The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-05-31
FROzENSTAR'S SCHEME
BY JANE OSBORN.
/, 1916. by the McClur
paper Syndicate.)

The society columns and the Frozen
star department store ads, in the daily
papers had been full of it. Girls from
the stores going home at night had
discussed it. According to some it
was grand and perfectly elegant for
those swell girls to do it," To 9TH
ers, more critical, it was either case
Of wanting to get into print by doing
something out of the way or delib-
crate scheme to rob the poor girl who
needed work for her daily bread.
To Filbert Frozenstar, junior part
ner of the dry goods firm of Frozen
star Brothers & Co., it had a still diff
ferent significance. 1t was part of
his carefully laid plan to make an
entrance into the hitherto closed por-
tails of the city's most exclusive cir
Giles.
The proposition was this: The so
ciety women in question we're to en-
Joy all the realism of the task. They
were to punch the time clock with
the other thousand employees of the
store. They were to be allowed to sell
goods in whatever department they
chose, and for their sales they we're
to receive a 25 per cent commission
for their favorite charity.
The scheme worked better than he
had expected, and on a certain Mon
day morning in late winter the ranks
of ten of the largest departments in
the store were increased by the pres
ence of ten new employees.
In the neckwear department was
the debutante, Wilhelmina Sedgwick
In the millinery department young
Mrs. Sturtevant Shawger fioated
around in new bouffant morning cos
tune especially imported for the I'M
dertaking from war-ridden Paris In
the blouse department, was the be-
earringed Mrs. Tom Bradgley, who
was a great drawing card because of
the rather piquant details of her re-
cent divorce proceedings.
Most attractive of all, was Corinne
Delacroix at least from Filbert's per-
sonal viewpoint. She had chosen the
more arduous task of selling furniture
because, as she argued, furniture was
more expensive even than French mil
linery, and Is per cent of her sales
there might really be worth while.
Although Corinne herself was not
especially well known-indeed she
had made her debut only few weeks
before-as far as family and fortune
went she was the most valuable ac-
QUESTION of them all.
This debutante saleswoman, simply
clad in a neat little frock of black,
guiltless of a single ornament save
| for the brilliant sash she wore across
| her slender body was "on the floor"
! ahead of time that first morning and
Hall Bingley, head Of the department,
was giving her instructions about her
work when Frozenstar appeared. He
had intended to get there in time to
explain to Miss Delacroix in person
just what her duties were to be.
or course, thought he, it was alb
surd for him to be Jealous of man
like Bingley, who, in the eyes OF
Corinne, was probably no more than
butler or footman. That she had
been talking with apparent ease tC
him and that she spoke to him again
frequently during the day, was moth
ing to irritate Frozenstar.
Still the irritating thing about II
was that he was decidedly ruffled and
that as the hours passed he became
more and more 30.
Delightful little woman that she
was, Frozenstar noticed that Corinne
treated him with something more thar
frigid formality. She told him more
than once that she admired the spirit
of philanthropy that had prompted
him and she actually asked him to ac
as patron for a post-Lenten charity
bazaar. This would mean check fol
several hundred dollars, but Frozen
star accepted eagerly. She reall!
was delightful, charming, bewitching
And her sales were phenomenal
Corinne's commissions amounted t,
an amazingly large figure, larger b.
far than those of any other one o
the society saleswomen." What
pleasure it would be, thought Frozen
star, to hand that check to Miss Della
croix. He would take it in person t
her.
Just as he was meditating this il
his private office, the advertisin
manager slouched into the room.
: Have you heard the news?" h
, asked. "One of the men from tn
Morning Post just told me. But c
course it isn't going to get into print
That would never do. That Corinn
Delacroix you thought you had up i
, the furniture department is reall
loafing in seclusion at her father
7 place at Palm Beach. You see, sh
thought it wasn't fair to rob some gil
of job; yet she didn't want to mis-
. getting the commissions for Chart!
So she got hold of a pretty littl
, salesgirl who needed work and got he
to take the place. She happened
, know guy in your store, too, ell
, gagged to him, l think-and so sh
came around in Corinnes place an
-, arranged to be in the department {
this man she is going to marry.
course, no one is any the wiser e,
cept few of us that heard the stor.
And it can't make bit of differenC
to you so long as the people hav
been fooled. l think it was quite
), shrewd idea, don't you?"
Frozenstar had a momentary visio
of the check he had made out in o
der TO be a patron Of the Chart