Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1921-10-21
The Office Boy
Interferes
By FRANK H. WILLIAMS.

sketch on her desk with the utmost
establishment When she had left for
the noon lunch period the sketch had
been just as she had made it in an
idle moment-a very rough layout for
the ground-foor plan of the sort OF
home she hoped to have some day.
There had been big kitchen, lovely
veranda, living room with big fire
place and a dining room that was all
her heart could desire.
That was the way the sketch had
looked when she left it there on the
desk before going to lunch with some
of the other girls in the office. But
ent. Someone had been tampering
with it in her absence. In place of
| the living room being labeled living
room" as she had left it, this room
now bore the label billiard room and
den." And in place of the kitchen
being big and fine the way she had
sketched it, the kitchen had now been
divided in half, with one-half Of the
room labeled "home brew depart
ment."
At first Edna's bright eyes spar
kled angrily at this desecration OF
her work. Then the humor of the sit
uation appealed to her and she smiled.
| Whoever the individual was who had
done things to her drawing, he was,
at least, a humorist and she felt that
he would be a man worth knowing.
Edna gazed around the Office covert
~. Certainly the man was not the
| bald-headed bookkeeper, who had a
wife and five children and who was
never known to smile. And certainly
it wasn't Royal Menefee, her immedi-
! ate chief. Royal hardly was clever
enough to think up anything of this
two-who was it?
Rather puzzled over the situation,
Edna called little ''Red" Brown, the
Office boy, to her.
"Red," she said, "who was at my
| desk this noon?'
Edna saw Red look at her and then
grin. slyly. She saw look of mis-
| chief come into his eyes.
"Why the big boss was in here!''
he said.
The big bossl That was young
Harry Schlatter, handsome, unmar-
ried and wealthy. Yes, thought Edna,
! it would be just like him to do an
impulsive, humorous thing like alter
/ ing her sketch which she had labeled
"Plan of My Future Home" She
thought Of the twinkle in his eyes and
his generally happy disposition. A
thrill came to her. Why, any girl
might feel fattered at such attention
being paid to anything she had done.
"He was in here and did something
on your desk. / saw him just before
l went out" continued Red.
Thanks, Red" said Edna, trying
yainly to keep the thrill out of her
voice. "Of course, anything that Mr..
Schlatter does is perfectly all right =
"Of course!" mimicked Red, and
then hurried away before Edna could
say anything further.
Several times during the afternoon
Edna gazed at the altered plan of
the house. She wanted to do some
thing about it and yet she was half
afraid to attempt anything.
Edna determined to do something
to show Mr.. Schlatter that she knew
he was the guilty" party and to
get back at him for the thing he
had done.
But how could she do this? What
could she do?
During the early part of the after
noon she would go to Mr.. Schlatter's
office to present him with a report
from her department. That would be
her opportunity. WHAT could she do?
At last after puzzling over the mat
ter for a considerable length of time
/ an inspiration came to Edna. She
/ drew the sketch to her and rapidly
! made some alterations on it in pencil.
! When she had finished, there was a
| tiny little cubby-hole off the living
/ room labeled "den;" the home brew
! department and the billiard room had
been partly erased, although the words
were still partly visible, and big
addition had been made to the plan,
| this addition containing number of
rooms and being labeled Rooms in
which to entertain my mother and her
| family"
Then with sparkling eyes and rosy
cheeks, Edna placed this sketch be-
meath the report for Mr. Schlatter and
| marched into his Office.
/ The big young chief turned in his
chair at her approach and smiled rath-
! er abstractedly at her. Then Edna
saw his eyes focus on her face and
saw look of interest come into them.
| Again she felt thrilled.
"Why, Miss Fairchild," he ex-
! claimed, whats the excitement? You
look much agitated about something"
al am excitedl' exclaimed Edna,
almost at loss what to say. T."
For moment she thought of refer
| ring to the sketch Then she thought
| better of it and, laying the report and
/ the sketch on Schlatter's desk, she