Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-09-25
CHAPTER Ill
Julie Benton


= HE morning following Claudias esca-
| pade Matthew sat in his office going
through his mornings mail. His sec
rotary, Julie Benton, sat close beside him,
her stenographc pad open on her knee, her
pencil poised ready for dictation. Occasion
ally as Matthew dictated, he glanced with
sharp scrutiny at the girls face. H was
trying to determine what manner Of woman
she was. He wondered what went on in her
head, and what manner of life she lived.
Matthew realized that she spoke very sell
dom. If he had but known it, her reserve
was due to the fact that she was distrustful
Of herself She girl who longed pas
sionately for better things a girl who for
years had hated her life passionately and yet
who knew way of rising above it,
Fate had not been kind to her. Her long
ing for high school education had been
nothing but impossible dream, and at
fourteen, she had entered business college,
the expenses for the course being betrayed
by her older brother, Tom.
Tom not altruistc. He cared moth
ing for the blind groupings of jules soul
But he was practical, and he knew that with
Julie contributing her wages toward the sup
port of the family, there would not be such
heavy demand upon his own peck textbook
So he had advanced the money and when
Julie was not quite sixteen, she had taken
her first position stenogra pher and type
writer. Now she was twenty-five, and dur
ing those six years, she had held three posi-
lions. For the last two years she had been
with the firm ef Bulky e Strong in Wall
Street, but even though she made $50 a
week, she was bound to her family so that
thing for herself.
very little of her salary went toward anv
The Bentons lived in Flatbush, in an
lmpoSs1bly ugly frame house. 1t was one
or row of similar houses built close against
one another, and the street in summer rang
with the shouts and cries of children, and
I w n for
melting snow and ice
JUNE had never known privacy She
shared room with her younger sister
Ellen, and just she had never known
what 1t might be like to enjoy the luxury
of sleeping alone, so had she become usod
to the endless borrowing of her cIotbos
Ellen helped herself to whatever she 1ikod
ana SO aid Martha, who had Just turned fif
teen. Martha was still in school. Julie
wanted her to become teacher, but Martha
was lazy and was not at all sure that she
wanted to work that hard. Ellen wos y
telephone operator, and Martha was serious
ly contemplating leaving school and stril,ino
out for herself. " 81 IN lnS
June was different from the other girls
Her innate fineness was perhaps an inhori
t 5 from some ancestor who had also
dreamed dreams and had visions Tbora
was something dainty about bnr eon,o+bino
Well-ored in the shape of her head, and
the small delcatey formed ears She had
irish eyes very dark blue, fringed around
with black straight lashes, and her NOUN
Wlde, but we'll formed, displayed small per.
feet teeth. p
100 good for the rest of u.s." her mother
would sheer when she saw Julie vince at
the messy disorderly table, and the sloppy,
greasy food. You'd like your dinner on
a tray, | suppose, with a rose folded I'D in
the napkin like the swells"
But when Julie turned her grave ewes
upon her mother, Mrs Benton would LOOK
away. 1t was as though she had suddenly
become conscious of her unspeakaby dirty
wrapper, and the untidy wsps of hair strag-
gllng down over her moist forehead
Matthew had finished his dictatfon. and
was sitting back in his chair. Julie was
about to rise and leave the room. when
Welding to impulse, he stopped her
Miss Benton?"
Yes, Mr.. Strong" Her blue eyes were
on his face, and he suddenly struck
with the level gravity of her gaze: He was
embarrassed for moment, uncertain as to
what he wanted to say. Julie did not help
nlm She had no idea that his interest in
her had suddenly become personal"