Nogales international., 1931-02-28

days. and her sister Liz who works in a
Ssezuty shop, lies abed late. Maggie has to
get the family breakfast before she starts
cut to her job in the Five-and- Ten-Cen
Now GO ON WITH THE STORY
Life scrambled along somehow in the
w aShington Avenue cottage, and al
most every day there was a funeral
somewhere worth seeing.
Minnie Johnson, forty-six years old,
liked funerals.
~Mannna'1l give up the funeral Of
her oldest friend, if there happens to
be a bigger one on the same day'
Maggie asserted delightedly. And yet
she considered the dismal tendency as
rather admirable in her mother, and
when there were defective black gloves
or ribbons or wells marked down for
below cost, at the Mack, she always
brought her mother fresh supplies of
them.
This morning she parted from her
father, as usual, before the swinging
doors of the general post office, to
the much more inviting scene pre-
serted by the Mack.
There were life, animation, gaiety
here. Maggie, penetrating to an odor-
Gus basement room that smelled OF dis
1nfectants and face powder and wet
towels and highly scented soap, found
some forty of her associates surging
about, changing their clothes, powder
ing their faces, gossiping, laughing,
and quarrelling.
In the passage at the top of the
flight of brick-walled stairs that led
up to the store was a nail, and Mag
ETe took from it, with the expertness
of long usage, a handful of scraps of
pzper and began without further pre-
anble the business of the day.
~Say, did they get new boy, in
here in Jirnmy's place? Where is he?
Are you the new boy? What's your
name? Joe, huh?" She had brought
up with a bump against a tall young
man, and now she raised her blue eyes
frcgn her memoranda and smiled at
Fsirn as she went on, "I guess you're
the new boy? Joe Grant, huh? Were
you workin' in a department store
before? You weren't? Well, see here
these are the stock orders. Ink, see?
And salt boxes, see?
He stood looking at her, hewildered,
his puzzled, mutinous eyes far above
her small head. bent to study her notes.
"We might as we'll do the candy
first, since they want 'em for the win
dow, I'll hand 'em down to you anc
you check EN- off. Don't be any
dErnlber than you can help, becauz
they're always in a rush for the night
Orders!"
Enveloped in her preposterous apron,
her small hands fairly flying, her
crown of chestnut braids becoming
slightly dishevelled, and her cheeks
getting red with her exertions, Mag
gre johnson was all superbly indif-
aerent to what he might be feeling or
thinking.
Here-be careful with those boxes,
Joe. If you spill this stuff you pay
for it. What's the next? Matinee
Habits? Oh, those are chocolate bars
didn't you ever eat one? Gee, you
are dumb! !"
Ii was noon on the same day. There
was forty-minute interval for lunch,
and the new boy was lounging, bit
aer, disguised, against strip of dirty,
1is6gured brick wall that had once
been painted white.
Far above his head, the boy could
hear the healthy one-oclock roar of
the store, beating rhythmically, like
the sea upon deep shore.
He was away from it all for the
forty minutes of his lunch hour"
hut it seemed all to be with him still
the noise of it, the confusion, the
horrible smells.
A gong, above him, behind him,
somewhere up the wide, dirty, utilita-
z-ian brick steps that rose steeply be-
Eween two marred and grimy white
brick walls, rang twice. That meant
allat the second lunch shift was due
TO report upstairs and relieve the third.
The boy heard it, but he did not move
IN its direction.
Instead, he took from his pocket a
small folded yellow envelope of stout
brown paper and looked within it. 1t
contained money-three dollars, some
cents. He had been working day, or
he would have been working that long,
vixen the store closed tonight. His
nav was at the rate of twenty-five
dollars per week.
He had dropped the torn envelope
and was putting the money into his
pocket when sound in his neighbour
hood made him turn suddenly, at the
foot of the stairs. He was not, appar-
entity, the only occupant of the base
nlerlt
Backing cautiously out across the
heavily wrapped bundles that were a
dozen times the size of her small body
was what he at first supposed to be
a child. Once fully in view, he recog-
1ized her at once. 1t was Maggie.
That was job for you'll" she said
parting, explanatory, raising to his
eyes as beautiful pair of blue speci-
xne1ls as he had ever seen.
what was?" he asked.
Her own eyes became slightly sus-
pici0as
Weren't you waitin' for them ideel
Ieafiets?" she asked.
FT don't know what you're talkin'
about" the boy answered.