The Lakeland evening telegram. (Lakeland, Fla.) 1911-1922, 1916-03-30

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lars with. She was little and dainty
and gentle-and not so very capable
from the office managers point of
view. OF course. if the manager had
been younger and not married Ethelin-
da wouldn't have lost her job. But
he was oldish, bald and married. and
didn't like the mistakes Ethelinda
she received the blue slip in her sal
airy envelope on Saturday night.
Lena Nagel on the other hand.
didn't remind You at all of pink in
a florists window Not that Lena
wasn't attractive in her way. but it
was more the way nice granite iron
ware cake pan in a house furnishing
shop attracts you. That is to say, she
was neat. smooth and useful-looking.
and little square at the corners But
Lena could always get job and keep
1t. There was one other thing about
Lena that didn't show at first glance.
and that was her kind heart and
good part of its affection was placed
on Ethelinda
On certain Monday noon, Ethel
india not having appeared at the spe-
cial table where the two girls ate their
oyster sandwiches at lunch time, Lena
was greatly worried Likewise on the
next day she was yet more worried.
for Ethelinda still came not Accord
ingly. on her way home at five o'clock
Lena stopped at the big trust company
and inquired what had become of her
golden-haired chum.
The news of her dismissal was a
,, genuine grief to Lena's honest heart,
and with characteristic kindness she
set her mind straight to work to find
thought and thought. There was no
vacancy in her own Office, and it was
F, the very worst time of all the year to
! find a place. People were wedding
out their forces rather than taking on
| help And remember, Ethelinda did
make mistakes in spelling and
| couldn't be given the very highest
I kind of an Al recommendation. So
Lena kept on thinking.
Some days went by and Ethelnda
stopped in to see Lena at lunch time.
! Her face was a shade less rosy than
usual, her dimple was out of COM
mission and in her eyes was the pitiful
look of Encouragement that comes
! after you've tramped through the
agencies and from one office to an
other with a bunch of cut-Out adver-
tisements in your purse, finding moth
ing but a chance to copy lists of
names on the typewriter at six a
week.
As Lena saw her friend into the
elevator out from the same stepped
the chief clerk, who gazed so hard
over his shoulder at the little gold
and-pink vision that he ran into the
ice cooler and acutely barked his
shin Lena marked the gaze, and a
plan for the solution of the difficulty
flashed like lightning into her mind
That evening she paid another visit
to the Trust Company and applied for
Miss Dmple's vacant desk. The man
ager scanned her neat German braids
her powderless nose and her generally
unadorned appearance. He made a
quick mental calculation of how much
time probably would be saved to the
Office in consequence of these details
not to mention an economy in tele
phone calls and vacation for the of
flee mirror She got the place.
This being settled, the rest seemed
easy, and she could hardly possess
her practical soul in patience until
she could put her plan in operation
Next morning she. hunted out the
chief clerk bright and early.
"But why do you want to leave us
Miss Nagel?" he queried, when she
had plunged through her resignation
Were very busy just now, you know
and ! don't see"
"Oh, can send some one right
away to take my place" she inter
ruptcd She's special friend OF
mine, too, and-why, you may posi-
bly, have noticed her here yesterday;
she stopped in to see me?'
The chief clerks hand reminiscently
raised itself to adjust the managerial
tie, and he thoughtfully regarded the
green sock that adorned his barked
shin 4 change came DER the spirit
Of his words.
oh was that-er-waS She-aheH
do you refer to the young lady
caught sight of as | stepped off the
elevator? She certainly appeared
very inteligcnt-er and very neat
and er-quite so Well. of course
Miss Nagel. if you are Obliged to leave
US"
And SO Ethelinda came and Lena
departed.
"Oh. you darling girl How can you
be so good to me, | don't see how
you ever thought out such wonderful
scheme. | was so discouraged. Lena
! but know I'll never be clever enough
to take your place here"
Don't you worry about that The
chief clerk knows what he's doing
take my word for IT,"
But Lena" persisted Goldilocks in
an unsteady small voice, you're go
ing to get dollar a week less over at
the Trust Company, and I'm ashamed
to let you make such sacrifice"
The businesslike Lena firmly grasp
ed her friends wrist and drew her
close
Listen while / tell you something.
It's no sacrifiCe-it's selfishness. My
! Heinrich is the elevator starter over
at the Trust Company building Maybe
that's worth the dollar week TO me.
/ whaty'