Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1918-04-12
IN AID
o0
BY MAUNA COWLES

Tenant IN apartment Four ID,
Marbridge court" whispered vocifer-
Gus Nathan, the young man who
worked the switchboard at Curtis &
Carriers real estate offices. The young
man listened to the voice on the tele-
phone, then turning to the young Mr..
Carter, he said: "She wants to talk
to one of the firm. Kind o. mad, l
should say. Want to talk to her, Mr..
Carter?"
"What's she like?" queried the
youngest member of the firm.
sounds like cranky old school
ma'am. She's awful mad"
"Oh, well, I might as we'll talk to
her. I'll kid her little, and maybe
that will keep her quiet" and still
turning over the papers on his desk,
with his right hand, Mr.. Carter reach
ed out with his left hand to take the
receiver off it's hook on his desk phone
while the operator connected him with
the tenant in apartment Four D.
$50 you're pretty cold. Well, now
I didn't catch the name-Miss Crosby
I certainly am sorry. But you'll
have to see Mr.. Hoover about that.
Now, you don't think we're keeping
that apartment cold just to make you
mad. No, honest, there isn't any way
we can get more coal. What-the
theaters get coal enough. Well, that's
good one. All you can do, then, is
10 b ch
Nov, really, l didn't mean to make you
angry. But you see, everyone is kick
ing, and it really isn't our fault. We
can't get any more coal and all we can
do is to try and keep cheerful about it.
What? You bet that it isn't so cold
here in our office as it is in your
apartment? Well, now, Miss Crosby,
I'll have to admit that it is pretty
comfortable here. We've got a south
ern exposure and we're on the ground
floor, and somehow these office build
ing people do manage to get the coal.
Yes, it is unfair. What? Why. GER
tainly. I'd be glad to see you. Come
right along. Yes just ask for Mr..
Carter, Jr., Frank Carter. Good-by,
Miss Crosby. I'll see you soon" He
hung the receiver back on the hook
and then clapped his hand oter the
ear with which he had been listening
as if to relieve it from the effect of
the volley fire that had been charged
on it through the phone.
"Wow," he said addressing the tel
ephone operator on the opposite side
Of the room, beyond the little wooden
fence. "Wow, but she certainly is
some sour old maid. thought I'd kid
her into good humOr, but it was the
wrong tack. I wonder if she'll call my
bluff and come down and see how
warm we are. But say, Nathan, try
to get the coal commissioner on the
wire again. It's a shame to run the
fires so low. Ask them if they can't
let me speak to him personally. 1t
seems as if something ought to be
DONE"
| A half-hour later young Carter
heard a very low but unmistakable
whistle. 1t was Nathan's way of in
dicating that something worth observ-
ing was occurring in the office. There
was note of admiration in the whis-
tle-distinctly it was his way of sig
mailing to the other boys in the office
and Mr.. Carter, who was still young
enough to be interested in such a sig
nal even though he was member of
the firm-the proximity of pretty
girl.
Carter looked up from his paper,
caught the direction of Nathan's gaze
and then whistled an answering
whistle, very low, but still audible to
Nathan. 1t was pretty girl and she
was approaching in the vicinity of Ma
than. developed in q voluminous fur
trimmed rough wooden coat of dark
violet hue, with her hands encaSed in
a black muff to match the fur on her
coat, with a picturesque black velvet
hat, cut on the poke bonnet order, that
cast much shadow on her face, there
was still enough opportunity to see
that the girl beneath so much warmth
giving clothes was young, animated
and pretty.
4. The bewildered Nathan looked up as
she approached and to her query that
Carter did net hear, he nodded to the
desk of the youngest member of the
firm. Then the violet coat and the
delicate aroma of violet sachet that
went with it moved toward the little
wooden fence that hedged in Mr.. Car
ter's desk.
'Here l am" said the girl. "1'm the
tenant in Four D., Marbridge court.
Where do you want me to sit-inside
the fence or outsider
Carter jumped from his seat and
was so confused that all he could say
was: "Inside the fence-please take
this chair, any chair, any chair. Yes,
indeed. You-are actually Miss Cros-
by? How very good of you"
"No, I won't take your chair. I'll
take this little one" she said, slipping
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