The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-12-17
EVENING STORY
Ambition and Ability.

to success--anlbition and business
ability. At least his fiancee. Esther
Remington. said he didn't have them.
| And those two essentials were among
the things she admired most in men.
How do you ever expect to get
| married on SIS a week." she wanted
| to know when they had their final
reckoning" on the night he asked his
employer for a So raise and was told
the firm can't afford it; besides,
you're not worth it."
at can't be DONE" Esther went on,
! iabbing n loose pin back into her
fluffy red hair. IF old Wilbur won't
give you a raise, why don't you dig
from this dead town, Ralph, and show
them what you're made of in a regular
city.
you've been holding down that
office job in Wilbur's canning, factory
five years for that same measly SIS
a week. and if you d>had any ambition
you would be manager by this time or
you wouldn't be there at ALL"
Ralph demonstrated. He had
worked hard, but simply had been I'M
| able to make the grade" ne asserted.
This is a pretty good job, anyhow"
he said. land I might not be able to
get anywhere in the big town.
Esther's attractive red lips curved
downward in disgust, and she forth
with severed relations. There was no
! ring to hand back, because he had not
been able to procure one, but she let
him know in words that could not be
| misinterpreted that their engagement
| was a thing of the past.
you can keep your good job for
ten years more if you like" she said,
but I'm going to the big town myself.
and I'm going to make good in a
regular position"
She resigned her place as sales
woman in Boor5on's department store.
and a week later carried a handbag
and a suitcase to the railroad station
| resolved to bid Brown City good-by
forever. Ralph was there to see her
| off and to ascertain if her decision
was irrevocable.
Come on. Els. forget that big talk
and settle down here" he pleaded.
Never was her reply, steely gilt
| ter in her blue eyes. It's all over
| between us, Ralph. like you; in fact
I'm very fond of you, but 1 must for
| get you, because my husband must be
| a man who has enough ambition and
ability to get to the front in the bust
ness world"
| hands with her and went back to his
desk in the canning factory, but made
| a miserable failure of his work that
| afternoon and for several days there
after. He did a deal of serious think
| ing, and his jaw seemed to become
| firmer and a reSolute light Shone from
| his gray eyes.
Things went wrong with Esther.
She arrived in New York with thirty
| dollars in money and a fortune in am
| bition. In one month the thirty had
dwindled and the fortune was ebbing.
| If she had had folks at home she
| would have written for assistance, but
! her parents were dead and ithe only
| relative she could claim was an unclc
| whose address was somewhere in
America, just where she could not tell
because he was a wanderer.
| True, there were many good friends
back home-Ralph among them-but
she preferred starvation to letting
them know that her prospects. which
had been so alluring from a distance,
had turned out to be mirage.
For there seemed to be no position
i Remington in all New York. Her
written recommendation had no eff
| feet, because experience was what
counted-and experience in Brown City
was not the same as experience in New
| York.
| wanted" advertisement that seemed to
fit her abilities even remotely, she
could not find work. Either she was
too late with her application or she
lacked training for the job. Thus. at
the end of a months weary search.
Esther was in dire straits.
| Before long, however. fortune ia
vored her. The goddess didn't smile
at her. but she did lend a helping
hand. and Esther obtained work in a
Misunderstanding dirty clothes!
She kept this job month, in lieu
of something better, and lived from
| hand to mouth on Sc a week, eating
| cold food in her dingy room in a
dilapidated house on a dismal street.
Then something better turned up. IT
was SIS week, with meals thrown in,
as waitress in a restaurant, where the
food was given a liberal coat of grease
to make it slip down easily. instead OF
being cooked. However, the patrons
of the place appeared to like it that
way, for they came back for more
each day. Esther was allowed to keep
all her tips. but the tips were in
sratiatiug smiIks from the male glut-
tons and an occasional cold 'thank
you" or pleasant day" from the femi-
nine diners.
II Esther had been able TO save
enough money to pay her fare to
Brown City she would have been
have yielded to the temptation, be-
cause she felt that she had burned
her bridges when she turned her back
on the place of her birth for the great
opportunities that beckoned.
Every night when she crawled be-
tween the torn sheets on the 2x4 bed
she visioned the clean, shady old town
where she had grown up, and she
longed for glimpse OF Boorbon's
store and all her former associates
there, and she wished she could &C
canoeing on Mirror lake and have the
moon shine. and-yes, it would have
been rather nice to have Ralph WELD
ing the paddle.
At the end of two years, after sur
viving a variety of jobs. Esther held
down a portion of the flor behind a
drygoods counter in the Climax five
and ten cent store, and every Satur.
da.y night she went out Of the place
18th 50 in her pocket. Twice she
asked for a raise, and twice she wa
| refused soThero ara anxy nun,hor n