must be on free fields, running
streams and green trees. For a mo-
mcnt she hated the squalOr and noise
about her and felt that she must get
away from it.
She had walked until she was
abreast of the little park where she
and Delaine had sat for such a little
while one afternoon last week. A
leaped and fell here, and the
trees and grass, vivid in the rays OF
the sinking sun, made the place look
Ike an oasis in the middle of the
sordid city. Urged by a whimsical i'm
pulse she turned aside into one of the
winding pathways of the park. She
meant to go to the bench where she
and the author had talked together
and rest for a few moments. In the
bottom of her heart she appreciated
that, as a person who had determined
to be utterly independent in her fight
for a livelihood, she thought too often
IF Delaine She did not feel in the
mood to chide herself for the touch of
sentiment that had driven her to this
place Just now. She was too hot and
-ired to feel much initiative concerning
anything.
So deep was her abstraction that she
lid not see a tall figure rise from a
seat as she approached and come
eagerly toward her. 1t was not until
lie spoke her name that she raised
Ter eyes from the pavement in front
II her and met the gaze of Kelly
1eIaine. Then she blushed and looked
more girlish and shy than
he had at any time in the months
he had spent in New York.
st was hoping you would come"
aid the man. He held his hat IN his I