The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1932-02-15
BEGIN HERE TODAY

Beautiful ELLEN ROssITER,
who works b. day ~ = salesgiSl
~ Barclay'e Department store,
lives with her mother. MOLLY
ROSTER. her eider sister.
brother. MIKE. Eiien,s dead e..
Their. younger son In . titled Eng
lish family. left . comfortable
fortune to prsviAe Tor bis wife
and children. lrresDonsible Molly
Rossiter sooD went through the
fortune and aimee then the sup
port Of the family has aevolved
sPon her two daughters.
Molly fooIlshly spends the pre-.
ciOus rent money to buy unneces-
saFy clothes for Mike. Al her
mothers suggestion Elle1 decides
to work at night ~ . dance hall
hostess until the sum 70 made mp.
sss r"s' "a ss' =:
Offers her a fob on condition thar
dresses. She has no evening
dress. Bitterly disappointed. she
breaks n store rule and tele-
phones the news to her mother.
STEVEN BARCLAY. owner 81
the department store, sees her In
the telephone booth and asks her
to come to his office. Ellen %
sure he 1ntends to discharge her.
NOW GO ON WITH THE STORY
CHAPTER III
ELLEN had her feet planted firm.
~ in her small world BY the
time she had seated herself. She
had seen other girls pay the swift
penalty for some inconsequential
fault. She was prepared to pay It
herself in dignity and in pride. She
thought dimly that the important
thing was to maintain, her own
courage.
Never before had she exchanged
a word with her employer. In her
six years Of service she had seen
him no more than half . dozen
times. Steven Barclay spent only
two or three months a year in the
store which bore his name: the
other months he wandered restless
~ about Europe adding to his col.
lection of jades. But Ellen had az.
sumed. as her working mates had
assumed. that he was responsible
for the strictness Of the store, the
countless. fretting rules, the rigid
discipline. She had youthfully
hated him for that.
Il hope" he began almost apollo.
getically. that you won't think I'm
interfering in something which
does not concern me. l am. Of
course. But perhaps you'll forgive
me when I tell you that / can not
bear to see an employe'-to see
someone 80 young as you are-in
such trouble without attempting to
learn II there is something ! can
do. Some way that ! can help"
Ellen had been prepared for dis.
missal. She was not prepared for
sympathy. For q moment revulsion
Of feeling made her actually dizzy.
Her heart was suifocating her and
she felt she could hardly breathe.
But she forced herself to answer
him.
"Its-it's nothing important.
she managed at length.
II was afraid you'd say that. It
probably would be nothing to me.
Obviously it's not that to you. But
I do think It's nothing that can't
be solved. Wont you tell ms?'
AT any other time Ellen would
have withdrawn into the fast
nesses ct the Rossiter pride. Just
then she had such On ovsrwhelm.
ing need for sympathy. such an
overwhelming need for the advice
Of someone older. someone respon-
sible. that the whole story was out
before she could check the rush oe
words Myra and Bert: her mother
and her disastrous shopping tours:
Mike. delightful baby Mike. who
should have his chance: the Brook,
Ign apartment and the countless
harassing worries that beset two
girls trying to balance on their slim
shoulders the burden Of = family,
-