Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1914-12-03

old Irishwoman who did my other
shirt up flor I now had two) and who
mended my socks for few pennies
a week.
You'll never learn the business"
he said, rather sadly, unless you
watch every chance to make penny.
It's the pennies that count in this
business"
Get their money" he used to say
with great JUNCTION, get all you can
out of them for as little as you
can give If they come back and
boiler it is plenty of time enough TO
make ii right. Then. Of course. it was
a mistake, but be careful and don't
give too much, even then
And then this old rascal began to
make ii a practice to call me into his
Office when a customer came in TO
complain Of short weight or short
measure, and put the blame on me
for it. If the kick was a strong one
he would fire" me then and there.
and used to go out into the back
room and loaf until the customer had
gone But I had no chance to lose
my job.
He made it a point to wait on little
children who came into the store, and
1 realize now that his purpose was to
short-change them out OF a few pen
MES.
It came about that I filed all the
orders sent in by mail or that were
left to be filed for farmers who
brought in an order made out by the
wife. Many and many wigging was
had by innocent farmers who were
blamed by their wives for forgetting
to order certain articles. OF course
the things were never put into the
package, although paid for.
knew it was wrong. I knew 1 was
cheating these customers, but here
was this old sinner who went to
church regularly and was a deacon in
the leading house of worship. His
argument when I made a weak objec-
ton to this method was that he was
in business to make money and that
the thefts were so small that nobody
missed the money. Besides, he was
my boss" and he was responsible.
That is what he told me in SO many
words.
One day I told him I was going to
quit. Here I was a half-starved and
III hoT i0naronf IF
the world and without a penny saved,
and absolutely dependent upon my
daily wage for food, but desiring
strongly to escape from this old scoun-
drel.
When I told him I wanted to quit
me with a strap. He threatened me
with an awful death, cutting my
throat, and that sort of stuff, if
tried to get away And I believed
him and I did not sleep soundly that
night as I pictured in my boyish mind
the horrors and fortunes he had
threatened me with.
After that I planned. I planned to
murder him. I planned to burn down
the store. | planned to do anything
and everything that might offer me a
chance to get away from the hateful
place. And one day the chance came.
Back behind the counter one after
noon I found a pocketbook. 1t be-
longed to him. T knew it as l knew
my own right hand, for it was from
this selfsame pOcketbook that he gave
me grudgingly every Saturday night,
so slowly and grouchily that l feared
each time that he would change his
mind and withhold it, my three dol
lars. In the pocketbook were bills to
the amount of $50.
Fear assaulted me at this discovery,
but conscience never spoke. l buried
it in the prune barrel and continued
my work. He searched for it every
where. He gave me brutal question
ing and tortured me by twisting my
arm until l screamed with pain. But
wild horses would not have dragged
my secret away.
In the pocketbook were some notes
and other papers identifying it. l took
out the currency and hid it again in
the prune barrel after a few days.
Then, one night, slipped out and left
the pocketbook, with the papers in it
on the wooden sidewalk, because he
had made his loss known by word of
mouth and had announced that he
would give S. for its return.
The next day the pocketbook was
brought into the store by a man who
said he had found it and who demand
ed the reward. The boss opened it,
ound that the $50 was missing and
accused the finder of being a thief. He
refused to pay any reward.
They fought all over the store. The
boss was soundly trounced, and I, pitt
full object of humanity, a scrawny,
half-starved boy and the author of his
misfortune, sneaked behind the coun-
ter and choked my mouth with a
shoddy coat sleeve to keep from
shrieking with unholy JOY.
Some days later l resUrrected the
$50 from the prune barrel and with
this modest fortune left III the night
for parts unknown.
Did I return the money in my later
years of prosperity? I did not.