The Washington times., 1937-12-15


known voice out of the ether
what difference did it make how
she spoke?
At the same moment the tele'
phone rang in the house Of Mrs.
Day. "Hello!' answered Mrs.
Day, then on learning the call
was a mistake, continued in ex-
actly the same courteous tone,
I'm afraid you've dialed the
wrong number - that's perfectly
all right. Good-by."
With hardly any click at all she
hung up. AS with Mrs. Peters,
the incident passed completely
from her mind.
But not from the air. The two
voices started two distinct sets of
vibrations going-two ever-widen-
ing circles, like the ripples in a
pond from a carelesSly flung stone.
The woman so rudely rebuffed
by Mrs. Peters was named Julia
Prime. Julia, flicked to sudden
anger, in turn snapped down her
telephone receiver. AS she did
so, Bill, her husband, appeared
in the doorway with torn blue
shirt in hand.
TRRTTATED WIFE
"Look at this" he exclaimed
angrily, "this is a helluva laun-
dry" Julia agreed; had she been
feeling amiable she would have
said so. But, thanks to Mrs.
Peters, she didn't feel amiable, so
she replied tartly:
you're always complaining
about something. Suppose you
find another laundry" Appar-
emily this didn't soothe her lord
and master.
IF you'd pay attention to the
house instead of gadding all day,
my shirts wouldn't be torn to
Shreds."
Bills remark was most unfair
for Julia was an excellent house
keeper. How aggravating and un-
reasonable Bill could be!
while you're looking for new
laundry, why not hunt up a new
wife, too"
"All right, I will" retorted
Bill. Banging the door he re-
turned to his room, where he pro-
ceeded with his dressing.
But, once off on the wrong foot,
everything went badly. The new
shirt he took from his drawer was
so full of pins that he pricked his
finger twice, deep enough to bring
the blood.
When he reached his office in
the law firm of David & Com
pany, after a gruff good morning
he opened his desk.
There lay an important letter
he had forgotten to answer. He
put his finger on the buzzer and
kept it there.
Bessie hasn't come in yet, Mr..
Prime" stated Tim, an office boy.
"Oh, so Bessie, to whom he paid
$25 a week out of his hard-earned
money, hadn't Sauntered down to
work yet. Well, well, wasn't that
just dandy!
Bill drummed grimly on the
desk, his pricked finger stung like
the deuce-he'd probably get
blood poisoning. Turning sharply
to examine his wounds in a
stronger light, he knocked over an
ink bottle.
AS he was furiously mopping up
with a brand new desk blotter,
the door opened and Bessie ap-
peared.
SECRETARY LATE
AS it so happened, Bessie was a
trifle late because she had been
awake half the night with a tooth
ache, and had stopped at the den
lists on her way to work.
Good morning, Mr.. Prime, :"
said Bessie gioomily. Bill glared
at her. Why should she come in
looking like thunder cloud? He
was the one who had a right to
be peeved.
you're late" he said disagree
ably. "Tf you can't get here by
8 o'clock, you'd better get another
job"
Bill didn't mean this; Bessie
was the best secretary he had ever
had. Stung, therefore, by the in,
justice of his remark, Bessie re-
piled heatedly:
tits only a few minutes past
nine. I've been to the dentist"
You'd better think up a better
one than that" he observed. Now,
if you can spare the time, suppose
you take a letter"
All during the morning Bessie
Smoldereo By noon she had
worked herself to such a pitch
that although she really was very
fond of Bill, when she met her girl
friend, Maud, for lunch, she imme
diately burst out against him.
Her high, excited tones carried a
greater distance than she realized
but even had she known she
wouldn't have cared. A boss coulc
go just so far. After that, loyalty
was out.
x
Now, whe1 Mrs. Day replied SC
politely over the telephone in an
swer to hel wrong number, the
woman to whom she spoke hap
pened to be Mary Kent.
Mary was so impressed by thu
courtesy of this strange voice
that before she dialed again, sht
TaaIlsed and th0Jloht IL 0Uar