The Washington herald., 1915-09-16
BY ELLIS BROWNE.

Copyright. 1915. by Mcclure Newspaper Syndicate)
If he had not been held to the use ol
form letters for the principal part oi
his correspondence with prospective GUS
toners Henry Walkers Crouch would
have got itself into his letters n dis
astrous extent. Form letters, however
did not hide his personality from the
stenogra piers who passed blithely into
and disgusteC!y out of his employ at the
rate of at least ten 4 year.
The office force usually took no especial
notice of a new one except to classify her
as the meek or the medium or the me-
teoric kind, but on the morning that AL
berta Rankin came striding into the de-
partment and calmly surveyed Walker.
a sense of something unusual impending
was felt all through that part OF the Of
flee
As Walker turned from card file ne
had heen rapidly lingering and reached
for the telephone he looked up and met
the calm, gray eyes of this tall. clear
skinned, black-haired girl.
He paused with his hand on the re-
ceiver, and then. as if to emphasize the
fact that he considered the entrance of
a mere new stenographer of no especial
moment. he called for a number ana
concluded his conversation before saying
anything to her.
I'm sent to you by the typewriter peo-
pie" she said. as she handed Walker
card of Introduction from the agency.
"All right, Miss Rankin" said Walker.
referring to the card. Here's book with
our form letters in 1t, and each one Is
numbered: so when 1 say a certain num-
Der. you'n know how to proceed. See"
Sure" The one word was all, but 1t
made Walker more uncomfortable than
the usual senseless questions asked by
hap this rOinf in his exclamation
of the work.
You'll have to see that your desk Is
stocked with supplies. If You don't find
what you have to have, one of these
clerks over at the files will show you
where the storeroom is. Be ready for
work in five minutes"
I'm ready now," was the surprising
reply, as she took a pencil from the desk
and observed at a glance that the sta
tionery stand on the desk held the neces-
sary paper. carbon and envelopes.
Walker grunted N reply, indicated
chair. and by the time she had seated
herself he was debating the opening par
agraph of letter and giving her the
number of the form to embody in it. The
work progressed uneventfully until, Just
before closing time that afternoon, Wal
ker had difficulty in getting a telephone
number he wanted, and. as he slammed
the telephone receiver on to its hook he
almost swore at the stupidity of the
operator and of women in general.
"Ouch," said Alberta, holding both
hands to one cheek as IL she had been
slapped. You must have got stung good
and proper by some woman to acquire
such an inSrowing crouch against all of
u.s."
Look here. young woman, Who do
you think you are. and who do you
think you're talking to, I'd like to know"
thundered Walker
We'll, as for me. I'm a human being.
and I suggest that you remember II when
you speak to me. AS for you, why you're
human. too. I suppose under that bear
come on the Scene."
Alberta concluded this astounding re-
mark with an audacious laugh. but she
looked so frankly into the frowning eyes
of Walker that before he knew 1t he was
beginning to smile himself. Then she
added: Nursing a grievance always
makes it grow, you know; besides. maybe
that woman who stung you had griev-
ance, too. You know a difference between
two people has got to have two sides to
it or the difference Just isn't there"
by George" said Walker. pushing his
papers away from him and turning in
his chair until he sat senarely facing
Il believe I'll just tell you a
thing or two about that difference
Then he told her of having been en-
gagged to a stenographer n few years be-
fore, and OF how they quarreled because
the girl became active in a club of office
women. who spent most of their Sundays
on long cross-count-y walks. taking their
dinners and suppers at roadside hotels or
farmhouses
II insisted that II wasn't respectable"
he continued, for a lot OF girls to &C
over the country that way;
she said she needed the air and the COM
panionship Of her own kind. and I said
that shed develop into a freakish fem
mist II she got too much Of the society
of those women. and she said walking
over the country was as genteel as play
ing pool or going to the ball games, and
that II tried to map out everything she
did before We married I'd expect her to
lose all the identity sne had afterward.
and So on and on. That might have all
been smoothed out all right II hadn't
happened to be on an interurban ca the
next Sunday and passed that gang Of
women. and what were they doing but
walking along In a row. each one with
her hands on the shoulders Of the ore IN
front Of her. and the one at he very
rear called out to my-to Alice. who was
at the head Of the line: Get q move on