The Lamar register. [volume] (Lamar, Colo.) 1889-1952, 1915-06-30

the safe. Every house has its Sc
crets. its weak points in its defensive
system. On Saturday nights there
was often a sum OF two or three thou
sand dollars in the safe. The night
Waterman was an cid man. The safe
was not a new on The boys part
would be simply to engage the old fel
low in conversation until the confed
crates got their opportunity to hit
him on the head and take the keys
For that five hundred dollars was to
be his.
And. so strangely is the human
mind fashioned, that the boy had felt
that. to tell Vincent, would be a be
of the packing room was not a good
one. The boy had gone home and
flung himself down on his bed. and
his mind was in a turmoil
In the next room the girl had come
home and flung herself into the an
Client armchair with which the land
lady had supplied her when 1t became
too shabby for use in the parlor She
felt utterly unwrought after her day al
the department store
She had worked there at six dollars
a week for nearly half year WheL
she left the little country town
equipped with good education. she
had confidently expected to take the
city by storm. In fact, she was an
artist of rare ability.
But what is the use of ability unless
someone has brains to recognize it?
So day by day she had besieged the
offices with her drawings. Once she
had sold one, and she had lived on
that lingering hope until the remain
der of her money was gone. Then, at
her wits end. she had accepted the
position which the landlady told her
could be obtained at Darrows.
She had lost all faith in herself
She had worked like an automaton
for four months and had done moth.
ing, Her best drawing. one which she
had thought could not pass the obsery.
ant eye, had never been returned to
her from the magazine TO which she
had submitted 1t. and she had lacked
the courage to call and inquire about
II.
At Darrow's she mad toiled behind
the counter Of the hosiery department
at the beck and call OF vulgar frock
coated fioorwalkers, a cipher among
ciphers. She felt crushed by this at
mosphere that surrounded her. She
felt utterly out Of place among the
young women, of different type and
education. with whom she came into
touch. and they. sensing the differ
ence. were not slow to let her perceive
their resentment
Then temptation had come to ner
too.
1t had been in less loathsome guise
than with the boy. 1t was not one
of the fioorwalkers. but the son of the
owner, young barrow. fresh from col
lege and taking A.5 ding before set
Ting down in the world. He had come
into the store with his mother. who
was making some purchase there
With worldly wisdom he had not
approached her while the other clerk.
were present But he had found the
means to see her twice or three times
And he had asked her to dine will
him the following evening
She was not ignorant of the world
She saw from his demean1r that ~
did not occur to him that she was any
thing but one of the underlined, under
paid drudges in his fathers store
She had known what Significance
would attach itself to her acceptance
But she was desperately lonely. and
the thought OF an evening in a restau
rant and at a theater afterward the
sight Of other faces, the touch will
life was overwhelming.
I'll have to accept OF go home.
she thought YEARLY
II she could have known at that mo
ment u letter, signed by the editor U
the magazine. enclosing a check foI
seventy-five dollars for her drawing
and asking for more, lay in the wiz,
basket beside the desk of the editors
stenographer, ready to be posted on
the morrow-if she could have known!
She got up from ner chair The
boy was going out of his room at the
same moment. They knew each otheI
by sight: sometimes they sat neal
each other in the cheap little restau
Idnt where they got their meals when
ever they could afford the luSury.
They were both too shy to speak tC
each other and desperately alone; but
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