The Topeka state journal., 1918-08-06
EVENING STORY
A Very Bad Moral.
BY JANE OSBORN.


shortish, rather blondish young woman
who was laying our her manicuring
outfit at the table next that of the
tall brunette's.
Charlotte Day, the rather blonde.
rather short, young woman, made no
comment.
Honest, he's stunning" went on
her companion. II saw him when 1
went up to the stock room for nail files
just now. He's the real thing. I'll tell
CT your namby-pamby.
paIe-faced floorwalkers, either. He's
never worked in a store before. He
was a college professor or something
and went in TO- this efficiency stuff.
He's going to give some talks on SELL
ing and success at noon hour. You
don't want to miss 'em. The one to-
day is catfed: know your customers
You don't want to mss it-he's GER
tainly a dandy-looking young man.
Charlotte snorted slightly as a
short cut to express her lack of in
terest in the new efficiency man in
general and his good looks in particu-
lar.
Say. I'm thru with this efficiency
dope" she said. Ever since I came
to this place two years ago I've been
listening to that kind of thing. The
man they had before gave that same
talk on Know Your Customer. I was
just young enough and foolish enough
to take it all in, and l read uplift
talks in the paper at night on forging
your way to the 'front.' They all give
the same advice. They say if you tend
to your little job the best way you
know how. why some day you'll be
head of your department, or maybe
make hit with somebody and ger
i-.arried to someone who'll appreciate
how hard you've worked and every
thing. t: TX about knowing your Gus
tomers-don't 1 know every wart on
that fat Mrs. Peabody's old face? And
don't l know just how many double
chins that Armstrong woman has?
And talk about being diplomatic
oh, yes, indeed, Mrs. Armstrong, the
facial massage does make one dread
fully pale. Not that you would usual
ly need any rouge, but after the
massage I'd better put on little. Oh,
I'm sure you don't usually need it,
And then this to Mrs. Peabody:
Just a little OF this tonic, Mrs. Pea
body. No. indeed, it isn't dye. But
this new electric treatment makes the
hair look a little dull and you really
need a little of this tonic to bring out
the natural color of the hair And of
course she knows and 1 know that it's
straight walnut dye. And that's what
I've been doing for two years, kidding
them and studying them and saying
what they want me to. Where has it
got me? Yes, they smile at me and
ask for me when they make appoint
ments-but catch them doing any,
thing more. Why. to hear these eff
cheney men talk you'd think that they
were going to ask you home in their
limousines and were going to intro
duce you to their families and get rich
husbands for you, or that you were
0OinO n "a m f 10 ,-fr, NJ
or something. No, indeed" concluded
Charlotte. rising and smoothing her
diminutive apron. I'm thru. I'm
going to act just the way I feel like
acting. I have a feeling that it will
get me further than the. other way"
So Charlotte abandoned her eff
cheney methods and proceeded to try
different tactics. When Mrs. Arm
strong came she bluntly announced
the presence of an additional chin,
hair restorative as dye in a way that
made that lady blink with surprise.
She told one woman frankly that she
was running her hair having it waved
so often and another that she would
look for better If she didn't get the ex-
pensive Transformation" that she was
thinking of buying.
Then a well dressed young man
came to have his finger nails mani
cured, and Charlotte performed her
task with none OF the customary play
of small talk that was calculated to
make customers return.
How do they look? asked the man
after Charlotte had put on the final
high polish.
IF you really want to know" COM
inented Charlotte. thinking only of her
resolve to be perfectly frank, 81 think
they look like fury on 4 man. The
way they were when you came in is
the way man ought to have his nails
kept Now they are shaped and point
| ed and polished till they look like a
womans somehow you're not the
j sort of man that looks as if he would
| go in for that sort of thing"
Charlotte noticed the young mans
| eyes studying her face.
STILL he said, '-it is rather bad
| business, it seems to me, for you to
| give that sort of advice. Perhaps you
are right, but your game is to get az
many customers as you can for youI
| store, isn't it 2"
/ You talk like one of those efficiency
men,. commented Charlotte, with a
sigh, replacing her implt ments in neat
| arEay on top of the table, and the man
hurried away.
Charlotte did not go to the noon.
/ hour talk. altho it was tie first ad-
vantage of the sort that she Mad miss
cd since her arrival in the store tive
years before. Instead, she took walk
| III dS ScCIuueQ d IelSHDOTHOOQ dS Six
| could rea : within walking distance OF
| the store. She br -athed freer ana
| d eper thai usual. She really felt
without knowing why, that she had
| taken a step toward her own emanci-
| patton. What if she did lose her ioo
| At least if she did, something might
| happen-there might be some adven-
| ture connected with the next one, ane
| in the rut she ha' been keeping fol
two years ere was nothing pul
monotohy. She thought of the mar
she Rad just manicured. Really ht
hadn't disliked it because she told i'm
the truth. He had looked at her witt
interest. She i ad at least surprised
him and that was more than she hao
eve.' done any other customer ir
two years.
L After the lunch hour. when Char
lotte was summoned to the office OF