Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1914-10-19
The Daily Story
Jastom Joslns Luckily Reinette Lovewel
Copyrighted 1914 by associated literary Bureau

| out OF the WinuOW.
Before her on the table lay a small
! yellow envelope with the figure Z.
4, period and two zero marks inscribed
I'm one corner This had been hurled
there ten minutes before by the presi'
dent of the Acme Knife company and
was in final settlement of her account
with his house.
Sadie had lost her job.
She paid 81 a week to Mrs Tierney
| for her board. and the Saturday be-
fore. by special dispensation. she mad
been permitted to delay for seven
| DAYS the remittance OF this amount.
Hence there was now due Mrs. Tier
! ney. payable on demand. the sum OF
IS. and the contents of the envelope
! augmented by Al cents in her tarn1sh-
! ed mesh purse, would lack 81 cents
of the board bill.
Affiliated by. the thought of confront
ing Mrs: Tierney in explanation OF her
! breach of promise, Sadie permitted
large and disfguring drop of ink to
fall upon a ledger in which she was
making a few final entries prior to
her leave taking.
All the while the Acme Knife COM
pany sat at its desk with a frown on
its face. The Acme Knife company
was Mr.. Arthur Lawton.
He was a young man Of mild man
ners and had never before experienced
the pain of firing a stenographer AS
he heard a stffled little sniff from the
Typewriter table where Sadie sat he
grabbed his hat and left the office to
seek diversion.
His stenographer usually received
from Mr.. Lawton's lips four or I'VE
short letters each day. She knew her
shorthand system as Mohammedan
knows the Koran, and she had never
vet made a crook or a hook that she
could not decipher The marks she
made stood for the words Mr.. Lawton
said. and she never got them wrong.
It was only when she started to
spell them that she encountered diff
Guilty.
Fortunately for his stenographer, the
president was out soliciting orders
most of the eight hours Sadie was on
duty, and there wasn't much to do.
SO she had abundant opportunity for
orthogra phic research.
Her Handy Dictionary and Ency-
clopedia Of Useful Information was
worn very thin and shabby. for Sadie
faithfully found in its columns about
ninety of every hundred words she
wrote upon the machine.
But today there was no dictionary
in the Office With dark suspicion she |
recalled that Annie Flynn, who work |
ed in a real estate Office down the hall, |
had looked enviously upon that trusty !
friend many q time.
The address of the letter she was to |
write was plainly printed on the letter
head Mr.. Lawson had given her, so
that much was smooth sailing. There
seemed to be nothing she could do
a bout the body of the letter except to
spell the words as they sounded. This
method was much quicker and simpler
and required far less concentration than
the process Of dictionary research.
Sadie was touch operator, and there
were never any errors in her typewrit-
ing. Once written she did not find it
necessary to read it over.
Her work ended, Sadie drea med.
Mr.. Lawton usually came in a little
before closing time to read and sign his
correspondence, however limited it
might be, but at ten minutes of 3 Oh !
this eventful day he had not appeared.
At two minutes of the hour the tele
phone rang sharply. and Sadie took
down the receiver and recognized her
employers voice.
Miss KEENAN," he called, II shall
have to ask you to sign that letter to
& Andrews. can't get back.
and l want it to co.
She signed for the Acme Knife COM
Deny, by it's president. hastily. troubled
0y a sense of doubt about the spelling.
md she stuck down the flap with
ceiling of relief that Mr.. Lawton would
lot see il and a firm determination to
get dictionary from somewhere be-
ore morning.
The carbon she hurried to tle. push
ng it far down in the folder. so that
10 casual examination would reveal
my defects to persons who were sure
" their spelling
There It had remained until Friday,
when. quite without warning. Mr. Law
on had appeared with the pay envelope
nd the hidden carbon.
There was a wild look in his eye. and
is face was flushed.
He laid the yellow sheet out before
Ter:
Andrews and Andrews
Attorneys at Law.
Bushnell Building
Rochester. N. Y.
ttention, Mr.. G. Andrews:
Dear Sir-Replying to your favur OF the
n ult. beg TO staff that L have nothing
erthur 70 say in the mater of which YOU
peke- II seems to me unnecessary 10 (
rake trip to Patterson on this account
nd will send Mr.. Jastom Joslin on in
sw DAYS to take up the mater with you
purson. Yours truly,
ACME KNIFE CO.
y. Lawfon. President 3
Mr.. Lawton pointed a stern finger at
lie name ''Jastom Joslin." 3
Who in thu9deration is that:" he I
ned. How did that name get there?
told you TO say John Mason. and 1
'atched Won write it out in longhand
lyself- What do you mean by putting