A Business Career

V

30 tickets, over and above my bill. Youcan translate the French of the play for me." "Oh, thank you, Mrs. Paxton, I'll think if over, and I'll do this much now—I'll write mamma that if I don't come up to-night it will be because I'm going to stay with you. Then if I get through in time, or Miss Smith relieves me, I can go home; otherwise I'll stay." When they had finished their salad and cup of coffee, she went up to Mrs. Paxton's office and wrote a brief note to her mother. She said simply that she was helping Mrs. Paxton in an emergency and might not get through in time for the afternoon train, in which event shewould stayuntil nextday. She did not mention Mr. Truscott's name, for she wished to reserve her experiences in his office until she could speak of them at length, and until her impressions had been modified or confirmed by her observations of the afternoon. v. Stella was at her desk a few minutes before one. The clerks were all on time. Some of them were just on the hour, and these looked relievedwhen they glanced up at the clock.Stella supposed their apprehension due to the rigid discipline of the office. She almost shuddered to think that some boy with a widowed mother to support, or some poor man with an invalid wife, might be thrown upon the world at scarcely a moment's notice, because a clock wasslow,or a street-car late, or some accident or unforeseenoccurrence had delayedhim a 3l few minutes beyond the stated hour for beginning work. Perhaps even the stenographer whose place she was taking might have been the innocent victim, for some such reason,of this soul-crushing tyranny,—what Mr. Ross had said about her employer was clearly open to such a construction. When Johnnie next looked into the room sheput a question to him. "Why did the last stenographer leave?" "Fired," said Johnnie laconically. "Why?" she inquired. Johnnie raised his hand to apoint about sixinches in front of his mouth, and threw his head back suddenly, letting his hand go up so as to retain its relative position to the mouth. Then he hiccoughed and retired with unsteady footsteps to a chair. She understood this pantomime perfectly. The poor man had been ill, perhaps intoxicated. But no mercy had been shown him, no allowance made for inherited weakness or exceptional temptation, no attention given to promises of amendment. He had been late half an hour, or absent half a day, and had lost his placebecause,forsooth,the office was not a reformatory, or ahospital, or a"charitable institution." Ifthis was business, then shewould have none of it. She began on the letters and had finished most of them before Mr.Truscott camein. He threwhis hat to Johnnie,and passed through Stella's room, without noticing her, into his own office. Johnnie gathered up the letters alreadytypewritten and carried them in to him, and when they were signed copied them in a tissue letter-book on the copying-press, and 32 then brought them back to Stella to be enclosed and addressed. Bythis time Stella had written the remainder of the letters; and while Mr. Truscott read and signed these, she addressed envelopes for them all. When the last one was signed and enclosed, Johnnie took them out to the mailchute in the hall, and for a few minutes Stella was left with nothing to do. Her eyes wandered toward the main office, where some of the clerksweremaking entries in long canvas-covered books. Others were sorting yellow tissue-paper copies of invoices, others checking up way-bills of railroad and transportation companies. Mr. Ross was at work on a very large ledger, so large that it almost covered the top of his desk. She noticed, however, that he found time, to glance now and then at the little mirror near by,and to turn up the ends of his mustache and adjust his neck-tie. Several times she caught his eyes directed toward her, the last time so steadily that she turned her head. Through the open door of the private office she could see Mr. Truscott opening the letters that had come by the latest mail delivery. His face was clearly outlined against the window beyond him, and there...