question: CHAPTER XXIII

A NIGHT RIDE

It was six o'clock in the evening. Curtis had just finished his supper and sat drowsily content in his quarters at the police post after being out in the frost all day. The temperature had steadily fallen since morning and the cold was now intensified by a breeze that drove scattered clouds across the moon and flung fine snow against the board walls, but the stove, which glowed a dull red, kept the room comfortable. A nickeled lamp shed down a cheerful light, and the tired corporal looked forward to a long night's rest. Private Stanton sat near him, cleaning a carbine.

"It's curious you have heard nothing from Regina since you sent up those clothes," he remarked. "It looked pretty bad for Prescott."

"I don't know," said Curtis. "Have you ever seen him with that suit on?"

"No."

"Nor has anybody else, so far as I can learn. There's another point--the land agent talked of a tall, stoutish man. You wouldn't call Prescott that."

"Those clothes were 'most as good as new; he might have only had them on the once," Stanton persisted.

"That's what struck me; I don't know how they looked so good, if they'd been lying where Jernyngham found them, since last summer."

"It's a thing I might have thought of."

"You have a good deal to learn yet." Curtis smiled tolerantly.

"Anyhow, I found you a photograph of Prescott, and you were glad to send it along to Regina. What do you think our bosses are doing about it?"
1. Who was having his meal?
2. What time was that?
3. Where is he?
4. Where is it?
5. Where was he all day long?
6. How was the weather all day?
7. Did the temperature fall even farther?
8. What made the temperature drop?
9. Was the moon visible?
10. Was it snowing too?
11. Despite all this was he comfortable?
12. What made the room comfortable?
13. What was the source of light for them?
14. Who sat by him?
15. What was he doing?
16. Who did he not hear from?
17. What he sent her?
18. Did the clothes look good?
19. Who found them?
20. Whose photograph was found?
21. Who it was send to?
****
answer: 1. Curtis
2. six o'clock
3. in his quarters
4. at the police post
5. outside
6. frosty
7. yes
8. breeze
9. yes
10. yes
11. yes
12. stove
13. A nickeled lamp
14. Private Stanton
15. cleaning a carbine
16. Regina
17. clothes
18. yes
19. Jernyngham
20. Prescott
21. Regina

question: When you need a job very much, you may end up taking one for which you are over qualified. Although you were initially grateful just to have the work, you now feel bored and depressed. Is there any way to change that?

Start by changing your opinion, says Caitlin Kelly, the author of Malled, a book based on her experience as a sales clerk after losing her job in journalism. "Don't focus on what you're not getting but what you are getting," she says. "Be patient and work attentively with a wide range of people. It doesn't matter what the job is -there are always things you can learn and skills you can develop."

Hilary Pearl, the founder of a coaching firm, says, "Tell yourself the current situation isn't the end of your career. Don't overdramatize the negative aspects but try to view the situation more philosophically: life has a series of stages, and this is one of them. Don't forget to study even in the worst stage."

Consider that because you're overqualified, you may be able to learn or do things on the job that might not have been possible in a more demanding position, says Sarah Hathorn, the chief executive of Illustra Consulting. "You could spend your extra time in learning different aspects of the business and teaching others in the organization," she says.

Is it possible to make your work more challenging, even if your job responsibilities aren't likely to change?

Of course, you may seek tasks and responsibilities that force you to learn something new or to work harder. "You may be operating on autopilot right now, but chances are that people above you are stressed," Sarah Hathorn says. " _ and let him know which projects or tasks you want to learn more about."

Always express your request positively, saying that you love new challenges, rather than complaining that you're bored and underused, says Ethun, the president of the Park Avenue Group. In your down time, educate yourself about the company and its industry. "Read corporate information, analyst reports and related news articles," she says. "If your boss accepts your suggestions, it will make you a more valuable employee."
1. Is this article about what to do when you are under qualified for a job?
2. Who is the leader of Park Avenue Group?
3. Does she believe you should complain about how bored you are?
4. What should one say instead?
5. What is one way someone could teach themselves more about a company?
6. Would this make you more valuable?
7. Why would someone take a job in which they were over qualified?
8. How might someone feel after accepting such a position?
9. What does Caitlin Kelly think is the first step in fixing the situation?
10. Did she make a CD to discuss this?
****
answer: 1. Yes
2. Ethun
3. no
4. say that you love new challenges
5. Read corporate information, analyst reports and related news articles
6. if your boss accepts your suggestions, yes
7. When your inneed of any job at all
8. Although you were initially grateful just to have the work, you now feel bored and depressed
9. Start by changing your opinion
10. no

question: CHAPTER XXX

Selingman had the air of one who has achieved a personal triumph as, with his arm in Maraton's, he led him towards the man whom they had come to visit.

"Behold!" he exclaimed. "It is a triumph, this! It is a thing to be remembered! I have brought you two together!"

Maraton's first impressions of Maxendorf were curiously mixed. He saw before him a tall, lanky figure of a man, dressed in sombre black, a man of dark complexion, with beardless face and tanned skin plentifully freckled. His hair and eyes were coal black. He held out his hand to Maraton, but the smile with which he had welcomed Selingman had passed from his lips.

"You are not the Maraton I expected some day to meet," he said, a little bluntly, "and yet I am glad to know you."

Selingman shrugged his shoulders.

"Max--my friend Max, do not be peevish," he begged. "I tell you that he is the Maraton of whom we have spoken together. I have heard him. I have been to Sheffield and listened. Don't be prejudiced, Max. Wait."

Maxendorf motioned them to seats and stood with his finger upon the bell.

"Yes," Selingman assented, "we will drink with you. You breathe of the Rhine, my friend. I see myself sitting with you in your terraced garden, drinking Moselle wine out of cut glasses. So it shall be. We will fall into the atmosphere. What a palace you live in, Max! Is it because you are an ambassador that they must house you so splendidly?"
1. What two me walked arm in arm?
2. Who are they headed to meet?
3. What does he do for a living?
4. Did he live poorly?
5. What were Maraton's thoughts on him when they first met?
6. Was the man he met tall?
7. And his shape?
8. Did he have fair skin?
9. Did they shake hands?
10. What expression had passed from his face after he extended his hand?
11. Where would they take their drinks?
12. What would they drink out of?
13. What would they drink?
14. What type of home does Selingman say Max has?
****
answer:
1. Selingman and Maraton'
2. Maxendorf
3. an ambassador
4. no
5. mixed
6. yes
7. lanky
8. dark complexion
9. unknown
10. smile
11. terraced garden
12. cut glasses
13. wine
14. a palace