The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-12-25
EVENING STORY
Spug for a Day.
(By James OSBORNE

Clarice Wardham and Nancy Smith
had gone thru high school together
and their friendship was of the sort
that could not be altered, even when
Nancy went to business school and
later took a stenographer'S position in
a business office, and Clarice, thru her
fathers acquired fortune, became one
of the most sought after young women
in what chose to be called, and was
called society, with a capital S. Clar-
ice did not give Nancy her old dresses.
nor did she try to persuade her to at
tend the parties she gave, to which
only folk with very much more money
to spend than Nancy had were in
vited. When she asked Nancy to her
house it was either to enjoy her alone
or with a few of the old friends with
whom Nancy could be most at her
ease. Thus Nancy was never made
conscious of the fact that fortune had
dealt less kindly with her than it had
with Clarice, if indeed it really had.
When Clarice first met Robert Har4,
row and somehow unwittingly
charmed and then captivated that in
veterate man of business, she did not
tell him that Nancy Smith, his private
secretary, was one of her best friends!
1t was not in the leastN because she
was ashamed of her association, but
because she liked the idea of having
means of seeing Mr.. Harrow from
another angle than that of society
and country club activities without his
knowing it. Clarice, truth to say was
drawn to Harrow almost as soon as
he was to her, for there was some
thing about this rather rough, strange
mixture of man that charmed
women quite as much as if he had
been most courteous and courtly-
sometimes he seemed the broadeSt- of
men in his large grasp of events that
Clarice discussed with him, and some
tfEnes-tfTe narrowest in his point of
view,f that seemed to see-only his own
business interests. Sometimes he
seemed the most generous and I'M
selfish, and then the least generous
and most selfish. Drawn tho CIarice
was to this much discussed and al
most eccentric young man, she
Planned to surrender, if she surren-
dered at all. with elaboration. She
mad planned not to lose a single trick
in the love game she was about to
play with this man, who mad become
accustomed to have things generally
life.
1t has been said that a mans stem
ographer mas an opportunity to know
MIN even better than his own wife, for
she sees him more hours of the day
usually, and can study him without
personal prejudice of any sort. Nancy
Smith surely knew Robert Harrow
better than he knew himself, and 1t
was perhaps not strange that she sus-
pected he was in love before he was
willing to admit that fact to himself,
much less to Clarice. She had heard
from Clarice of the friendship that
had sprung up between her and Mr.
Harrow. and with infinite care sound
ed her regarding him and so found out
how the ground lay.
Once Clarice, with an attempt at
seeming casual. asked Nancy what
sort of a husband she thought Mr..
Harrow would make.
II could be his stenogra rher all my
life and enjoy it," explained Nancy,
i-"but [ could never endure him as a
husband. But with girl like you, it
would be different. You would col
lapse after a day in his office; but
with all the. little feminine witcheries
to fall back on you, or a girl like you,
l should say, might find him a per-
feet husband.
"One thing Mr.. Harrow's wife would
have to remember, tho" added Nancy,
land that is that she should never
once let him take her for granted. It
would be like tanning a lion-once the
beast knows his power, the tanner is
lost. Some women are cut out for
just that sort of thing, you know, and
never in a lifetime let their husbands
know what meek, tame hearts they
have
Nancy and CIarice, thus discussed
Mr. Harrow over the chocolate cups
one day at luncheon, late in Deem
| Der, when Clarice had gone downtown
for Christmas shopping.
That afternoon Harrow gave the
switchboard operator gruff orders to
the effect that he was too busy to be
| disturbed" and then sat at his desk,
with no one but Nancy sharing his SOL
itude, looking blankly into space for
full hour, his head bent and his
arms akimbo. He started to his feet
when he reused himself and paced the
! floor impatiently. 80
! Take this" he threw at Nancy.
| Memo. for the cashiers office
| owing to war conditions and necessity
( to curtan every possible expense, We
shall give no gold pieces at Christ
mas
Nancy took the words down in dots
/ curves and dashes, and recalled a she
did so that in the firm of which Har-
row vas president war conditions
/ had meant 25 per cent greater profit
| than usual.
Take this" he threw out again. TT
/ is for my housekeeper. Mrs. Hawkins
| owing to war conditions. 1 have
| found it inadvisable TO dispense with
1 any additional money in the wages to
| the servants this year. And when
you have done that write a personal
! letter to my sister. and another to my
1 cousin-the one with six children
1 and explain to them that as an act of
! patriotism we ought to refrain from
| gift-gfving this year It's just an ex-
| change of a lot of junk" he went on.
more to himself than to Nancy. be
two straws for each other. Then write
| a letter to the matron of the orphan
home-the one my mother used to be