Rockingham post-dispatch. [volume] (Rockingham, N.C.) 1917-1965, 1922-04-20
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. IIss'ItAEI-sttIb5IIIIl
1t Doesn't
Always Happen
By JUSTIN wENTwooD
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.

land worship her with years
of noble deeds
Until he wins her ."
Little Miss Kramer repeated the
words to herself softly. They were
out Of her favOrite Tennyson, and Miss
Kramer was romantic
She was the telephone girl at
Bridge 4 StOurS, the wholesale tile
people. She had held her job five
years. She was romantic. She had
slipped her Tennyson under her hat,
and she was reading the poet in the
lunch hour.
THE trouble is" sighed Miss
Kramer, "men are SO horribly swift
nowadays. And there's so little room
for noble deeds. How is one to be
sure?"
She almost wavered from her fixed
determination never to let any man
speak to her of love until he had wor-
SHIPPED her for at least two years.
But things did go faster now, and
Miss Kramer was twenty-five.
That was not old, of course, but
she could be twenty-seven before her
knight-errant had worshiped her for
two years, even if he came riding
along Immediately on the elevated.
No one had ever shown any dispo-
sition to worship Miss Kramer. Every
body liked her, and twice in her life
young men had behaved foolishly and
Miss Kramer had looked at them re-
proachfully and they had shrunk.
That was the pity of it. Men took SO
much for granted. There was young
Don Hayden, the assistant bOOkkeeper,
for instance! They had been good
friends for nearly year. Then he
had asked permission to call at her
boarding house, and-well, just what
had happened?
All Miss Kramer could remember
was that his arm had stopped hang
ing along the edge Of his chair and
had shown tendency to stray across
the arm Of her chair to where her
hand rested. And then
Subtly, very subtly, Miss Kramer had
conveyed the impression that that
was not where Don Haydon's hand
ought to be. He had left few min
uteS afterward. And they had not
been such good friends since. He had
never called again.
She glanced across the hall at him
as he sat wrestling with the books.
Perhaps-a thrill Of apprehension ran
through her-perhaps he was even
now struggling to avert the rumOred
Insolvency Of Bridge & StOur. Every
one knew the firm was in deep water.
The cashier came out of the man.
ayers Office, carrying a package of
letters. He left one on Miss Kramer's
desk, went on without speaking, left
I one on the next desk, on every desk.
Miss Kramer opened hers and read
with terror:
ION account Of the winding-up of
business we shall be unable to utilize
your services after Saturday next. A
check for two weeks salary is en-
closed herewith"
She let the slip Of the check flutter
unheeded to the floor Then she
! picked 1t up and put it in her bag.
At two o'clock the office was ag0g
with excitement. Everybody had re-
ceived notice. That day was Thurs
day, and it meant one more days
work, one week of salary to follow,
and-the gruelling search for jobs
| Jobs, at a time when they were as
! scarce as raspberries in January!
Tough luck, Miss Kramer" 1t was
| Don Hayden speaking outside the Of
! fee. ut means the breaking up Of
| old associations for all Of us"
Miss Kramer nodded. She could not
trust herself to speak. After all, she
might not have insisted about-abOut
the hand.
twill you let me take you to din
nerT Don asked.
Pride struggled with principle.
"Well, a very inexpensive restaurant"
said Compromise.
They sat over the meal. "I'll be
sorry not to be seeing you every day."
said Don.
Miss Kramer nodded. "Got any
thing in prospectT' she inquired.
Don shook his head. mot thing"
he answered. Have you"
NO" said Miss Kramer
But see here" suggested Don, I've
got five hundred put aside for rainy
day, and that's bound to last until
something does turn up. And two can
live as cheaply as one"
What was he saying? Miss Kramer
looked at him in CONSERVATION. And
whose was that handlers or Don's
"You know, I've wanted to ask you
so long, only you've got way of sit
ting on a fellow, but--but wouldn't 1t
be jolly to have nice little fiat and
Oh, I'm no hand at talking, but will
you, darling?"
The room went round. 1t turned
into a dog-eared page on which Bhe
read: .f
"And worship her with years
Of noble deeds
Until he wins her :"