The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-12-14
The Euening Story
How Miss Nellie Managed 1t.
(By Jane OSbOrn.)

! irons and hairbrushes for Monsieur
Henri, were getting ready to leave for
the day. Blanche was pulling on her
| gloves. while Sadie was putting the
last dab of powder on her small nose.
! Henri would be furious if he saw
how we are leaving things" Blanche
laughed, looking around at the blue
and gray interior of the hairdressing
booth. Maybe we ought to stop to
straighten things up. Only l did want
to get home by half past six. I'm
going out tonight"
som l." confided Sadie, turning
her back on the irons and combs left
out of place and following Blanche
out of the booth to the hall Never
mind, Miss Nellie will fix up for u.s."
She doesn't care when she gets
home" Sadie consoled herself and her
companion. IF she were young it
would be different. When a girls got
fellow it's different. Then she has
to quit on time
Miss Nellie-whose matronly build
at 80 made her seem to Blanche and
Sadie somewhere in the middle-age
class, and, of course, much too old
for beaux-too old. in fact, to object
to staying in the shop to clean up after
they had gone home-happened to
overhear this last remark.
Miss Nellie was a blonde and ex-
tremely capable. She had been in
Henri's employ for over ten years.
IL
inexperienced and slender, as an I'M
derpaid apprentice to learn the trade.
Exacting customers never forgot her.
To the fastidious among Henris
clientele she was famed for the best
wave in town.. If you were dressing
for an informal dinner at home or a
reception where you would not re-
move your hat, you were content to
have Blanche or Sadie or one of the
others attend you. If you were going
to be married, about to make your
debut, were dressing for the ambas-
Sador's ball or expected to make
conquest you insisted on having Miss
Nellie. And usually you had to tele-
phone ahead of time to get her, so
full was her date book. In return for
her superior service Miss Nellie re-
ceived a few more dollars week than
Sadie or Blanche and-what counted
to Miss Nellie for considerably more
1-she was known by Monsieur Henri
not as simple Nellie, but as Miss Nell
lie, and customers, realizing her inn
portance, never left off the respectful
prefix.
when a girls got fellow it's diff
ferent,'' she repeated rather regretful-
ly, as she went into the booth to re-
store order out of chaos, to replace
irons and brushes and pomades and
tonics.
About that time Monsieur Henri was
balancing his books in the front of
flee. He was a Van Dyke bearded,
slender Frenchman of about 35, with
a dignity and grave graciousness in his
manner which customers also remem-
bered- Except for the cloying odor of
and restorers, he might have
passed as secretary at the French
embassy.
The telephone rang and monsieur
dropped his pen, with a weary shrug
of the shoulders.
Good evening, Madame" In spite
of dozen years in America he had
never lost the crispness of his original
accent. Yes, madame He listened
for few moments. will no one do
but Mees Nellie? Yes madame
y She is promised for half-past
six in your hotel, madame . . Yes
madame, L will see that she comes to
you at little after seven. Thank you,
madame"
1t was always that way Customers
would have Miss Nellie or no one
Henri would have gone himself in or
der to spare her He knew that in
spite Of the goodly proportion Of the
9 rms and hands that welded the irons
she must sometimes be very tired.
''She is wonderful" Henri muir
INJURED to himself. and went back to
his ledger.
In a few minutes, Miss Nellie came
into the office, the setting to tights in
the booth having been accomplished
Henri began with an apologize
smile: There is yet another date for
tonight, Mrs Vandevere's apartment
in the same hotel as soon as you can
finish with the first customer. am
sorry that it should always be you
Mees Nellie. But customers will have
no one else"
Usually Miss Nellie would have re-
piled with a smile. She would have
told Henri that she was glad to go, |
that customers always tipped better
after lights were on and thar it was
better to work than to go home to
bed. But this night she merely
passed Henri with a weary smile. d
Henri had come to regard Miss
Nellie'S smile as a fixture. 1t was
like the church bells that rang at 8 /
o'clock or the weekly receipt of the
French paper from home-something
pleasant that he took for granted.
And he didn't realize till it was with |
drawn how much it meant to him. |
Henri cid not sleep at all we'll that |
night and started to work the next !
day weary from the start He watched |
Miss Nellie pass through the office to |
the booths beyond.
She is wonderful, that woman. |
Such a wave!" And as he watched her |
retreating figure he realized better |
there was something comedy in Miss !
Nellie's 3O-year-old plumpness. Il /
had thought some time" he unused to /
himself. But a man has no time for |
such things nowadays 1t is work,
work work.
That night when Miss Nellie passed /
through the office she paused briefly /
1t Henri's desk and in the most mat /
.er-offact way imaginable told Henri |
hat she had had a chance to go the |
establishment of Mon
,ieur Alfonso across the way at an ad-
rance of a few dollars a week in sal
try She intended to accept the Of
Ter Henri was staggered He mere
" asked her to return in the morn
ng to see what he could 10. That /
night he made a careful study of the
,ooks and in the morning when Nellie